The Daily Caller reports that new presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty told Corn Belt Iowans Monday that ethanol subsidies must cease. The previous Minnesota governor’s “Time for Truth” strategy has pulled no stops, claiming that “bailouts, handouts and carve-outs” cannot co-exist with such a huge federal deficit. Intellectual Takeout explains that ethanol fuel supporters cling to the renewable fuel argument, but enough criticisms of ethanol are there to warrant exploration of whether there should be government subsidies for it in the first place.
America and corn
Growing corn remains an indelible stroke on the United States agrarian canvas. It is so essential that it has been sung about. “The Boy Who Would not How Corn” is a song that talks about it:
“Why do you come for me to wed?
Can’t even make your own corn grain.
Single I am and will remain;
A lazy man I won’t maintain.”
Business takes over
Corn is more than just something culture has brought to America now. It is something the automotive industry has been more interested in with ethanol as a renewable resource since fuel efficiency has become so significant. Political lobbies like the National Corn Growers Association have given ethanol fuel production its full support.
Pawlenty is just one of many that do not support the subsidy. He doesn’t think it is worth it. There have already been shortages in corn creating a price surge because grains have been used to produce alternative fuels to gasoline. Cheap grain is more valuable as food than fuel, argues Pawlenty. He helped Minnesota manage its fiscal challenges while reducing ethanol subsidies, and he believes he can do the same for the U.S.
“I’m here today to tell Iowans the truth about federal energy subsidies,” said Pawlenty during his presidential candidacy announcement. “(That includes) federal subsidies for ethanol… (They must) be phased out gradually. We need to do it fairly. But we need to do it.”
Fuel efficiency connection to ethanol
When comparing ethanol to traditional gasoline, it has 34 percent less energy potential per unit of volume, several scientists explain. As a result, ethanol only automobile engines use as much as 50 percent more fuel than a standard gas motor.
The failure to set up a solid connection between ethanol fuel and greater miles per gallon brings ethanol’s viability into question. It may not be possible to add ethanol fuel to the mix considering the idea that Keith Crain and others have that national MGP standards need to go up.
Citations
Auto News
autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110523/OEM01/305239986/1137
The Daily Caller
dailycaller.com/2011/05/23/pawlenty-announces-2012-run-under-banner-of-truth-tells-iowans-that-ethanol-subsidies-must-be-phased-out/
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel
Intellectual Takeout
intellectualtakeout.org/library/agriculture/ethanol-renewable-energy
National Corn Growers Association
ncga.com/
Tim Pawlenty
timpawlenty.com/
Tim Pawlenty, et al, on ethanol subsidies
youtube.com/watch?v=V5y6E2TQTw0
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