SocraticGadfly: The corny Barack Obama

June 24, 2008

The corny Barack Obama

And no, we’re not talking bad jokes, we’re talking his love for ethanol.

Here, John McCain is doubly right. Get rid of the U.S. ethanol subsidy, and stop putting the surcharge of 54 cents a gallon on Brazilian sugar-produced ethanol. It’s not only a free trade issue, it’s an energy return issue. Corn-based ethanol at best breaks even on energy return for energy investment, while sugarcane ethanol is well into the positive side, as high as 8 to 1. The times credits corn-based ethanol at 2-1, but that’s using a narrow calculation of EROEI; in reality, it’s laughable.

On the free trade side, it’s arguably a tariff that’s illegal under World Trade Organization rules, too.

And, although Obama won’t take money from lobbyists, he’ll cozy up to ex-Senators of both parties who do, on this issue.
The corny Barack Obama

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