We Need Windfall Profit Tax for Corn
By quill67 Posted in Energy — Comments (25) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Corn prices were an average of $1.97 in 2000. Today they hit $7.55. Corn prices have risen more than gasoline. Most corn is produced by corporations so who will stop these greedy corporations?
I think we need a windfall profit tax on corn. These producers didn't do anything to deserve these large profits and if we let them keep these large profits they will only want to produce more corn and make even larger profits. Corn is a major food-stuff that we all need. It is not right for corporations to make money on things that we need so we should reduce their profits by taxing corn producers.
We should also tax corn consumption so people will eat less of it.
This morning some schmuck was posting that oil company windfalls were somehow different from farm windfalls. I had a great smarta** response to him, but I was on a hotel WiFi connection that killed my posting. Your post is right in line with what I was saying there.
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Singing a catchy tune as he robbed the tax men.
"Aye aye aye aye aye
I am the frito bandito"
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
those Frito Bandito ads these days? No way.
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I actually had one of the erasers they're talking about in this ad...I remember using it on my pencils in 1st or 2nd grade.
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They have enough fun without our assistance. It seems to be the only thing they can do effectively.
Interesting circular thinking though, tax the corn, then hand the tax back over as "Farm aid" then tax the "Farm Aid" as income and then hand the tax back over as "Alternative Fuel Development Incentive" and then tax the "incentive" as income and then hand the tax back over as........
Meanwhile, these lowlife t/s legislators make more money the easy way, taking it from us.
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people."
A. Lincoln
If people think they can get politicians that rely getting their party's nomination by winning the first caucus in Iowa to tax corn, guess again.
Whether or not Obama or McCain wins, they are both members of the same 2-party system. Farm state congressman from states like Iowa and Wisconsin or Obama's home state of Illinois rely on support from their lobbyists and contributors.
If we want real reform, vote for a true conservative voice. Vote Bob Barr for President--the Libertarian candidate!
See more at BobBarr2008.com
Common Thread for the day?
All of your posts that I've seen today have been ads for Bob Barr and the Libertarian party.
Are they paying you for such a service? heh.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Except that one of the candidates expressed support for corn subsidies (Obama) while the other barely played in Iowa because he's been on record for years opposing them (McCain).
But the two candidates are totally the same. Vote for an insane person instead!!!
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Hmmm, taxation like that is not really a core conservative concept IMHO.
However, I am very angry about the influence of the corn lobby. Ethanol from corn is a complete boondoggle that barely (if at all) yields a net energy surplus. Ethanol from corn is hurting America by diverting resources from alternative energy sources that actually work.
I recently returned from a trip to Germany. We saw yellow fields of Canola (rapeseed) everywhere! They are producing 2 billion liters a year of biodiesel with this crop, which gives a 300 or 400 percent energy profit. Mind you, that is still only about 1 or 2 percent of Germany's oil consumption.
I also noticed that almost every house and barn had a solar panel on the roof. In 2008, Germany generated peak 842 megawatts of power from these.
There are very good reasons we don't grow canola in a mass-production style in America right now:
~ Canola has one of the most limited seeding windows of any viable crop - roughly 1-2 weeks in late September is about it, if a farmer seeks optimal yields
~ Harvesting is a big-time challenge, with "shattering" being a major issue - the only option is to windrow it, like you would hay
~ Canola seeds are tiny, and current equipment requires special attention, as every little nook and crevice in harvest and storage equipment needs to be sealed so that you don't experience leaking of the crop
~ Canola is a viable substitute for wheat in some areas, but in most areas where wheat yields above 55 bushels p/acre, canola is still under-priced
As for the general intent of this article, my sarcasm radar is a little off today, and I can't tell if the poster is serious about a corn tax. Could someone help me out here? I'm way too dense right now to catch intelligent irony, if that is indeed the intent.
I pulled one earlier, so here again, I answer my own stupid question. After re-reading quill's post, I'm taking it as a sarcastic commentary on the Democrat's proclivity to tax anything that turns a profit. I sure hope to God most people don't honestly believe that corn production is controlled by eeeeevil corporations. Nothing is further from the truth.
But, don't put it past Cargill, ADM, ConAgra and Bunge to try to make it so. If anyone cares, I'll expand on that frightening thought.
You and people who think I was sarcastic should see my updated post: We Need Windfall Profit Tax for Corn (Update)
I totally misread your screed then. As a bit of sarcasm, it's brilliant. Taken at face value as a serious proposition, it's a ridiculous pile of pooh.
Enthusiastically un-recommended.
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“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
I am a professor of economics among typical left-wing academics and I was just venting a bit. Also, I thought I was my sarcasm was too obvious but I have heard this "logic" so often that I guess it was too close to real. Sincere apologies.
In a culture where reducing the annual increase of spending for any program is considered a "cut," then simply yanking the ethanol subsidy would amount to a "tax" in the minds of some.
They're kind of like the government if you think about it: they produce nothing, they're liberal, they're for raising our taxes, they look down on middle-America, they're know-it-alls.
I think this could gain traction. We could call our movement "TAP," for "Tax All Pundits."
We can do this. Yes we can!
How about a windfall profits tax for Congressmen and Senators...they get annual pay increases in the neighborhood of 15% to 20%...and they get multi million dollar pension plans...and that AFTER they line their pockets by pushing through earmarks that benefit their businesses and real estate investments and leave to get cushy jobs with lobbyists!
"A political party cannot be all things to all men."--Ronald Wilson Reagan
If I find information about something my company is going to do, it is illegal for me to buy or sell based on that information until it is made public.
Congress isn't held to that same rule regarding its own internal legislation.
Personally, I have no problem with congressmen having investments... but if they are going to vote on something that directly affects any existing investment, they ought to be required to abstain.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Did you see the special on Fox about Hastert buying up property along a corridor that ran near his home and then sticking a multi million dollar earmark for a parkway that went...guess where?....right through the property he bought! Now he just happens to own property that has increased in value by a factor of 10!
And he's just the tip of the iceberg!
"A political party cannot be all things to all men."--Ronald Wilson Reagan
Yes I did.
That corruption is on BOTH sides of the aisle and I don't care what letter comes after their name.... if they've engaged in that, they ought to be tossed out on their [censored] as they aren't morally fit enough to be in charge of a lemonade stand.
If I work in a company and filter money away from the company to line my pockets or those of family/friends, they tend to throw me in prison where I become some bad man's boyfriend.
Yet, if they are in government, it is called "Politics"
Disgusting practice... one that should result in so much ranting by the voters that the government fears our reaction if they DON'T take these people to task.
Instead, we consider it 'politics' and expect nothing better from those who represent us in the greatest government on God's Green Earth.
These people don't have the moral backbone to be trusted with a bag of garbage. They do a disservice to this great country, no matter their voting record.
Scum.
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Dependence is Slavery.
If every one of us were to research and find each earmark their congressman has attached, and then research what the property is around it, what corporations benifit, and then see if the Congressman is tied into those corporations in ant way...and report on it. Not all of us could do it...but if enough RSers would do it, and the administrators would let us dedicate a page just for the purpose of exposing this garbage, it'd grow as RSers and non RSers join in and add their own reports!
"A political party cannot be all things to all men."--Ronald Wilson Reagan
would you like to show data that shows that actual spending on gas is down?
You've said that driving is down, but spending (since gas has jumped tremendously) must surely have overcome that decrease.
Now also found at The Minority Report
to feed the poor who now cannot afford to eat! Come on Democrats there money in them there fields....go get it!
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