Media Finally Getting It: Ethanol Mandates a Dumb Idea

Published: February 28, 2008, 1:51 pm

Tags: 2008 presidential, biofuels, economy, environment, ethanol, wages amp amp prices, chris jansing, hillary clinton, jim cramer, mad money, cnbc, nbc nightly news, video

They're starting to get it. The media are figuring out government meddling in U.S. energy policy is taking a toll on the American economy. On February 20, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation reading, rose 0.4 percent in January, matching December's rise. Why? Increased food costs because corn is being used for ethanol. "Farmers are replacing wheat fields with corn to meet the demand for alternative fuel, but that means higher flour prices - and in one Pennsylvania pizza shop, more expensive pies," NBC News correspondent Chris Jansing said on the February 27 "NBC Nightly News." But the strongest correlation between the politics of alternative energy and the rise in inflation came from CNBC's Jim Cramer in a February 27 interview with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) on his show "Mad Money." "Senator, you mentioned inflation," an animated Cramer said. "Half of

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