Could this be the end of the Great Corn Conspiracy

The Great Corn Conspiracy may just be foiled after all. Ethanol subsidies, a huge federal boondoggle and nothing more than corporate welfare, are now getting some heavy duty opposition in the form of The New York Times and the Washington Post.

These subsidies not only promote an inefficient source of energy, they also put increased demand on corn, driving up food prices.

Kill the Ethanol Monster!

Gore flips on ethanol subsidies

“It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for [U.S.] first-generation ethanol,” the former vice president declared at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank. “First-generation ethanol, I think, was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small,” he said. “It’s hard once such a program is put in place to deal with the lobbies that keep it going.”

Took him a while.

King Corn wants more and wants it now

The Great Corn Conspiracy continues unabated. The Corn Mafia wants an increase in the required ethanol content of gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent. "This is not a surprising request," says Bernard Weinstein, professor of economics at University of North Texas:

considering that the industry’s facilities are 20% idle and that several large ethanol refiners have recently filed for bankruptcy, despite a 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit and a high tariff to limit imports of sugar-based ethanol from Brazil and other countries.

Be concerned America, very concerned.

Force feeding corn to the economy

According to Commentary magazine, the Obama administration is attempting to raise the percentage of ethanol in mixed gasoline from 10 to 15 percent. Oh brother. Nevermind that it will further increase food prices by artificially increasing the demand on corn which is in, well, everything, it won't even accomplish the purposes it's designed to accomplish:

One of the plans being considered by the Obama administration is to raise the ethanol content of blended gasoline from 10% to 15%. Apparently, this is being done to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, decrease pollution, and stimulate the domestic economy. What’s unclear is precisely how this is supposed to work.

Read the rest here.