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The Great Ethanol Scam
theodp writes "Over at BusinessWeek, Ed Wallace is creating quite a stir, reporting that not only is ethanol proving to be a dud as a fuel substitute, but there is increasing evidence that it is destroying engines in large numbers. Before lobbyists convince the government to increase the allowable amount of ethanol in fuel to 15%, Wallace suggests it's time to look at ethanol's effect on smog, fuel efficiency, global warming emissions, and food prices. Wallace concedes there will be some winners if the government moves the ethanol mandate to 15% — auto mechanics, for whom he says it will be the dawn of a new golden age."
And that half happens to be the 51% that are being paid for by the 49%.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
So don't blame governments as such for the failings of the American government. Canadian governments, for all their astonishing failures, still manage to deliver health care more cheaply and effectively than the American government does (and yes, I mean the government: the US government pays more public dollars per capita than all levels of government in Canada do, and we get better outcomes as measured by longevity, infant mortality and morbidity than you do.)
Unfortunately, once you control for race, most of those Canadian advantages disappear into thin air. The US has a more diverse population which negatively impacts the statistics the Oh Canada chest thumpers like to trumpet (read: more Latinos and Blacks, who have worse expected health outcomes vis-a-vis life expectancy and infant mortality).
The US also has 10x the population of Canada, and what works well for some provincial backwater some 33 million people will not work for a country with a much larger, much more diverse population.
"It was because of government that Microsoft got it's monopoly."
Can I have some of what you are smoking?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.