The Ethanol Subsidy and How Biofuel Tax Incentives Work

The primary ethanol subsidy offered by the federal government is a tax incentive called the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004. It took effect in 2005. The ethanol subsidy, which is commonly referred to as the blenders credit, offers ethanol blenders registered with the Internal Revenue Service a tax credit of 45 cents for every gallon of pure ethanol they blend with gasoline. That particular ethanol subsidy cost taxpayers $5.7 billion in foregone revenues in 2011, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan congressional watchdog agency. Debate Over the Ethanol Subsidy Supporters of the federal ethanol subsidy argue that it encourages production and use of the biofuel and thereby reduces the amount of foreign oil needed to produce gasoline, a step toward energy independence. But critics argue that ethanol burns far less efficiently than gasoline, driving up fuel consumption and that it increases demand for corn for fuel and artificially boosts the cost of farm commodities and retail prices of food. They also say such an incentive is unnecessary because legislation enacted in 2007 requires oil companies to produce 36 billion gallons of biofuels such as ethanol by 2022. While born of good intentions, federal subsidies for ethanol have failed to achieve their intended goals of energy independence, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma and leading critic of the ethanol subsidy, said in 2011. The effort to Kill the Ethanol Subsidy Coburn led an effort to repeal the ethanol subsidy in June of 2011, saying it was a waste of taxpayer money - he said the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit cost $30.5 billion from 2005 through 2011 - because consumption remained only a small part of the countrys fuel use. His effort to repeal the ethanol subsidy failed in the Senate by a vote of 59 to 40. While Im disappointed my amendment did not pass, taxpayers should remember that when I offered an amendment to defund the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska in 2005 we lost that vote 82 to 15, Coburn said in a statement. Over time, however, the will of the people prevailed and Congress was forced to scale back this wasteful and corrupting practice. Today, the earmark favor factory is mostly closed. Only the tax division remains open. Im confident this debate, and many more ahead, will expose the tax code for what it is - an abomination that favors the well-connected over working families and small businesses. History of the Ethanol Subsidy The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit ethanol subsidy became law on Oct. 22, 2004, when President George W. Bush signed the American Jobs Creation Act into law. Included in that piece of legislation was the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. The initial bill gave ethanol blenders a tax credit of 51 cents for every gallon of ethanol they mixed with gasoline. Congress reduced the tax incentive by 6 cents per gallon as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, gasoline refiners and marketers are required to pay the full rate of tax, which is 18.4 cents per gallon on the total gasoline-ethanol mixture but can claim the 45 cents per gallon tax credit or refund for each gallon of ethanol used in the mixture. The ethanol subsidy benefits multibillion-dollar integrated oil companies such as BP, Exxon, and Chevron. The First Ethanol Subsidy The Energy Policy Act of 1978 was the first federal legislative ethanol subsidy. It allowed for a 40-cent tax exemption per gallon of ethanol, according to Purdue University.The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 increased the tax exemption to 50 cents per gallon of ethanol.The 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act extended the ethanol subsidy to 2000 but decreased the amount to 54 cents a gallon.The 1998 Transportation Efficiency Act of the 21st Century extended the ethanol subsidy through 2007 but reduced it to 51 cents per gallon by 2005.Bushs signature on the Jobs Creation Act changed the way the modern ethanol subsidy worked. Instead, it offered a straight tax credit to producers, the legislation allowed for the blenders credit. President Trump Protects the Ethanol Subsidy During his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump came out as one of the ethanol subsidy’s strongest supporters. Speaking in Iowa, where corn is king, on January 21, 2016, he said, â€Å"The EPA should ensure that biofuel . . . blend levels match the statutory level set by Congress,† adding that he was â€Å"was â€Å"there with you [farmers] 100 percent† on continuing federal subsidy for ethanol. â€Å"You’re going to get a really fair shake from me.† After Trump took office in January 2017, all seemed well with the ethanol subsidy until early October, when his own EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency was considering lowering the EPA-mandated subsidy payment level for ethanol â€Å"slightly† in 2018. The suggestion sent shockwaves through the Corn Belt and its Republican congressional protectors. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley accused Trump of a â€Å"bait and switch,† in reference to his empathic campaign promise. Grassley and Iowa’s other Republican senator, Joni Ernst, threatened to block all of Trump’s future EPA appointments. The governors of most Corn Belt states joined in sending Trump warning him than any cutback in the Renewable Fuel Standard program’s subsidies would be â€Å"highly disruptive, unprecedented and potentially catastrophic.† Faced with the potential loss of influence over some of his strongest congressional backers, Trump quickly told Pruitt to back off any future talk of cutting the ethanol subsidy. On July 5, 2018, Pruitt resigned amid multiple accusations of ethics violations involving his excessive and unauthorized personal use of government funds. He was replace within hours by EPA deputy director Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the coal industry.

Is Meursault Heroic in Albert Camus The Stranger Essay

Is Meursault Heroic in The Outsider? When Meursault is described to us in the early stages of The Outsider we see that he does not obey societys codes therefore is it fair for us to assess him using societies interpretation of heroic? If we are to judge him by them then we are given ample examples throughout the novel of his having no compassion or even of his thinking of the consequences of his actions, hardly heroic, but the converse is also demonstrated in many places. An example of the former is when Raymond asks Meursault to draft a letter to an Arab prostitute. Meursault knows what will result from his actions but seems unemotional and views the letter as being a†¦show more content†¦His unconventional train of thought and attitude is reflected not only in Meursaults unorthodox observations but also in the way the novel is composed. All of the sentences in the novel are short and in staccato rhythm. There are no connective conjunctions in any of Meursaults speeches, reflecting his simple, existentialist attitude to life. His philosophy is reflected in the way that he describes things; when he describes locations he gives precedence over people to material objects. This is illustrated in his description of the room in the mortuary where his mothers coffin is. He first notices the very bright room then the whitewashed walls and he then goes on to describe the furniture and eventually he reaches the coffin but before thinking about his mother he notices the row of shiny screws. This preoccupation with physical properties is repeated throughout the novel as we are always given a very extensive description of each person Meursault meets before he talks to them. This unconventional attitude is supported throughout the novel and portrays Meursualts difference from the other characters we meet. All of these quirks and eccentricities help us understand Meursaults character and we soon understand his thought process. When he meets the Arab thatShow MoreRelatedMiscommunication Causes Serious Consequences Leading to Alienation and Discrimination Within a Society1202 Words   |  5 PagesHowever, droplets alone, are fragile and vulnerable. In Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus The Stranger, the significant role of communication is portrayed through two extreme examples. Miscommunication causes serious consequences leading to alienation and discrimination within a society like the lonesome raindrops, aloof and out of the worlds reach. Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, encounters a dilemma different than the anti-hero, Gregor Samsa, from The Metamorphosis doesRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesThe Stranger was written by the French author Albert Camus, and was first published in 1942 in its indigenous French. It’s described as being the most widely-read French novel of the twentieth century, and has sold millions of copies in Britain and the United States alone. It’s known by two titles; the other being The Outsider. The backstory to this is very interesting but, more importantly, the subtle difference in meaning between titles suggests certain resultant translative idiosyncrasies whenRead More Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Meursault as Metaphysical Rebel1996 Words   |  8 PagesMeursault as Metaphysical Rebel in The Stranger (The Outsider)  Ã‚     Ã‚   The Stranger by Albert Camus was published in 1942. The setting of the novel is Algiers where Camus spent his youth in poverty. In many ways the main character, Meursault, is a typical Algerian youth. Like them, and like Camus himself, Meursault was in love with the sun and the sea. His life is devoted to appreciating physical sensations. He seems so devoid of emotion. Something in Meursaults character has appealed primarily

Thomas Hardy’s View on Time Free Essays

In hardy’s poems time is not constant or limited by a forward direction of time passing nor the vertical view of time. time is a landscape or location upon which we view the different vantage points and aspects of it, and consequently he has given locations the characteristics of time. The journey through locations is constant and forward moving but as in time you can access memories but revisiting them in your mind, or in hardy’s sense, by revisiting the location. We will write a custom essay sample on Thomas Hardy’s View on Time or any similar topic only for you Order Now ou are not locked in time as you are in reality, hardy rewinds time as he chooses and sees what he saw at any period in his life but only when at the location. This comes through in â€Å"after a journey† when hardy revisits a cave and the echo from his previous visit their still remained, as if no time had passed, â€Å"and the cave just under, with a voice still so hollow that it seems to call out to me from forty years ago† Hardy’s subconscious is so active that by revisiting a place, any memories from there reawaken and occupy the scene. In the first stanza of ‘where the picnic was’ we are in hardy’s memory at the early stages of assumedly Emma and hardy’s marriage, when the ‘fire’ was still young and strong in their relationship. Hardy is describing a place they went in the summer time. towards the end of the stanza we are indicated that there has been a change and time is allowed to show what is in front of him then juxtaposition is introduced and we are rapidly in this new, dull and derelict scene but the location has not changed. The time jump shows where hardy really is in his life journey. Reminding him that can although he can see all these different vantage points of a landscape there is always on true outcome the present giving time a personality and the ability to ridicule. This relates to â€Å"after a journey† where   Time is personified â€Å"despite Time’s derision† time is given a character that in a way as if to taunt Hardy for wanting so much to access old layers of time . Emphasising that time has the ultimate power and control and can not be completely defied How to cite Thomas Hardy’s View on Time, Essay examples