President Trump – the guy who rails against evil socialists – has officially made a move to defend socialist policies.
Our knuckle-dragging president with a taste for fast food and spineless bureaucrats, recently announced his decision to lift the ban on summer sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline. Nevermind the fact the entire reason we use ethanol is based on a socialist measure known as the renewable fuels mandate, which requires that our gasoline is blended with ethanol.
It was approved by president Bush, continued under the Obama administration, and is now getting a handy in a truck stop bathroom on I-95.
The renewable fuels mandate is what we call an indirect subsidy. This is a non-monetary benefit offered to a certain industry to help it compete in a market where, without government intervention, could not compete effectively.
In the case of the renewable fuels standard, the government stepped in and forced producers and consumers to use ethanol. Consumers obviously don’t benefit, but the ethanol producers, or more specifically, the industrial corn growers, make out like bandits.
Why else do you think Trump is expected to announce the lifting of this ban tomorrow during his Iowa trip? You know, the state that grows a crap ton of industrial corn. Farm state senators love ethanol. It’s a fucking cash cow that exists because they made enough campaign contributions to keep this scam going.
The summer ban on ethanol was initially put in place as an anti-smog measure, because you know, corn-belt politicians are so concerned about the environment (insert sarcasm identifier here). But as it turns out, the environmental benefits are limited.
Of course, the reality is that the continued growth of industrial corn to support mandated ethanol blends represents a huge environmental burden. This kind of industrial agriculture destroys the soil, pollutes our waterways, and relies on massive amounts of very dangerous levels of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
Of course, being that Trump would have no problem treating the planet the same way he treats his sexual partners, I’m quite certain none of this matters. But in terms of being anti-socialist and pro-free market? Well, this is just one more case of our president being far more supportive of socialist policies than he is of embracing and defending honest free market principles.
Here’s more about why ethanol sucks …
