Economics: December 2007 Archives
This title is going to become one of my recurring themes, for sure. Ethanol is EVIL. It doesn't help reduce global warming, it isn't cheaper or more efficient than petrol, but worse, some (also pretty evil) PR people have somehow managed to convince everyone that its a weapon in our fight to reduce global warming. As a result, politicians in recent years have lined up to pump money into the (did I mention it's EVIL yet!?) Ethanol industry.
So, this is why economics matters. This is why economics should be a requirement in every high school, rather than an elective that some business majors take and then promptly work really hard to forget. A tiny, tiny bit of economics is all anyone needed to know in advance that these subsidies were Really Bad Things.
Food prices have risen 75% since 2005 (in inflation adjusted terms). This matters a LOT to poor families. And why? Ethanol subsidies.
From the Economist:
The bolded part is pretty amazing. And all the people everywhere patting themselves on the fucking back for how they're helping reduce global warming. The sad part about this is that aside from the Economist, I haven't seen a single mainstream media outlet run ONE FUCKING STORY about how useless Ethanol is, and how reckless and destructive ethanol subsidies are. Oh, sure, every once in a while a biochemist gets 30 seconds on CNN and mentions that Ethanol only really offers about a 1% fuel-efficiency savings over regular gasoline, but the interviewer is always quick to move on.
I'm a big fan of Greg Mankiw's Pigou Club, a huge opponent of agricultural subsidies (especially for EVIL PRODUCTS).
So, this is why economics matters. This is why economics should be a requirement in every high school, rather than an elective that some business majors take and then promptly work really hard to forget. A tiny, tiny bit of economics is all anyone needed to know in advance that these subsidies were Really Bad Things.
Food prices have risen 75% since 2005 (in inflation adjusted terms). This matters a LOT to poor families. And why? Ethanol subsidies.
From the Economist:
"But the rise in prices is also the self-inflicted result of America's reckless ethanol subsidies. This year biofuels will take a third of America's (record) maize harvest. That affects food markets directly: fill up an SUV's fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year. And it affects them indirectly, as farmers switch to maize from other crops. The 30m tonnes of extra maize going to ethanol this year amounts to half the fall in the world's overall grain stocks."
The bolded part is pretty amazing. And all the people everywhere patting themselves on the fucking back for how they're helping reduce global warming. The sad part about this is that aside from the Economist, I haven't seen a single mainstream media outlet run ONE FUCKING STORY about how useless Ethanol is, and how reckless and destructive ethanol subsidies are. Oh, sure, every once in a while a biochemist gets 30 seconds on CNN and mentions that Ethanol only really offers about a 1% fuel-efficiency savings over regular gasoline, but the interviewer is always quick to move on.
I'm a big fan of Greg Mankiw's Pigou Club, a huge opponent of agricultural subsidies (especially for EVIL PRODUCTS).
