Rice, a staple food for about 3 billion people, is becoming a precious commodity as a result of rising demand -- a reality that's prompting some agriculture watchers to ask whether global grain producers will be able to keep the world adequately supplied amid solid emerging market economic growth.

China, Egypt, Vietnam, and India, which represent about one-third of global rice exports, curbed sales this year, and Indonesia did so as well, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Grain and food demand is increasing at above-trend rates due to solid economic growth in emerging markets. These regions are experiencing expanding middle classes -- a factor that historically has almost always led to rising per capita food consumption in the country where the growth occurred.

As a result, the price of rice and other commodities has soared -- rice hit $21 per 100 pounds on Monday, Bloomberg News reported -- and governments may face increased social unrest, given the pivotal role rice plays in many developing nations.

In an interview with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, Presidential candidate Barack Obama started to spell out his economic plan. Obama said that he would raise capital gains taxes, "Well, you know, I haven't given a firm number. Here's my belief, that we can't go back to some of the, you know, confiscatory rates that existed in the past that distorted sound economics. And I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was the 28 percent. I would--and my guess would be it would be significantly lower than that. I think that we can have a capital gains rate that is higher than 15 percent."

Just because the Senator got rich from his book doesn't mean that the rest of us should be punished for trying to grow our savings and our investments. Why should the middle-class have to pay higher capital gains tax so that Obama can bailout irresponsible home buyers?

Hasn't he learned economics? It's pretty clear that if you punish and make it harder for wealth creation and investment, that there won't be as much, and as a result the economy will get much worse.

Sources close to CNN broadcast journalist/commentator Lou Dobbs said he is seriously considering a run for the U.S. presidency in 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Dobbs, who formerly hosted CNN's MoneyLine business news show and currently hosts CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight has seen both his ratings and his name recognition rise after his work's focus turned away from news reporting and anchoring and toward political and economic commentary.

Dobbs, an independent, displays an ideology and a political world view that many have characterized as a modified hybrid of Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan -- i.e. populism combined with strong views against free trade (or current trade frameworks) and against illegal immigration.

Dobbs is a frequent critic of both the Democratic and Republican parties, which he argues don't represent the interests of the typical person or the middle class. His show's website describes him as "an independent populist and the leading media advocate for working men and women, their families, our middle class and the American way of life."

Political Analysis: Unless there's a tidal wave of discontent in the American electorate not tallied by pollsters, Dobbs, as a third-party candidate or as an Independent, has virtually no chance of being elected president of the United States. Although his name recognition is rising and he has a positive public image, it's highly unlikely Dobbs could assemble the campaign staff and money required to compete effectively against Democratic and Republican parties' nominees.

However, this is not to say that Dobbs could not broaden the discourse, i.e. "force the discussion of less-publicized issues" during a debate. Dobbs could accomplish this, but it must be emphasized that making points in a debate is a much easier task than receiving enough votes to win the electoral college vote for U.S. president.

When T.S. Eliot began The Waste Land noting that "April is the cruelest month," the American poet wasn't talking about tax season. But anyone who has ever been audited might adopt the phrase to suit their circumstances . . . and the month is rapidly becoming crueler and crueler each passing year.

According to an article in today's New York Times, the Internal Revenue Service has become increasingly more likely to audit middle-class Americans. In fact, since 2000, audits have nearly tripled among those taxpaying Americans who earn between $25,000 and $100,000 per year. During the past six years, middle-class households (who make up nearly half of all taxpayers) have seen their odds of an audit rise from 1 in 377 to 1 in 140.

Kevin Brown, the I.R.S. deputy commissioner, said the agency's audit practices previously paid too little attention to the middle class, focusing instead on those making $1 million or more. "We try to run a balanced audit program," he now confirms. Even with the ramped-up audits on the nation's middle class, those in the highest tax bracket remain more like to be audited. Taxpayers with income above $100,000 have a 1 in 59 chance of being audited; those fortunate enough to make $1 million or more enjoy the misfortune of a 1-in-16 chance of an audit. Finally, those making below $25,000 face only a 1 in 94 chance of enduring an audit.

If you are among the unlucky middle-class households to be audited, and if evidence of errors are found in your documents, the average penalty is about $4,100.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.