Congress passed a new energy bill that would require automakers to increase the fuel economy of their vehicles by 40% to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

Included in the bill are stipulations requiring a six-fold increase in ethanol use to 36 Billion gallons annually by 2022. Other requirements include new energy efficiency standards for appliances, lighting and government buildings. Some things excluded from the final bill related to rollbacks of over $13 Billion in tax breaks for oil companies.

Working in the restaurant and grocery sector I can attest to the damage that ethanol subsidies are doing to the middle and lower income households in America. Food costs are up across the board because corn is a foundation element of a lot of the food items you find in the supermarket. Most livestock is fed a corn-based diet, this also affects the price of dairy.

I think increasing government subsidization of corn for ethanol use is essentially an indirect tax on every American household that consumes corn based food items. The damage is most readily felt by the lowest income families who can’t afford to have their food budget continue to grow to become an outsize percentage of their household budget. This legislation almost guarantees that food prices will continue to soar through at least the 2022 deadline of the energy bill.

I am all for energy independence, but not when it means food prices rise at a 10%+ annual rate. Compound that with the rapid rise in fuel costs and you can quickly see how strapped for cash the American lower and middle class will be. I’d like to see an increase in nuclear, wind, solar, and hydro power rather than a solution that will cause financial hardship for millions. With a larger and cleaner energy supply, the mass use of electric cars could become reality.

[tags]ethanol, corn, farmers, subsidies, energy, food, fuel economy, mpg, shaun carter, congress[/tags]