Posted on 02/21/2006 8:29:13 AM PST by kellynla
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Ethanol producers said they will reach a milestone this year -- producing as many gallons of ethanol as gas used by Iowans.
The state will reach an annual ethanol production of 1.6 billion gallons after more capacity is brought online this year.
Iowa is expected to be the first state to reach such a milestone.
Stand back, there's a load of fertilizer on the way. I can guarantee it.
How many dollars in subsidies were sunk into this feat?
I've use ethanol several times (in rental cars) and didn't notice any issue. I guess my question, strictly from a "I don't know" perspective, is what's wrong with ethanol?
The follow-up would be, if it's good, why is it heavily subsidized (I heard this so I could be incorrect)?
Well can you drink it? Like corn squezzings?
If something is good, it should stand on it's own. That's why folks have a general objection to subsidies. They also don't want to see the government involved financially.
There's an adverse reaction to land bank payments by the federal government. Most people object to them. When food is involved, I'm not as objecting as others are.
Land bank management has helped us keep a steady flow of farm goods going. Some people don't recognize this. Of course there are some reasons to object, so I'm not trying to say they're crazy.
If the land is being used to produce ethanol supporting crops, then it's not in the land bank where the owner can get paid for not using the land. Isn't that true?
Are there other subsidies involved?
I'd rather see this subsidized than $$$ going to Arab terror regimes and sympathizers (i.e. Arabs)
I'd also like to see some drills sunk into Alaska and start using our own oil as well as invest in alternatives.
Small steps.
"How many dollars in subsidies were sunk into this feat?"
and you don't think the petroleum industry has benefited from tax breaks over the years?
I am 110% for anything that gets America off dependency of Middle East oil.
I've seen enough dead Marines to last me a lifetime.
"How many dollars in subsidies were sunk into this feat?"
We're not supposed to think about that. We're just supposed to shake our fists at the Arabs and shout "hurrah"....
check out the articles I posted last night...
while we've been sitting on our hands for the past decade;
the Brazilians have been manufacturing ethanol and running seventy percent of their vehicles on it...
they now do not import ANY oil!!
"and you don't think the petroleum industry has benefited from tax breaks over the years?"
They may get some tax breaks, but they still pay an awful lot in taxes.
One interesting point I saw brought up the other day is that the oil industry actually gets a huge hidden subsidy in terms of our military expenditures to protect the oil countries.
Really, you have to admit that's true. If it weren't for oil, do you think we'd even give a rat's @ss about the entire Arabian peninsula?
I don't.
"but they still pay an awful lot in taxes."
wrong again...Americans pay an awful lot in taxes every time they fill up...
you might want to read the articles I posted last night and read what's been going on in Brazil for the past ten years while we've been sitting on our proverbial hands!
Agreed. This has now become a security issue. If we have to spend money, in this case subsidies, to cover an important area of national defense; how is that different from spending tax dollars on planes and tanks?
In any case. the subsidies should go down as the technology and infrastructure mature.
One thought I had was that we could de-regulate sugar. Cutting the tariff on cane sugar would allow US food producers to use it instead of corn syrup, that would mean a greatly increased potential supply of corn for use in ethanol production (thus lowering the price of production). I'm pretty sure ADM would lobby hard against that, though.
You can, until they mix it with gasoline.
I haven't been so down and out as of late to confirm whether this is true or not.
That matches what I've heard.
I haven't been so down and out as of late to confirm whether this is true or not.
May you never be, FRiend. May you never be!
>>>How many dollars in subsidies were sunk into this feat?<<<
Less than has been spent by the DOD to keep your oil freely flowing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.