If I needed one more reason to oppose Mitt Romney's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, he gave it to me. "I support the subsidy of ethanol. I believe ethanol is an important part of our energy solution in this country," Romney told a gathering in Iowa. (link)
Romney has no principles. He can not really believe that. Almost everyone agrees that ethanol has been a failure. Corn for ethanol competing with corn for food has led to higher corn prices and this has led to hunger in the third world. The increase in corn production has led to an increase in pollutant run-offs which has created a large dead area in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It takes almost as much energy to produce a unit of ethanol energy as the energy produced. And, corn-based ethanol may be a greater contributor to global warming than oil. Corn-based ethanol is an inefficient source of fuel and would not exist without government subsidies and protectionism.
Even Al Gore has come out and admitted ethanol was a mistake and he has said the only reason he supported it as a senator and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination was to gain the support of Tennessee and Iowa farmers.
We should be eliminating all subsidy for agriculture. Most farm subsidies are welfare for rich Hollywood "farmers" and Wall Street "farmers" and large corporate agricultural interest. Subsidies distort the market place and should be ended. With the government borrowing forty cents of every dollar it spends, we must get serious about cutting unnecessary spending. Agricultural subsidies are not only unnecessary, they are counter productive. While all agricultural subsidies are bad, ethanol subsidy is just nuts! If one is not willing to cut ethanol subsidies, what are they willing to cut?
In many ways Republicans or no better than Democrats when it comes to pandering to their welfare constitutincy, they just have a different set of recipients of government handouts. I am looking for a candidate who will take a principled stand for less government and fiscal and economic sanity. Romney is not that candidate.
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I+applaud+you+for+noticing+that+subsidies+in+general+are+bad+for+world+agriculture.Whether+it+is+the+European+Union+fighting+Caribbean+countries+over+banana+subsidies+or%2C+as+in+this+case%2C+subsidies+for+ethanol%2C+the+upshot+is+that+the+practice+distorts+world+markets+and+leads+to+famine+especially+in+the+Third+World.%0D%0A%0D%0AHaving+said+that%2C+ethanol%2C+I+believe%2C+is+still+a+viable+option%2C+especially+in+the+poorer+countries+like+mine%2C+Zimbabwe.+However%2C+instead+of+growing+corn+for+ethanol%2C+Zimbabwe+has+gone+the+route+of+using+Jatropha+seeds+to+get+ethanol.+Jatropha+is+not+edible+and+is+used+mostly+as+hedge+in+Zimbabwe%27s+rural+areas%2C+in+the+farmlands+etc.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt+would+be+a+very+good+option+if+Mugabe+had+his+head+screwed+on+right%2C+but+as+happens+with+his+cheap+politicking%2C+a+multimillion-dollar+plant+built+by+the+Chinese+in+Zimbabwe+is+now+a+very+White+Elephant+and+the+Harare+City+Council%2C+which+got+some+more+millions+to+farm+the+plant+blinked+and+when+an+audit+was+done%2C+only+ONE+plant+was+found+at+one+of+their+numerous+Council+farms%21%21%21%21%0D%0A%0D%0AHopefully+someone+will+get+their+head+chopped+off+for+this+when+a+proper+revolution+finally+occurs+%28long+after+Mugabe+dies%2C+obviously+because+the+man+has+so+personalised+the+State+that+he+might+as+well+belike+Hitler%2C+to+whom)all(Third)Peich)civih+sdrvanps+swor`+pewrolal)de`ivy($0@!0A!``ppakaIe~=ltni%ioedgPmnen=AM2hDkDvrUosDmuXKi3CUk61PS4wtIuDHNziwwrF4hNNFuBU6DG%2FQRywsLmhHVL8Yi%2Bx2ZdNJiLNrl19ws53iTZExHoGuj72SdbCU96%2BCdwFwjFf637Kax2EqsEtW%2FdVl%2B1YYOsqNi3z
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