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IWF expert says Bush's ethanol push shortsighted

An economic analyst says President Bush's energy plan to increase federal subsidies of alternative energy sources will "move the country in the wrong direction." The president and members of Congress, says the analyst, need to "stop pretending" they can "costlessly" lower fuel prices or reduce the country's reliance on foreign oil.



President Bush recently outlined his plan to reduce gasoline consumption in the U.S. by 20 percent in the next ten years. He hopes to do that by increasing the use of alternative fuels like ethanol. The president has also called on four government agencies to find a way to reduce tailpipe emissions by the end of next year.

Carrie Lukas, vice president for policy and economics at the Independent Women's Forum (IWF), says government should not be setting artificial regulations that are "designed to change the way America behaves."

"Unfortunately, ethanol just isn't the panacea that a lot of people like to think it is and politicians like to present it as," says Lukas. Not only are there real costs and consequences associated with the increased government push toward ethanol use, including higher food prices, she says, "but also ethanol has a lot of other bad environmental effects."

The IWF official urges all Americans to "be a little bit more cautious and recognize, again, that there's no quick fix to energy policy" -- and lawmakers to "take more of a long-term view and try to do what's best in the long run."

In Lukas' opinion, the president's energy plan is wrongheaded. "When I think about what's going to ultimately solve our energy problem, it's the fact that we have this dynamic economy," she offers, "and ... if somebody could come up with a wonderful source of [alternative] fuel, there would be a lot of money for them out there."

But the economic analyst does not see the federal government taking advantage of that innovative nature. "Unfortunately when the government pushes us towards this one alternative -- this idea of ethanol -- it can make it harder for other solutions to come to the market," she observes. "That's why I think the politicians need to be cautious and let the market do its job."

Lukas says many politicians in Washington seem to have a love affair with ethanol because corn growers "have a lot of clout" and most people like the idea of depending on something that's home-grown instead of oil imported from overseas.