Quote:
Originally posted by scottmandue
I don't like subsidies but they are as likely to go away as taxes. Having said that I would rather subsidize American farmers the Arab sheiks.
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We're not subsidizing any mideastern country to any remarkable degree by buying oil. What we are doing is direct subsidies for corporate welfare queens such as Haliburton, Bectel, and others. None of which is necessary since we don't really care if the oil flows from the region or not. The countries that do care are Britain, France, Germany, the rest of europe, China, and India. Let them worry about the oil and pay to keep it flowing. The 7-8 percent of our oil supply that comes from the region would easily be made up from other sources, including sources from within American borders.
Someone mentioned Brazilian ethanol as a viable supply if it weren't for it being blocked by tariffs or worse. That may be true, but you still don't have a solution for the reduced BTU's provided by ethanol, in plain talk ethanol is significantly less fuel efficient than gasoline even if the cost to purchase were the same. IIRC, about 40% less efficient.
The costs of ethanol are extensively noted below.
Ethanol discussion:
http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sustain/msg0113331712037.html