Free Republic

Thanks to the ethanol mandate, more than 40 percent of the nation's corn crop now goes into the production of a useless fuel that hardly anyone would buy if the government didn't require it. That's up from just 17 percent in 2005, before the mandate went into effect. Only 36 percent of the corn crop now goes for feed, and 24 percent goes for food. Obama could solve this problem instantly by suspending the federal ethanol mandate -- something his EPA actually can do unilaterally and legally. Instead, Obama will buy up meat -- a move that meat producers say...

WASHINGTON — When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law. But there was none to be had. Outside a handful of laboratories and workshops, the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist. In 2012, the oil companies expect to pay even higher penalties for failing to blend in the fuel, which is made from wood chips or the inedible parts of plants like corncobs. Refiners were required...

There is a growing movement to end all federal subsidies for energy as the country’s national debt nears $15 trillion. One report released by a coalition of free-market analysts estimated there was $380 billion in government subsidies for energy in 2011. The Green Scissors 2011 report estimated that $53 billion was lost in oil and gas revenues from royalty-free leases in federal waters and another $6 billion a year in ethanol tax credits. Americans for Prosperity came to Michigan this Saturday as part of its Energy for America Tour. The tour continues Monday with stops in Portage at noon and...