Shoving It Down Our Throats

Two years ago when the Montana Legislature was in session I wrote very often about the stupidity of the ethanol mandate they were trying to put in and how if consumers wanted ethanol the market would support them and their would be no need for a mandate. As usual, nobody listened and they voted in an ethanol mandate. They did decide that we had to produce enough ethanol in the state to support the mandate before it kicked into effect which was a slight victory. To date there is still no ethanol plant in the state, they are still talking about one in Hardin but nothing has ever come of it and there is a proposal for one in the Northern part of the state but nothing has come of it yet either so there still is no mandate.<br />n<br />nNow this time around the Legislature wants to <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/03/25/news/state/40-bio.txt">mandate the use of biodiesel</a> in the state. Now I feel the same way about biodiesel mandate as I do about the ethanol mandate, it's wrong. Why can't the Legislature just let the consumer decide?<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Biodiesel flopped when it was introduced to the Billings retail market last summer.<br />n<br />nTown Pump offered biodiesel at its convenience store on 32nd Street West and King Avenue. The company discontinued sales by the end of the year because motorists wouldn't buy it.<br />n<br />n"Sales were very poor so we had to make a decision, and when it got close to winter, we decided that we needed to offer another kind of product," said Jim Kaneally, supply and distribution manager for Town Pump.<br />n<br />nKaneally said the Billings station initially introduced biodiesel at a price slightly higher than conventional diesel. "Eventually, we had to drop it to the same price, but it still wouldn't sell," Kaneally said. "We tried it in Great Falls and we had the same result."</blockquote><br />n<br />nOh, I see, the consumers aren't interested in biodiesel so the Legislature just decides the best solution is to SHOVE A MANDATE DOWN OUR DAMNED THROATS AND WE WILL LIKE IT OR BE DAMNED.<br />n<br />nThe Legislators again try to sugar coat this biodiesel proposal by saying the mandate won't go into effect until a certain number of gallons of biodiesel are produced in the state but that means nothing. Just like for ethanol Montana biodiesel will never be able to compete with the Midwest farmers and their capacity to grow crops. We are just to arid here and there are not the water sources for widespread irrigation to produce the necessary crops. <br />n<br />nWhat I find interesting about the ethanol and the biodiesel mandate, at least to my understanding, is that once there is enough of either product produced in the state to kick the mandate in, there is no saying the local fuel companies need to use the Montana product in their blends. Once the mandate kicks in the oil companies can buy cheaper products from the Midwest for their blends and leave the Montana plants high and dry. Real helpful to Montana producers this shoving down out throats a mandate is going to be, isn't it? The politicians sugar coating is awful sour when looked at in this light.<br />n<br />nI'm so tired of this shit, why can't they just let well enough alone instead of imposing their will on us. Biodiesel might be the next best thing to sliced bread but can't we as consumers decide that without the damned politicians and their lackeys shoving it down our throats? I guess not, us dumb consumers don't know what is good for us so we need to be told.<br />n<br />nBULLSHIT WE NEED TO BE TOLD!!!! LEAVE US ALONE! <br />n<br />n<strong>Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship. Patrick Henry </strong>