Gardening Part I: Overview

What do a deer, sprinkler, and 43 million households have in common?

- All can be found in a garden.


I am especially fond of the motion activated sprinkler for predator protection.






According to the National Gardening Association, 2009 saw 43 million households (37%) in the United States participate in home gardening, a 7 million household increase from 2008! In 2008, an estimated $2.5 billion was spent on gardening supplies equating to roughly $70 per household. Breaking down individual gardener characteristics by percentages and comparing to general population percentages:

• 68% are 45 years and older (20.6% general population are > 45 years old)
• 3.3 
• (Individuals 45 years and older are 3.3 times as likely to garden as an individual less than 45 years old)
• 67% do not have children in the home (38% of general population)
• 1.76
• 79% have completed some college (57.3% of general population).
• 1.38
• 64% are married (48% in general population)
• 1.33
• Economically, middle class households (household incomes of $35,000 to $75,000) are most likely to have a garden
• Have been gardening for an average (mean) of 12 years
• Median 4 years

Why Garden?
The most common reasons people garden:

1. Satisfaction
• 58% to acquire better tasting food
• 51% to acquire higher quality food
2. Savings
• 54% to save money on food
3. Safety
• 48% to be sure about the safety of their food
4. Productivity
• 40% to feel more productive

How do I compare to the average gardener?

• Demographics:
• Meeting the stereotype:
• Attended college
• Married
• No children
• Straying from the beaten path:
• 26 y.o. (24 when I started)
• 3rd year of gardening (median/mean: 4/12 years)
• Household income

• Reasons why I choose to garden:
1. It's fun!
2. High degree of complexity, autonomy, and strong connection (the more time and resources you invest the greater the likelihood a greater reward will be achieved).
• From Malcom Gladwell's book Outliers.
3. Economically neutral at the moment, potentially economically profitable in the future.
• I try to gravitate towards economically neutral hobbies.
• I also enjoy the challenge of designing profitable systems (I know weird!).
4. Physical exercise
• As my day job is almost entirely intellectual and indoors, getting outdoors and exercising is very enjoyable.
5. Socially rewarding
• As politics and economics interest only a small minority, a secondary benefit of gardening is I feel it allows me to connect socially with a larger sphere of people than I would otherwise.
6. Food does taste better, especially the lettuce and spinach, wow!
7. Potentially great teaching opportunity for children cover numerous topics:
• Learning/Researching
• Efficiency/Productivity
• Economics

Researching gardening statistics has produced fascinating results. I am particularly astonished by the recent growth in popularity of home gardening (7 million additional households in 1 year and the average (median) gardener has only been at it for 4 years!).

However, as exciting as it has been to write and thumb through gardening pictures from the last two years, it unfortunately appears I am a number of weeks away from getting seeds and plants in the ground. Bemidji currently has more than a foot of snow on the ground and the high temperature of the next 6 days is 42 degrees. In the interim, I plan to start growing seeds indoors and work on brainstorming a list of goals and plans to share in future blog posts.


Next Post Topic: Unemployment Assistance Part II:  Roles and Goals

Study Details (nerds like me!)

• Conducted in January 2009
• 2559 households surveyed
• Participant selection: Stratified random samples are drawn from among the Harris Poll Online® database members by age, gender, and region based upon their known proportions in the U.S. adult (18+) population. Estimates of the general population proportions are obtained from the March supplement to the Current Population Surveys (CPS).
  • Weighted Results: These results were weighted to the general U.S. adult (18+) household population based on known proportions among this population for education, age and gender, race/ethnicity, region, and income level.
• Sponsors: National Gardening Association in associaiton with the Scott Company LLC in general, and Miracle Grow in particular.

Unemployment Assistance Part I: Overview

"Unemployment Benefits MUST be extended!!

Unemployment benefits are already paid for two years - NOW we have to pay for three years??? Four???

When will it stop? When do you have to be responsible for yourself - after how long?

CORPORATIONS ARE MOVING OFFSHORE TO NOT PAY TAXES!!!!! Really???

So, what you are saying is our ridiculously high corporate tax rates screwed us when the business owners decided to move their business to greener pastures??? You all think there are no consequences to raising taxes... Keep raising them and watch it continue and we will lose more businesses, jobs, and tax revenue.

Corporations OUTSOURCED our jobs!!! Really?

You mean there are people in other countries who are willing to do a job you are not willing to do for much less pay and a much more desolate lifestyle? Oh, I'm sorry, did you read somewhere that because you were born in America, you had a right to make more than everyone else on the planet for doing the same thing?

Everyone in this country needs to wake up. Raising taxes HAS consequences. Companies will move offshore, entrepreneurs will CONTINUE to leave and CONTINUE to move their businesses to other locations. Unless all you people making less then $250,000 are going to start CREATING JOBS, I suggest you stop trying to make sure every corporation and ENTREPRENEUR leaves our country."

- Yahoo! Reader Comment


Disclaimer: I do not endorse, promote, or encourage anyone to read Yahoo! (or other Internet news providers) reader comments. I do admit, for cheap entertainment, I will stoop to reading comments posted below such articles. I do not find this constructive in anyway apart from occasionally finding some humorous and clever insight beneath a massive pile of trash.

This Yahoo! reader left little doubt of his disapproval of America's unemployment system. Regardless of how accurate you believe the statements are, the comment does highlight frustrations and questions surrounding our current unemployment system. Most notably:

• What should be considered adequate benefits? How much and how long should benefits be offered?
• What consequences, if any, are there of funding unemployment assistance?

During the next few posts it is my aim to provide clarity on the historical and current utilization of unemployment assistance, outline what roles I believe an unemployment system should fulfill, and breakdown specifics of both the current unemployment system and my proposed changes.


In 2012, ~$156 billion was spent providing public unemployment assistance to an average of 6 million weekly recipients. In 2012, $156 billion amounted to 4.2% of all government spending (6.8% of revenue) and 11.3% of total welfare spending. In comparison, $108 billion was spent on public food assistance in 2012. Thus, as also covered in Food Assistance Part II, I am primarily interested in modifying unemployment assistance on principle rather than for monetary purposes.

Unemployment utilization reached its peak in 2010, amounting to $235 billion spent providing aid with a record 12 million recipients the week of 1/2/2010. Prior to 2008, unemployment spending and the number receiving aid was more or less at an equilibrium as shown in the charts below. Compared to the year 2000,  2010 saw a 1017% increase in money spent and a 425% increase in recipients while America's population increased by 14.4%.

Looking at cost of expenditures to GDP standardizes costs to America's total economic production. The important note is the direction the figure is trending. An upwards trend signifies we are spending more of our productivity on unemployment assistance compared to prior years and vice versa. Between 2000 and 2010, a 698% increase in percent of GDP was realized. Currently, in 2012, our nation's unemployment system consumes 1.0% of America's GDP, up 431% from 2000.

Are such substantial increases in unemployment utilization for the better or worse? Who, if anyone, benefits or is harmed by our unemployment system? Data indicates both the number of recipients and total amount of aid recipients are receiving have increased. This growth is likely secondary to the increased duration recipients are now eligible to receive benefits as highlighted in the Yahoo! reader comment. Knowing where we have been, where we are, and where we appear to be going are all important components of analyzing not only what has and has not worked in the past, but what policies provide the greatest potential benefit for future utilization. 


Next Post Topic: Gardening Part I: Overview.