Mayor’s Row…….by Ned Mitchell
Thanks to the World Wide Web anyone of us with a computer can punch in any subject say for instance on the Google search site and research any subject one can possibly think of. With that in mind some time ago I had some curious thoughts while pushing the Craftsman lawn mower as to whether or not my lawn mower could run on ethanol. I found that someday in the not too distant future that will probably be a reality. However, it may cost more to do that than the gasoline that I now use. That threw up a huge waving red flag. American consumers by and large will not pay a dollar or two more per gallon for fuel just to say they burn ethanol. We have what is called the supply and demand law in a competitive business climate in this country. We Americans usually shop where we get the best bang for our buck and while we complain about the high price of fuel are we willing to pay even more?
Another huge problem I have with this burgeoning industry of the future is the willingness of the government to start throwing money at it. President Bush some time ago announced the creation of a program called the Advanced Energy Initiative that absolutely throws money at anything from ethanol to windmills. Not to be outdone our own reformer/unreformer Governor Rod Blagojevich just last week announced a $1.2 billion dollar program to build plants that will make ethanol from corn, biodiesel from soybeans, and to convert coal into natural gas and diesel. This is the same guy who has robbed $13.5 million dollars from a trust fund that was set up to what, spur scientific studies to conserve energy. This money was promptly deposited into the General Fund of the state to pay delinquent bills. You would think we have an election coming up! The commercials are already up and running. On television here is the Governor complete in a plaid shirt in the middle of a corn field telling us what all he is doing to save us from those evil oil barons, even boasting that by 2017 Illinois residents will no longer rely on foreign oil for energy. Hogwash my friends and I say that for several reasons.
In a discussion with a large farmer from Jefferson County I discovered this farmer has a daughter who also farms in Indiana. She has just returned from Brazil on a fact finding mission with the Indiana Grain Board of which she is a member. They went down to study ethanol production in that country. Now mind you these are big grain farmers from the United States who stand to gain a lot from ethanol produced from corn. What they report to me is that ethanol cannot be made cost effectively from corn. The process should be good for farmers initially but if the fuel cannot be produced as cheap as gasoline from oil, then it will not work. Brazil uses sugar cane to produce their own ethanol and it is vastly cheaper to use that product. Secondly they report that to free the United States from foreign oil we could plant every available acre of ground up to and including your front yard and still not grow enough corn to do the job. So we have an opinion from a real grain farmer that this process will not be cost effective. This is not my opinion, as I know nothing about farming past my backyard garden.
That brings us around to the question why would a huge conglomerate like Archer Daniels Midland from Decatur need government cash to invest in this project if it was that good of a deal in the first place? Consider Bill Gates and Microsoft for instance. Gates and a partner founded that company in their garage without government subsidy. They had an idea, a concept, a gamble and the rest is history. My thoughts are that if ethanol and biodiesel are such grand ideas, why not let private investors carry the note? Anytime the government steps up and starts throwing tax money at an idea or concept, look out, we are about to be had! Investors are beginning to get skeptical in some corners of the financial marketplace about ethanol and its’ place in the world. What we are doing here is financing a risk for investors with tax money. If the idea fails, the tax payers will be picking up the tab instead of the investors.
One great thing about American ingenuity is the fact that we have all kinds of folks with all kinds of ideas to make our life better. Inventions abound at every turn, some succeed and some fail. We can and should learn a lesson from many failed ideas in socialist societies where the government tried to produce a product only to find out the populace would not buy the product. The populace makes the decision to buy what they want and how much they will pay for it. When the government tries to take the place of investor cash in most instances the tax payers are the ones who suffer. One Chicago newspaper columnist over the weekend quoted famous University of Texas football coach Darryl Royal and his famous words “Potential means you ain’t done it yet.”
Right now the United States has 100 ethanol plants in production making 4.8 billion gallons of fuel annually. There are another 38 new plants under construction, two of which are in Franklin County that will add another 2.6 billion gallons of fuel with a future 4 billion gallons in the planning stages right now. Economists are now saying there is a very real chance of over build to the point that too much ethanol will drive the cost down and ruin the concept. On top of all of that, if ethanol did suddenly take off what would keep major oil companies from dropping the price of gasoline by $2 per gallon just long enough to run the ethanol folks out of business? I say let private investors build the plants and produce the goods. As reporter Steve Chapman writes for the Chicago Tribune “asking the government to decide the best alternatives is like asking the government what products Home Depot should stock.” Would it not be better to let private investors create solutions to our energy problems? Let them fight it out and they will come up with a cost effective plan and consumers will ultimately make the choice.
The Du Quoin State Fair is in full swing by now and the biggest weekend of the event is coming up. No doubt this brings a lot of folks to the area and from what I have seen the fair grounds are in tip top shape for the festivities. Make plans to attend and enjoy what Southern Illinois has to offer. One word of caution though, parking at the Main Gate on Rt. 51 has doubled in cost to $10 per car this year. I hear the parking is cheaper in the lot to the south of the grounds but that is more inconvenient. If you are bringing 6 people to the fair $10 is a bargain, if you enter by yourself, it is pretty costly.
In sick bay around Sesser this week Brad Kirk is out of the hospital. Rosalie Bennett is home recovering from surgery and I believe Neva Sulser had surgery on Monday. Dorothy Dugger is in a Mt. Vernon hospital with heart problems. I hear that Cyril Smothers has been in a St. Louis hospital with after surgery complications. Farrell Page has some health issues that required hospitalization. Homer Pitts is home after recent surgery. Lucille Kirkpatrick continues to work on getting stronger at home. Gary “Bugs” Howell is in a Colorado hospital with heart complications suffered while driving a truck in that state. All of these folks and others from Sesser that I do not know about would appreciate a card or phone call from their friends and neighbors.
Work is rapidly continuing in Sesser as we finish up the water line replacement project on Callie Street and complete sidewalks on North Street. We appreciate your patience on these projects! If you need us give us a call at 625-3611 or 625-5322. You can write to us at P. O. Box 517 Sesser, Illinois 62884 or nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org or drop by anytime for a visit. We want your thoughts and ideas about how to make Sesser a better place!
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