An important story was missed by the media as they fulminated against John Boehner and the House Republicans. After thirty years of pouring money down the bio fuels rat hole the ethanol subsidies have been allowed to expire. The subsidies cost the taxpayers $6 billion annually. Also the tariff on Brazilian ethanol was ended. The bio fuel subsidies have attracted a host of congressional enemies from Senator Tom Coburn to Senator Dianne Feinstein. Critics also have included environmentalists, frozen food producers, ranchers and others. The ethanol mandates which were renewed 2007 dictate increased use of ethanol in gasoline blends despite warnings from the auto industry that increasing the ratio of ethanol to gasoline might damage engines. The synfuels industry may now boast that it receives no taxpayer dollars while it benefits from increasing mandated demand. It's ironic that on the eve of the event that made ethanol subsidies politically viable, namely the Iowa caucuses, that this bold new idea would meet its demise.
To call the program a failure is to gainsay its many true accomplishments. It for instance, launched the presidential campaign of Al Gore when he endorsed the idea just prior to the Iowa caucuses in 2000. It provided former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschele with a chauffeur driven limousine to do the public's business in the so called private sector and enriched former Speaker Newt Gingrich by some $60,000 when he worked as a consultant to a lobbyist- not a lobbyist to a consultant as he quick to point out. The careful blending of corn ethanol and tax dollars provided the intellectual justification for government's investments in other daring and bold ventures such as Solyndra. Lastly, by driving up food prices it gave the one percent a much needed leg up, albeit as usual, it was at the expense of the ninety-nine.
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