One Form Of Theft From Taxpayers Expiring
That's the ethanol subsidy -- expiring this year. From The Economist, from their Democracy In America blog, some really, really good news:
Three years ago, corn-ethanol subsidies appeared to be one of those common things in politics, an indefensible policy that was completely sacrosanct. It had, as many such policies do, a fiercely committed natural consistency, corn farmers, who enjoy a somewhat privileged political position due to their all-Americanness and the importance of the Iowa presidential caucuses. Corn ethanol is environmentally damaging; it puts more carbon emissions into the atmosphere over the course of its production and consumption cycle than it takes out, and it uses up cropland that would otherwise be producing food for human or animal consumption. But this point was generally too complicated for environmentalists to make to the general public. And while conservatives are usually theoretically opposed to subsidies, in practice they've either actively backed them for carbon fuel industries, or never done anything to stop them. It just seemed as though corn-ethanol subsidies were the kind of policy that wonks all agree is terrible but that continues forever because of political realities.Sometime in the past three years this all changed. The rise of the tea-party movement forced conservative politicians to take principled opposition to subsidies far more seriously. The budget-cutting frenzy in Washington made the subsidies a target. And the strange high-beta situation of Midwestern farmers, who are enjoying high corn prices and rising land prices while the rest of the country is seeing stagnant income and declining real-estate values, has muted their fervour for subsidies too. The speed with which this has happened puts me in mind of the country's startling attitude shift on gay marriage. I have absolutely no idea how things like this come to pass, and I don't think anyone could hope to predict them. But I think it serves as a somewhat hopeful close to a mostly horrible year to observe that in politics, solutions to problems often seem to be completely impossible, until all of a sudden they're not.
Don't miss this bit: "Corn ethanol is environmentally damaging; it puts more carbon emissions into the atmosphere over the course of its production and consumption cycle than it takes out..."
Subsidized by our tax dollars! Yes, that's right: We've been paying to pollute the environment. Lovely, huh?
That's politics.
And that needs to change. Think there's any chance of that?
Take a look at this article, and don't miss the link in there, "this link about fuel".
Mileage is worse, production subtracts from the food supply - alcohol has actually been lose/lose since cars got smart enough to adjust fuel mixture themselves, on the fly. Your modern car will see alcohol as an uptick in exhaust oxygen and richen the mixture.
Now, I wonder what states like Florida will do. Fully in the pocket of the ethanol lobbyists, they mandated gasohol everywhere but at marinas and airports.
Radwaste at January 3, 2012 2:46 AM
Don't worry about the corn people (like ADM). They'll continue to get their other government subsidies.
My opinion of corn ethanol arises from several facts, including two that Radwaste mentions above. I think it is arrogant that we divert a food crop to use as fuel (to make ADM richer).
Also, several of the byproducts from refining corn into ethanol are extremely toxic, but, hey, reducing our reliance on foreign oil, right?
DrCos at January 3, 2012 4:03 AM
This ethanol scam is a gross example of the institutionalized corruption of American politics. A concentrated special interest can buy enough Congresscritters to get unjustified subsidies from taxpayers. No matter how worthless or damaging the subsidy program is, many or perhaps most members of Congress stand ready to be bought.
I'd like to personally get in the grill of every Congressfool who voted for this travesty. America's founders would be sickened to see today's Congress.
Mike W at January 3, 2012 1:36 PM
It also shows how government subsidies corrupt an industry. 15 years ago, there was a lot of interesting research going on regarding making ethanol and methanol from easily grown grass crops and plant waste (e.g., lawn clippings and sugar cane refuse). But then everyone jumped on the subsidized corn ethanol bandwagon, and more worthwhile projects died.
Cousin Dave at January 4, 2012 4:05 PM
Cousin, even with the grass & waste, the numbers just don't add up.
I'm ticked at the number of sites that fluff a lot before they tell you any numbers, but you'd have to convert a buncha grass and cane to match just one state; CA burned 3+ billion gallons of gas - in just one quarter last year.
And CA's not even #1.
Nobody is "growing" energy until the demand is dropped.
Radwaste at January 4, 2012 5:46 PM
I've recently grown to hate the green energy movement.
I drive for a living, and with gas I got about 18-20 mpg, recently my company switched to propane driven vehicles, I now get 12 mpg.
With the price diference between gas and propane it cost me roughly 0.01 to 0.05 cents per mile MORE to run my vehicle. My last vehicle was traded out at over 350,000 miles.
So over the next couple of years this new policy will cost me somewhere between the purchase price of a average used car to a brand new car
lujlp at January 4, 2012 6:44 PM
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