Thoughts from
San Diego on Law, Politics, and Culture

 
Oink! Oink! Oink!
By Tom Smith

If you've ever been to an old-fashioned state fair (such as the Southern Idaho State Fair I went to as a kid) and observed a huge, prize-winning sow suckling her greedy little piglets, you have an idea what the new energy bill is like. Impressive, yet disgusting. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports many pure pork giveaways in the bill, including $8.5 billion over the next 5 years which we consumers will have to pay to buy ethanol, that silly, stinky gas additive that Congress says we have to use, and which makes farmers, fat-cat agribusiness and Senators from farm states so happy. I despise ethanol. I had to sit through endless meetings when I was at the Council of Economic Advisers listening to Boyden Gray, Bush Sr. crony, Bonesman, tobacco heir and general gentleman blow-hard wax ecstatic about the virtues of pouring corn juice into our gas tanks. Could it have anything to do with his family's vast agricultural holdings? Perish the thought. But old money Republicans aren't the only conspirators in this rip off. You have big agri-businesses, such as the repellant Archer-Daniels-Midlands "business," which is no more than a (sometimes) legally operated rent-seeking scam, and farm state agri-business flunkies such as Tom Daschel, joining forces on this piece of economic folly and political mendacity. Shame on Republicans for betraying the free market and on Democrats for adding pointless expense to consumer products poor people spend more of their income on than anybody else.

Other risable expenditures include a giant new aquarium for that great sea-faring state, that star of the ocean, Iowa. For environmentalists who couldn't find ANWAR on a map, and would never go there anyway since it's not accessible by Lexus SUV, there's a ban on drilling for oil in northern Alaska. But oil companies aren't too upset. They are benefiting, along with coal and nuclear power companies, from $23 billion in tax giveaways. And Ted Stevens from snowy Alaska has secured $18 billion in financing for a pipeline that would be cheaper to put in through Canada. $350 million for stupid "green energy" projects rounds out the bill, including energy subsidies to a mall which includes a Hooters. I really don't think men need federal subsidies to be induced to look at busty women in tight T-shirts. The internet proves that.
posted by thomas at 11/18/2003 09:35:00 AM