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The unintended consequences of the ethanol quick fix
Christian Science Monitor ^ | July 27, 2007 | Ray Nothstine

Posted on 07/26/2007 5:46:51 PM PDT by PJ-Comix

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Ronald Reagan once said that the most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." His one-liner immediately comes to mind when looking at the problems behind the federal government's campaign to boost production of corn-based ethanol with a massive 51-cent-per-gallon subsidy.

(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: energy; ethanol
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I hate ethanol. It drives up the price on MANY things. Notice how much higher the price of milk is lately? Ethanol is the DOPIEST idea ever. Easiest way to get fuel is simply to drill for it.
1 posted on 07/26/2007 5:46:52 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
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To: PJ-Comix

Isn’t there already a 50 cent/gal subsidy on ethanol? $1.00 on bioDiesel?


2 posted on 07/26/2007 5:48:25 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Islam is the religion of violins, NOT peas.)
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To: PJ-Comix

I heard on the radio that Mexican farmers are plowing-under their agave crops to plant corn. People don’t realize how serious this will become a few years down the road.


3 posted on 07/26/2007 5:50:20 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: PJ-Comix
Leftist schemes always have huge unintended consequences that more than overwhelm any possible positives of the scheme. Ethanol is no different.

It will make not a shred of difference though — the leftist answer to their inevitably short-sighted approaches is that we need more of the same and all will be well.

They’re morons.

4 posted on 07/26/2007 5:52:59 PM PDT by vetsvette (Bring Him Back)
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To: 1rudeboy

I NEVER use ethanol but a lot of people complain about its performance.


5 posted on 07/26/2007 5:53:41 PM PDT by PJ-Comix (Join the DUmmie FUnnies PING List for the FUNNIEST Blog on the Web)
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To: vetsvette

Ethanol is the price we pay for making Iowa so important in the nomination process.


6 posted on 07/26/2007 5:55:30 PM PDT by PJ-Comix (Join the DUmmie FUnnies PING List for the FUNNIEST Blog on the Web)
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To: PJ-Comix

And the market will produce more corn now that prices are higher.

Why isn’t govt intervention in order to bring an orderly transition to differnt fuels?

Strictly my opinion, but the market will not change the way we fuel our vehicles, and that fuel and oil is a serious national security liability (IMO)by funding our mortal enemies and chaining the US to fuel competition with China, a rapidly growing china that wants gas as much as we currently do, if we don’t transition, we will be paying ever higher prices for the same commodity and THEN we switch to ethanol?

That makes -0- sense, better to do it now, then suffer and THEN switch.

I would love to be shown were I am wrong on this, and please take the totality of what I said, and not fixate on “Govt intervention in a market”.


7 posted on 07/26/2007 5:55:40 PM PDT by padre35 (Conservative in Exile.)
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To: PJ-Comix

Yogurt went from .69 to .99 OVERNIGHT! And I get LESS MPG’s per gallon with this crud. All to prop up the corn farming friends of the RIGHT AND LEFT!


8 posted on 07/26/2007 6:03:28 PM PDT by hophead ("Enjoy Every Sandwich")
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To: padre35

However having the US drastically reduce its oil consumption would seem to lead to a result where the US economy takes a hit from even higher energy prices, China gets access to all of the oil that they need at lower prices, and China continues to fund our mortal enemies.


9 posted on 07/26/2007 6:06:50 PM PDT by Zeppo (We live in the Age of Stupidity. [Dennis Prager])
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To: padre35
People run gas threw there cars, trucks, and boats in this area and think nothing of of paying $3.00/gallon. But let milk go to $3.00/gallon and its terrible. Let the gas burners set when you can people and the problem will not be as bad. Corn has come down in price but as of late increased a little to $3.345/bushel. Corn crop should be good this year helping things a bit but don't expect food prices to go down any. Its not the farmers reaping the benefits as much as the retail food stores. The bigger problem IMO is traders getting into corn futures just like oil. People buying shares that have no intention of ever taking delivery on anything but to resale the share for profit.
10 posted on 07/26/2007 6:11:14 PM PDT by Racer1
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To: 1rudeboy

Yea, try to buy corn taco shells. Hard to find … Taco Bell take heed.


11 posted on 07/26/2007 6:14:21 PM PDT by doc1019 (Fred Thompson '08)
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To: vetsvette
Leftist schemes always have huge unintended consequences

Unintended? Perhaps by some. I think the people behind the leftist schemes know exactly what they're doing.

12 posted on 07/26/2007 6:17:56 PM PDT by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: padre35

We can very easily drill for and get enough oil to dwarf any amount of ethanol we can produce. It’s cheaper, easier, cleaner. And we can do it domestically. And the taxpayer doesn’t have to pay for it.

Sorry, ethanol and fuels like that are wasteful dead ends that serve only to delude us and give us excuses to avoid facing up to the reality that for the foreseeable future we gotta have oil. And the oil is out there.


13 posted on 07/26/2007 6:21:05 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s........you weren't really there)
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To: PJ-Comix
I started telling the "etha-nazis" what was going to happen about 2 years ago - and got abused and laughed at up one side and down the other - now who's laughing - Just start with milk nearing $5 per gallon

Only a fool would use his food for fuel.

14 posted on 07/26/2007 6:21:29 PM PDT by xcamel ("It's Talk Thompson Time!" >> irc://irc.freenode.net/fredthompson)
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To: padre35

Good points, and I would add that corn, wheat and milk prices have been low for several decades - since the end of the 1980s. As with metals, there is a natural move in the market.


15 posted on 07/26/2007 6:22:46 PM PDT by BlackVeil
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To: hophead
"All to prop up the corn farming friends of the RIGHT AND LEFT!"

Please provide the details you have on how corn farmers are being 'propped up'.

16 posted on 07/26/2007 6:31:53 PM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

I think they call it federal subsidies.


17 posted on 07/26/2007 6:35:16 PM PDT by ontap (Just another backstabbing conservative)
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To: PJ-Comix

Ethanol is for drinking, not for driving.


18 posted on 07/26/2007 6:36:06 PM PDT by 353FMG (America, first, last and always.)
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To: BlackVeil

You could not be more wrong , the price of milk has been at least twice what it should have been the last twenty years because the government has been buying it up and destroying it.


19 posted on 07/26/2007 6:37:49 PM PDT by ontap (Just another backstabbing conservative)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde
Uh, by the government subsidizing ethanol plants, who use the money to buy corn?
20 posted on 07/26/2007 6:40:05 PM PDT by Comus (There is no honor in dying with your sword sheathed)
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