Posted on 12/11/2015 11:57:00 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Donald Trump attacked Ted Cruz for not supporting ethanol subsidies. He said in Iowa on Friday, "Oil companies give him a lot of money, so he's for oil."
The thing about oil and gas is, it doesn't require big subsidies, because it's the cheapest and most efficient form of fuel for cars. Ethanol, on the other hand, does require big government subsidies, because it is highly uneconomical. Ethanol is much more expensive than oil and gas and, gallon for gallon, produces much less energy than gasoline. That's why the government has to hand over billions in subsidies to big agri-businesses to keep it going. And that's also why the government has to force oil companies to blend ethanol in with their fuels. Because without government coercion, oil companies wouldn't do it, and the price of gasoline would be substantially lower than it is now.
Additionally, ethanol actually acts as a corrosive on car engines. It slowly degrades car parts over time.
But the worst thing about ethanol is that not only does it require taxpayer subsidies, and not only does it raise the price of blended gas, but it also raises the price of many different kinds of foods. Ethanol is made with corn - a lot of it. And when a lot of corn production is diverted to ethanol, there is less corn available to use for food. Corn is heavily used as a sweetener in many food products. By raising the price of corn, the price of many different kinds of foods are raised.
That is what subsidizing ethanol gives us. That is what Donald Trump is for and Ted Cruz is against. Ted Cruz is starting to lead in some Iowa polls, and he's doing it without this kind of pandering...
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Yeah, I was talking about the store. We get corn at that price up here as well. Of course, I’ve never actually eaten a dozen.
I think Donald Trump outrages the presstitutes payrolled by the investors in the media. They cannot imagine a presidential candidate not cowtowing to their importance or liberal platitudes.
The Donald LOVES America, Americans and our Flag. The presstitutes do not.
There’s a new problem —
Trump hits Scalia over comments on black students
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3372041/posts
“Scalia was essentially paraphrasing Thomas Sowell’s well-researched and apt argument.” — 9YearLurker
I'm just telling you "how the game is played" and WHY Conservatives and certain candidates are either struggling or losing ground.
Call me a liberal, or anything else, it doesn't change the reality of the situation.
Candidates win, regardless of their intentions, because they KNOW HOW to CONNECT to the voter and get the votes needed to WIN.
I was not the draught, that was the excuse.
The price was not high enough to cover the feed lot costs, (pre slaughter fatten up).
The wholesalers had to curtail operations until the price came up which caused a ripple effect all the way to the producers who cut their stocks back. They had to... The feed lots would not buy them.
Within two years, prices elevated due to lack of supply to what you see today.
The same is true for poultry. But they blamed that on a virus....
So lets take a look a pork....
OH! what a surprise! Another virus!
This is what occurs when government gets it’s grimy hands into the markets...In these cases it was corn prices.
Over the following years they have made adjustments, but the prices will never go back down except for the occasional over supply and even those are better controlled now....so no...prices are not going back to what was a 50 year normal until production costs return to normal and that’s not gonna happen.
You also have horses and other domestic animals suffering because the owners can’t afford to feed them the supplements they need because hays generally don’t provide enough nutrients, and those that do are in short supply.
It all started with corn prices, was aggravated again by the recession and now it’s made adjustments in terms of numbers, and newly created diets that don’t have corn.
I don’t know if you remember, but this effect went global. There were people who could not afford the luxury of their normal corn based diets. There were some riots, much hand wringing... The reason was that the mandated to use X amount of corn for ethanol had kicked in and this left a export shortage.
The moral of the story is:
Other than it’s normal and expected regulatory interferences intended to make markets better, the government has no business creating markets and that is what they did when they created the market for ethanol.
It’s a fake, government created market with no apparent positive effect. in fact, all of the effects have been negative.
It is what it is.....It’s always been 5% water.
BS! I always run my tanks full, it's a thing with me. I have never run them low.
Except they did. To about 50%
Also, it appears the subsidies are gone.
Hmmm...
Those who would like to avoid looking uniformed should look up the ASTM standard for fuel ethanol.
Five percent is the azeotrope for ethanol distillation. Fuel ethanol adds a molecular sieve process to remove the moisture not removable by distillation.
Fuel systems in these small engines use a lot of manmade materials, like tubing and yes, gaskets, filters, and even the carburetor floats.
All of these things are subject to degradation in the presence of alchohol. It makes them stiff as a board, and without the flexibility the vibrations take their toll, causing fuel leaks, blockages, stuck floats, and the debris fouls the rest of it.
It has nothing to do with pistons or head gaskets..
They have moderated a bit due to more production. But that left open Obamas next move which he has already done and that is to raise the ethanol percentages.
So get ready for another round, if they cannot adjust production to accommodate it.
I’m curious, are you contorting yourself into a pretzel in order to support Trump, or do you really believe ethanol is a good thing?
We don’t sell a lot of fuel pumps, but don’t buy the cheap ones...they’re junk.
Mostly we see brakes, hub assemblies and suspension/steering components...CV axles as complaints. Has nothing to do with the fuel.
Without the subsidies, ethanol in fuel will either prove to be viable or it won’t. It may have some value as a cheap octane-rating additive.
You can still get a loaf of bread for about 65 cents...
Food prices in the horn of plenty (US) have held up well under normal inflation.
But not any more.
I have noted numerous products rising....like rice for example.
The reason is that the supply is down due to production decreases largely attributed to a switch to corn.
I wonder why?
[sarc]
No, the subsidies are still there. They are spread out far and wide.
BTW, several ethanol plants belly up every year in spite of it, usually built with government loans. the private sector funding has rejected them.
The biggest subsidy, apparently it escapes you, is the mandate to put ethanol in all of our gas. Talk about price supports! LOL
Not really. It only affects rubber.
It makes them stiff as a board, and without the flexibility the vibrations take their toll, causing fuel leaks, blockages, stuck floats
Except that's not what is happening.
the debris fouls the rest of it.
That's because you leave fuel in the tank and carb bowl.
It has nothing to do with pistons or head gaskets.
Well, pistons, cylinder walls, valves, or the rod and crank are parts of the engine that must fail before the engine is "ruined". That just isn't happening, or I wouldn't have old small engines.
You must be leaving the small engine tanks full then too.
Other than converting to electronic ignition, and the occasional starter rope, I've bought no small engine parts for years, just the occasional tweak or filter.
Generally, fuel pumps for American cars are sold by the dealerships...
I run GM cars...none of them are late model....the newest is a 2003.
I will not buy a front wheel drive car again for the reasons you stated....CV joints....put several in the junkyard..back in the day..
Not at all. And...I'm not the one contorting myself. There are real good arguments against gasahol, but you're not making them. Most of what you say is mythology.
or do you really believe ethanol is a good thing?
No, it's a government mandate. If the subsidy is truly gone, and it winds up making gasahol less expensive compared to regular unleaded...the choice should be up to the consumer.
People have been adding dry-gas (ethanol) to their fuel forever, it helps mobilize any water in the system, and isopropal will actually melt ice in your fuel line.
I AM NOT A FRIGGIN IDIOT!
I drain the tanks, and if possible run the fuel out of the carbs before setting them up for the winter...
The chain saws I use all year...I own a lot of heavily wooded property. BTW, you cannot empty the bowl in a chainsaw without partial disassembly. It’s not a issue with me as I am always needing them. And I am always buying new ones...
I have yet to actually wear one out. The fuel lines generally rupture first....If you look up into the old lines, you will see that they inner liners are degraded.
Those liners were developed for ethanol fuels...They are not working..
Corn prices have gone back down.
Buy rice futures.
There are vast differences between alcohols and how they are used and processed.
Ethanol was never meant to be in a gas tank mixed with gas in a gasoline engine of any kind. It was meant to be in a alcohol engine.
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