Moronic EPA Rejects Ethanol Waiver Request of Texas Governor Rick Perry

As Texas Governor Rick Perry said in response to the idiotic decision by the EPA to refuse an ethanol waiver, "Congress specifically created an emergency waiver provision for situations like these and EPA refuses to implement it."

In the latter part of April, Perry asked the EPA for a 50 percent waiver on the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which artificially forces about 9 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol to be added to U.S. gasoline supplies on a yearly basis. Next year it'll rise to 11.1 billion gallons.

It's caused huge food problems around the world, and has significantly impacted the price of food in the U.S., as prices continue to rise.

According to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, the agency denied the waiver because it did not find it caused "severe economic harm."

I wonder if he knows how stupid that sounds? He's basically acknowledging it's causing harm, but as long it's not "severe," it's ok. Screwball!

The only recognition that it's causing higher prices was that it has in the EPA's terms it is only adding 7 cents to each bushel of corn.

While that could be disputed, even if it's true, you add that to the number of bushels sold and it's significant. But that's far from the whole story, and Johnson and the EPA know it. There are huge residual effects not talked about, like the cost of feed and seed, which adds to the price of various meats. Even more significantly, the increasing use of acreage for corn is causing less acreage to grow other crops, which is also raising their prices.

The cost of ethanol is huge, and largely not worth the effort. It's already seen as a disaster in the making, and the usual good intentions of government interference in the free market is again rearing its ugly head, as people pay the price of lawmakers' folly.

Texas Governor Rick Perry Seeks U.S. Ethanol Cutback Waiver

Calling the ethanol mandate of the federal government "misguided," Texas Governor Rick Perry solicited the government for a waiver on the renewable fuel standard. He's asking for it to be cut in half for Texas.

"We're diversifying our state's energy portfolio at a rapid rate, but this misguided mandate is significantly affecting Texans' family food bill," Perry said.

He added: "The artificial demand for grain-derived ethanol is devastating the livestock industry in Texas and needlessly creating a negative impact on our state's otherwise strong economy while driving up food prices around the world."

This is what almost always happens when the government enters into the marketplace. Think of the term "good intentions," and then add "unintended consequences."

These are already destroying lives of people across the world, and riots are ensuing and the government of Haiti has already fallen in response to the fallout.