Fred asks, "Pretty much everyone understands that ethanol from corn has been a horrible policy to promote and has caused more hunger and suffering through worldwide higher food prices. My question is: Why is Obama still supporting subsidies for ethanol?"In a word? Illinois. Obama is still the junior Senator from Illinois, which is second only to Iowa in corn production. And yeah, that would be the same Iowa that holds the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus where Obama's campaign rocketed into the lead.Much like Obama's previous support for liquefied coal, which would've helped hometown miners at great environmental cost, this is the sort of parochialism the Senate -- and the Iowa Caucus -- encourages. When ethanol is important to a state economy, it becomes magically important to politicians who want to win elections in that state. A recent New York Times article outlined some of Obama's resulting links to ethanol, though it occasionally got a bit absurd: Sen. Daschle may help ethanol lobbies, but he's talking to Obama about issues that actually interest him, like health care, not trying to convince him to push corn subsidies. ASSIGNMENT DESK: OBAMA AND ETHANOL.
Fred asks, "Pretty much everyone understands that ethanol from corn has been a horrible policy to promote and has caused more hunger and suffering through worldwide higher food prices. My question is: Why is Obama still supporting subsidies for ethanol?"In a word? Illinois. Obama is still the junior Senator from Illinois, which is second only to Iowa in corn production. And yeah, that would be the same Iowa that holds the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus where Obama's campaign rocketed into the lead.Much like Obama's previous support for liquefied coal, which would've helped hometown miners at great environmental cost, this is the sort of parochialism the Senate -- and the Iowa Caucus -- encourages. When ethanol is important to a state economy, it becomes magically important to politicians who want to win elections in that state. A recent New York Times article outlined some of Obama's resulting links to ethanol, though it occasionally got a bit absurd: Sen. Daschle may help ethanol lobbies, but he's talking to Obama about issues that actually interest him, like health care, not trying to convince him to push corn subsidies. 
