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 ...
The entire ethanol industry is a product of government coercion. Without subsidies, it ceases to exist. And Trump is a businessman who has proudly owned buying political influence as "a cost of doing business," and has many convinced that he can't be bought.
Realpolitik that!
Then why does it have to be subsidized?
"I know the easy thing would be to come to Iowa and say I'm for subsidies. But, I think you want someone who will do what they say, and not just say what you want to hear. And I say let the market decide what the farmer grows. Big government doesn't need to be in the family farm. Heck -- that's what I'm campaigning against -- our government is big enough and intrudes enough already!" He got a good round of applause.
BUMP
Thank you for the balance and insight.
WRONG. It is a critical issue symptomatic of fundamental government coercion of markets and industries, yay or nay.
Trump apparently says yay.
Cruz says nay.
I'll go with Cruz, and any who go with Trump are going for business-government "partnership" cronyism whether they recognize it or not. Ethanol and the subsidies it requires "to be worth it" to corn farmers, as Cruz said, is very far from a "throw-away" issue, it is a fundamental Constitutional issue and Trump would sail on leftward on the wrong course.
Cruz would tack right.
:^)
: )
Because the US subsidizes all forms of energy. The US economy is and historically has been subsidized by cheap energy.
As for this ethanol, Obama is not meeting the mandates that Congress put in place with the legislation(2007), so you need to be praising Obama for this.
Stealing taxpayer dollars to fund any private entity is emblematic of big bad government.
Why does everyone assume the makeup of Congress will be the same after this election?
All 435 Congress Critters and 34 Senators are up for re-election as well. Think of that for a moment while in this primary debate. Most states qualifying deadlines for Congress are not until early summer as is Florida. Their State primaries are not until August. With the current wave of aniestablishmentarianism sweeping this land, is it unthinkable at all that business as usual will be the template of the future?
Trump is already talking about sweeping them all through the SEC and two weeks later Florida (March 15). Would it not be logical for him to pivot and start his own campaign for a Congress that will work with him?
This is an genuine weakness in Trump’s armor, although I still favor him over Cruz.
No subsidies for anything, not healthcare, ethanol, clean energy. Long live oil and coal! That’s not trump bashing, that’s conservative free market principles.
Hi.
Whom do you support for POTUS now?
“Something else I’m noticing, the MSM is promoting Trump...”
Sorry, but that’s an overreach.
Trump is humiliating the media. Recent examples:
~ ~ ~
Trump and Islamic No-Go Zones in England
Five police officers claim Donald Trump is RIGHT about parts of London being so radicalised
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3370457/posts
~ ~ ~
TRUMP WAS RIGHT: Former FBI Agent Drops Bombshell About the Vast Majority of Mosques
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3368811/posts
~ ~ ~
Donald Trump claims more British Muslims join Isil than the armed forces
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3371354/posts
~ ~ ~
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. He is decimating what shreds of credibility the dinosaur media has left.
Most pointedly — the muslim immigrant ban. They look like absolute idiots and need to weather out this storm. He is the thousand pound gorilla out of the cage.
The last thing Trump should want is a fight with Cruz, especially in a debate setting. Cruz will chew him up and spit him out, all with a wry smile on his face.
“But if you say you’re defending Cruz against Trump, you’re with the media.”
Huh? Stanne, please back up your claim that Cold Heat is ‘with the media’. Maybe run an advanced search on ‘Cold Heat’ with the FR as the domain name. Find where Cold Heat marches in lockstep with the media, and come back to us on those results.
And even if he is ‘with’ the media, I’d be glad to know that some media guys read here in this forum.
“It seems to me you only criticize Trump.
That is not in my mind, a positive contribution.”
The fact Trump’s worshippers are in large number here doesn’t make FR his own personal campaign site. If vetting of the frontrunner offends you, move on and go to another, more pro-Trump thread, then.
“Vetting used to be the standard and by-word at FR.”
That’s the main reason I come here. We need to learn the truth. If you suspect any polician, judge, lobbyist, etc —I agree WHOLE-HEARTEDLY — data-mine him or her and kick the tires hard.
BTW, the reason I begin to favor Trump is that he is doing the same with Islam — he datamines them, kicks the tires hard, and learns the ugly truth about the overall muslim mindset.
You and I both know that when someone researches something so vigorously, it is hard to ‘switch it off’ — your brain gets hard wired to the truth.
Looking at Trump as a human being, I strongly believe that he has the media’s number now. He knows who the B.S. artists are, not only in the media but in the Ruling Class Beltway.
Hi.
Ted Cruz.
“The last thing Trump should want is a fight with Cruz, especially in a debate setting. Cruz will chew him up and spit him out, all with a wry smile on his face.”
Yes, Cruz is a legendary debator. But debating skill does not really impress me that much. I’m not looking for a prime minister who can handle a rowdy House of Commons —
I’m looking for a Chief Executive who shakes up our corrupt State Department, who knows how to made expensive budgets more efficient, who can actually build a wall along the Mexican border, who can rebuild our military without throwing money at corrupt contractors, and who can more effectively negotiate trade deals.
If Cruz wins, I hope he puts Trump on his speed-dial.
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