Posted on 10/20/2017 9:32:18 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Corny Capitalism: This is one campaign promise we wish President Trump would break. But alas, he just told his EPA to give up any thought of cutting back on the federal government's anti-consumer, anti-environment ethanol mandate. Sad.
The story begins in 2005, when President Bush approved the Renewable Fuel Standard program as part of an energy bill, which required oil refiners to blend in predetermined amounts of "biofuels" into their gasoline, starting at 4 billion gallons in 2006.
A revised version of the RFS, which Bush signed in 2007, expanding the program, requiring ethanol levels to climb steadily to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
The argument at the time was that forcing ethanol into the market — which is mainly derived from corn — would cut energy imports, improve energy security, reduce pollution, lower fuel costs and create jobs.
Even if those reasons were sufficient at the time to justify this heavy-handed government intervention in the energy market — and we don't think they were — today's energy picture makes the ethanol mandate entirely obsolete.
Thanks to the fracking revolution, the U.S. is now awash in domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. Oil prices have dropped and net imports are lower than they've been in more than 30 years. The U.S. could become a net exporter of oil within a decade.
So the idea that replacing some oil with ethanol is vital to national security or stable energy prices is a relic of a bygone era.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I can understand not wanting to shock the growers who have been on this train for years.
I wish he’d phase it out over 5-7 years.
Last I knew subsidies for oil and gas were decreasing, subsidies for ethanol and other renewables were increasing. At the very least, the subsidies for the latter should not be allowed to continue to grow.
Yep! A few years ago, I paid $14.50 for 50 pounds of shelled corn, today I buy it for $5.
I don't give a fat rat's ass about about 10% or less ethanol mixed into my gas tank, and if a couple more Iowa Hawkeye shit kicken socialists vote the right way for the wrong reason, it's OK by me.
That last sentence will bring me a ton of grief from some land owners in Iowa with hurt feelings, but large gummint subsidies.
We get non-Ethanol fuel in all three grades here in Michigan from CITGO.
Crony capitalism is too nice a term. It’s Welfare.
Well... this one price we must pay.
President Trump calculated that the promise to protect the ethanol subsidies had to be made to obtain the support of IOWA and win the presidency, he was right, and he won.
Promises made, promises kept.
I think the above is even more important, I don’t want him to start waffling on all the other promises he made before the election.
If he keeps all his other promises... this is a promise kept I can live with.
That’s below break even price for corn, iirc. Memory says it’s about 3.50 break even recently.
That’s how markets work. Demand went up, supply had a hard time meeting demand, prices went up, so more joined the market, now supply is up, so prices are dropping. Next some will drop out of the market, supply will go down, prices will go up... Lather, rinse, repeat. That’s capitalism.
True, but it’s the farmers who were handed this deal by the govt, and Trump made a campaign promise which he is not breaking.
Even when it hurts, he sticks to his word.
A rare politician.
Senator Chuck Grassley holds a few important committee memberships and he’s showing willingness to pursue an investigation on the Russian connection to the Clintons under the blind eye of Obama.
He’s a good friend to have in the Senate.
It is totally bad policy, I worked on a telephone campaign to raise opposition to increasing the ethanol mandate to fifteen percent and I spoke to farmers, engine mechanics, automotive engineers, you name it. The only people who were in favor of the ethanol mandate were corn GROWERS.
Anyone who speaks in favor of ethanol is either a crook trying to fill his own pocket or ignorant of the true facts concerning ethanol in gasoline.
Corn prices will go up when there is a shortage of corn.
Right now there is so much corn we can burn it to fuel our homes and cars and still have too much
So Trump risks destroying people’s car engines so that Grassley will investigate Uranium One? Is that what you’re saying?
Too late. #DACA
3.45 Chicago today, but in Minnesota or Iowa $2.80
shipping cost
No politician has been able to get rid of the ethanol subsidy.
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