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OIG - MRJ

Sandhusker

Well-known member
MRJ, here is a link to the GIPSA report. It took me less than 10 seconds to find it. Google "GIPSA" and "OIG" - this is the first thing that comes up.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06532t.pdf

As a reminder of NCBA policy; Competition - NCBA supports the role of government in ensuring a competitive market through strong oversight, including enforcement when illegal activities such as collusion, antitrust and price fixing occur.

It's a shame their actions weren't near as strong as their words.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Office of Inspector General Quote; GIPSA did not have the capability to perform effective anticompetive practice investigations .......failed to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act where packers owned the animals that caused increasing concentration and vertical integration.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sandhusker said:
Need to keep this at the top so MRJ doesn't miss it.

It won't matter- If an NCBA Grand Pooba doesn't tell her it happened and its so- she won't believe it anyway :wink: :( :mad: ......

Just knows one goosesteping direction....
 

PORKER

Well-known member
GIPSA senior mangement failed to follow thur with stated laws to protect marketing of the small rancher and farmer.Joann Waterhouse should be investigated for failing to start enforcement of GIPSA laws of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
PORKER said:
GIPSA senior mangement failed to follow thur with stated laws to protect marketing of the small rancher and farmer.Joann Waterhouse should be investigated for failing to start enforcement of GIPSA laws of the Packers and Stockyards Act.

JoAnn is formerly from the OGC--the Office of General Counsel. The report also criticized the OGC for their efforts or lack of.

It is as if the packers have staffed the OGC with their own lawyers to help them in carrying out the frauds that they do on the producers.

An investigation of the OGC is necessary.

Harkin has called for it.
 

mrj

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
MRJ, here is a link to the GIPSA report. It took me less than 10 seconds to find it. Google "GIPSA" and "OIG" - this is the first thing that comes up.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06532t.pdf

As a reminder of NCBA policy; Competition - NCBA supports the role of government in ensuring a competitive market through strong oversight, including enforcement when illegal activities such as collusion, antitrust and price fixing occur.

It's a shame their actions weren't near as strong as their words.


Sandhusker, thanks for posting the link. I've recently been able to read it, but am not sure it was complete.

Was it only about nine pages long? I did find an easier to read version under the Accessible Text File for visually impaired. There was nothing about the cases or charges you folks allege were ignored. Is that correct?

What I saw in the report were lots of terms like "investigations planned and conducted primarily by economists without involvement of attorneys"; "not a critical concern" ; "could have done more"; "appeared to raise concerns"; "substantial ongoing weaknesses"; "GIPSA's actions to respond had fallen short"; "changes had reduced the role of the public markets" (doubtless considered felonious by the market owners!!!!); "investigative practices were not suited for.... the more complex competitition related-concerns it was addressing....while not of a critical nature..."; "budget constraint; ........and more.

This shows bureaucratic sloppiness and failures that should not have happened, rather than willfully preventing investigations.

What concerns me the most is that none of you who decry this as "proof" of Waterhouse being in some sort of colusion or under control of packers have offered any documentation of the cases sent to her for investigation.

How many cases are we talking about? Was the office overwhelmed with countless complaints?

Why don't you present them here and let us judge for ourselves if they are worthy of investigation or not?

I certainly would want valid cases investigated and perpetrators punished if found guilty, yet what is in the report sure looks more 'bureaucratic bungling' than criminal failure to investigate.

Sorry for delay in reply. We have had a couple of funerals and lots of working cattle in the past couple of weeks and I should be out doing some yardwork right now.

MRJ
 

mrj

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
MRJ, here is a link to the GIPSA report. It took me less than 10 seconds to find it. Google "GIPSA" and "OIG" - this is the first thing that comes up.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06532t.pdf

As a reminder of NCBA policy; Competition - NCBA supports the role of government in ensuring a competitive market through strong oversight, including enforcement when illegal activities such as collusion, antitrust and price fixing occur.

It's a shame their actions weren't near as strong as their words.


Sandhusker, thanks for posting the link. I've recently been able to read it, but am not sure it was complete.

Was it only about nine pages long? I did find an easier to read version under the Accessible Text File for visually impaired. There was nothing about the cases or charges you folks allege were ignored. Is that correct?

What I saw in the report were lots of terms like "investigations planned and conducted primarily by economists without involvement of attorneys"; "not a critical concern" ; "could have done more"; "appeared to raise concerns"; "substantial ongoing weaknesses"; "GIPSA's actions to respond had fallen short"; "changes had reduced the role of the public markets" (doubtless considered felonious by the market owners!!!!); "investigative practices were not suited for.... the more complex competitition related-concerns it was addressing....while not of a critical nature..."; "budget constraint; ........and more.

This shows bureaucratic sloppiness and failures that should not have happened, rather than willfully preventing investigations.

What concerns me the most is that none of you who decry this as "proof" of Waterhouse being in some sort of colusion or under control of packers have offered any documentation of the cases sent to her for investigation.

How many cases are we talking about? Was the office overwhelmed with countless complaints?

Why don't you present them here and let us judge for ourselves if they are worthy of investigation or not?

I certainly would want valid cases investigated and perpetrators punished if found guilty, yet what is in the report sure looks more 'bureaucratic bungling' than criminal failure to investigate.

Sorry for delay in reply. We have had a couple of funerals and lots of working cattle in the past couple of weeks and I should be out doing some yardwork right now.

You shouldn't assume that NCBA was doing nothing about this because they didn't publicly shout accusations!

The fact is that they saw that the strong enforcement of PS&A we support was not happening, and members and leaders of NCBA were very actively working for changes in personnel and procedure at GIPSA. Those changes DID happen. GIPSA has made the agency more transparent and responsive. It seems logical to me to give James Link the opportunity to do a better job. NCBA continues to monitor the agency to see that the changes continue to bring improvement and accountability to GIPSA.

If you have EVIDENCE to the contrary, bring it!



MRJ
 

Econ101

Well-known member
MRJ, I think you would make a good GIPSA investigator. Not a good OIG or GAO investigator, but a good GIPSA investigator. :shock: :shock: :shock:
 

mrj

Well-known member
Econ101 said:
MRJ, I think you would make a good GIPSA investigator. Not a good OIG or GAO investigator, but a good GIPSA investigator. :shock: :shock: :shock:


Blather! If there were such blatant offenses as you claim, there would be investigative reporters, politicians trying to one up one another, and "insiders" such as you claim to be dropping your aliases and being a hero to expose the perpetrators!

MRJ
 

Econ101

Well-known member
MRJ said:
Econ101 said:
MRJ, I think you would make a good GIPSA investigator. Not a good OIG or GAO investigator, but a good GIPSA investigator. :shock: :shock: :shock:


Blather! If there were such blatant offenses as you claim, there would be investigative reporters, politicians trying to one up one another, and "insiders" such as you claim to be dropping your aliases and being a hero to expose the perpetrators!

MRJ

MRJ, the same was said when Hitler took power.

If you don't call for an investigation into what the report revealed, you are part of the coverup. I see the NCBA has not followed up on JoAnn not being questioned. Could it be that the packer buddies control the NCBA and GIPSA using blathering idiots like you as cover?

You act like the NCBA has given you some accolade in the past that you don't want to admit came from what is a corrupt system today.

Are you bought so cheaply?
 

mrj

Well-known member
Econ101 said:
MRJ said:
Econ101 said:
MRJ, I think you would make a good GIPSA investigator. Not a good OIG or GAO investigator, but a good GIPSA investigator. :shock: :shock: :shock:


Blather! If there were such blatant offenses as you claim, there would be investigative reporters, politicians trying to one up one another, and "insiders" such as you claim to be dropping your aliases and being a hero to expose the perpetrators!

MRJ

MRJ, the same was said when Hitler took power.

If you don't call for an investigation into what the report revealed, you are part of the coverup. I see the NCBA has not followed up on JoAnn not being questioned. Could it be that the packer buddies control the NCBA and GIPSA using blathering idiots like you as cover?

You act like the NCBA has given you some accolade in the past that you don't want to admit came from what is a corrupt system today.

Are you bought so cheaply?

So, Econ, you seem to be saying you do not want to 'come out' and be a hero and save us all from Hitlerism you claim is happening today. Why is that?

You claim you have the facts and the knowledge of cover up.

I do not have that information! Who is culpable in this situation????

For the record.......'accolades' given us by NCBA or anyone else have been very public, with reasons very clear, and are something which we and others receiving the same accolades have reason to be proud.

We were very humbled, pleased, and willing to accept the request of Nebraska Cattlemen to stand with them as cattle producer intervenors supporting the Beef Checkoff when LMA and friends attacked it with the purpose of ending it a few years ago.

That simply followed long family history and example of our parents and grandparents going above the call of duty to support the cattle industry. While it hasn't always been easy, it has been gratifying to see the strength and honor of the organizations we have chosen to work with and through.

Membership in NCBA has grown about 8% this year, and SD has 25% more NCBA members, just ONE measure of those organizations' stature with grass-roots cattle producers.

MRJ
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
MRJ, "Membership in NCBA has grown about 8% this year, and SD has 25% more NCBA members, just ONE measure of those organizations' stature with grass-roots cattle producers."

If membership growth is a measure of stature, which I believe it is, you need to compare that 8% to the triple digits R-CALF has posted the last few years.
 

Jason

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
MRJ, "Membership in NCBA has grown about 8% this year, and SD has 25% more NCBA members, just ONE measure of those organizations' stature with grass-roots cattle producers."

If membership growth is a measure of stature, which I believe it is, you need to compare that 8% to the triple digits R-CALF has posted the last few years.

To quote you sandhusker, a bigger % of a smaller pie isn't anything to be proud of.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Jason said:
Sandhusker said:
MRJ, "Membership in NCBA has grown about 8% this year, and SD has 25% more NCBA members, just ONE measure of those organizations' stature with grass-roots cattle producers."

If membership growth is a measure of stature, which I believe it is, you need to compare that 8% to the triple digits R-CALF has posted the last few years.

To quote you sandhusker, a bigger % of a smaller pie isn't anything to be proud of.

What is the smaller pie?
 

Econ101

Well-known member
MRJ said:
Econ101 said:
MRJ said:
Blather! If there were such blatant offenses as you claim, there would be investigative reporters, politicians trying to one up one another, and "insiders" such as you claim to be dropping your aliases and being a hero to expose the perpetrators!

MRJ

MRJ, the same was said when Hitler took power.

If you don't call for an investigation into what the report revealed, you are part of the coverup. I see the NCBA has not followed up on JoAnn not being questioned. Could it be that the packer buddies control the NCBA and GIPSA using blathering idiots like you as cover?

You act like the NCBA has given you some accolade in the past that you don't want to admit came from what is a corrupt system today.

Are you bought so cheaply?

So, Econ, you seem to be saying you do not want to 'come out' and be a hero and save us all from Hitlerism you claim is happening today. Why is that?

Econ: No one can save you, MRJ, but yourself. You seem to be happy where you are and be able to overlook things that don't affect you personally. I think that is the sign of has been selfish person no matter what the prior accolades.

MRJ: You claim you have the facts and the knowledge of cover up.

I do not have that information! Who is culpable in this situation????

Econ: I am capable, but not culpable. You, however, are not asking as to why the coverup continues, you just deny it. Sounds like the villagers in Auswich. You are providing the same function and the same excuses while extolling your favorite organization, NCBA in their efforts to do the same.

SHAME ON YOU.

MRJ: For the record.......'accolades' given us by NCBA or anyone else have been very public, with reasons very clear, and are something which we and others receiving the same accolades have reason to be proud.

Econ: From what I read, it was just what any rancher should be doing anyway. I am sorry you need a pat on the back for it.

MRJ: We were very humbled, pleased, and willing to accept the request of Nebraska Cattlemen to stand with them as cattle producer intervenors supporting the Beef Checkoff when LMA and friends attacked it with the purpose of ending it a few years ago.

Econ: You seem to be humbled pretty easy when someone praises you. I think that is a pretty cheap price.

That simply followed long family history and example of our parents and grandparents going above the call of duty to support the cattle industry. While it hasn't always been easy, it has been gratifying to see the strength and honor of the organizations we have chosen to work with and through.

Econ: If you knew anything about history, you would know the history behind the packers and stockyards act and the people who supported it. You would be able to see, as many others have, how the NCBA has been taken over by the packers. Are you resting your laurels on history, here, MRJ?

MRJ: Membership in NCBA has grown about 8% this year, and SD has 25% more NCBA members, just ONE measure of those organizations' stature with grass-roots cattle producers.

Econ: How much has rcalf grown comparatively? That is the real measure.
 
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