Senate Votes To Kill Ethanol Subsidies

Outstanding news from The Hill

The Senate voted 73-27 Thursday to kill a major tax break that benefits the ethanol industry, handing a political win to a bipartisan group of lawmakers that call the incentive needless and expensive.

The vote also could have ramifications on future votes to reduce the deficit. Much of the GOP conference supported Feinstein’s bill even though it does not include another tax break to offset the elimination of the ethanol tax credit.

Thirty-three Republicans and 38 Democrats supported the measure along with both of the chamber’s Independents, who caucus with Democrats. Fourteen Republicans and 13 Democrats voted against it.

Can’t wait to see which idiot Republicans voted “nay”.

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12 Responses to “Senate Votes To Kill Ethanol Subsidies”

  1. Phineas says:

    Well that’s a pleasant surprise.

    The link is malformed, btw. Too many “http”s

  2. D-Vega says:

    Mr. Teach, what’s going on with RWN today?

    Is it me or is the site all screwy?

    • Not sure, Vega. Something seriously wrong must have happened with the server. Admin panel is OK, but the actual link to the theme was hosed

  3. Hmm. Did it with my new Droid tablet and WP app, thought I had waked that extra http. Will fix.

  4. captainfish says:

    Hey Teach, just blame the extra automation. It seems to be the reason for everything else failing. Well, that and Global WARMING!!

    I mean, OMG, it is now the hottest it has ever been all this year!!!!!

  5. Word says:

    ???”There’s some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers,” Obama said after being asked about a report that shows businesses were spending 2 percent more on employees since the recession officially ended, but 26 percent more on equipment .????

    And herein lies the major problem the progressives have failed to take into account in their march towards Fascist Marxism which is steeped in “WE LOVE AMERICA” based upon their definition of what is Love and what is patriotic.

    That problem has always been that this administration is proving to American businesses that they can do MORE with LESS. They dont need 22 kids working at McDonalds. They can get by with 15 HARDER WORKING adults who NEED a job.

    The American businesses have learned that innovation that requires a capital expenditure but replaces several individuals each of which requires 15000 dollars a year in health care, along with a 50k salary can be replaced by a 250,000 dollar piece of equiptment.

    In their march to Fascism they have failed, as has every government everywhere, EVER, to realize that fascism, communism, marxism, socialism are all failed experiments in CONTROLLING a human population that wants inheritantly to be FREE.

    The left accuses the Right of being Authoritarians because the right believes in law and order. And we do. The left however takes authoritarianism to its extreme by demanding that the government rule every aspect of our lives via Fascist take over of business and private sector services because the all seeing, all benevolent government will be fair as opposed to those evil corporations who just want to make a profit on the backs of those poor workers making 50k a year and getting 25k a year in benefits.

    No where can this be seen more reliably in subsidies for ethanol which uses FOOD to keep the cost of gasoline down while allowing the prices of food to rise.

    Stand ready to see Gasoline prices to rise along with the continued rise in food prices because the system is now in the mode of understanding that you can just raise prices to make up for the 15-20 percent that are not purchasing and the other 80 percent that are will just have to spend more……and they will….to keep businesses in the black.

    And that is My Word of the day.

  6. captainfish says:

    that was one long word there WORD. Need to watch your syllables.

  7. david7134 says:

    There is something wrong here. This would actually make sense to eliminate ethanol. That means that someone is thinking logically in Washington, and that is impossible. There is a catch somewhere.

  8. gitarcarver says:

    This would actually make sense to eliminate ethanol.

    No one is eliminating ethanol. They are eliminating the subsidies for ethanol. The distinction is important because ethanol is now mandated as a component of gasoline, and a higher percentage of methanol in gas is coming down the pike.

    This means a captive marketplace. Because the ethanol is required, the ethanol manufacturers will be able to sell it at extremely high prices because the government has mandated that it be a part of gas.

    I can greatly understand the thrill at the end of the subsidies, but this doesn’t mean that ethanol will be competing in free market. People HAVE to buy ethanol as part of gasoline. If I am an ethanol producer, the elimination of the subsidies doesn’t bother me at all. If I was charging $4.00 a gallon and getting $4.00 a gallon in subsidies, I can now charge $20 a gallon. I am going to come out ahead on this because the government has taken away the price control, but is still mandating the use.

  9. captainfish says:

    Exactly right GC. For those who live in markets that still supply 100% gasoline, as I do, will now begin to see prices for ethanol blended gasoline increasing.

    Meanwhile, regular gas will either fight for the right price again, or see room to rise due to much higher ethanol prices.

    While I am much MUCH excited to hear the end to government subsidies going to a private industry being ended, if the House follows suit, I still am pissed that the federal gov’t believes using food as fuel is a good thing.

    End the mandates and end the blends.

  10. Rob in Katy says:

    Yes, but now you see where your money is going and can fight to get the blending stopped. it is like a VAT tax, you don’t see it when they raise the taxes, so you don’t get quite as pissed off. Now that you see how much you are really paying for ethanol, you will start bitching to your representatives and get that stopped, better yet, kill off the EPA.

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