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Jobs that make more jobs are only created by innovation. Jobs that only destroy future jobs are best called welfare - jobs that are not productive.

Fools prove productivity by profits. Realists use numbers based in the product. For example, Intel knew they were in trouble even though profits were high. Because the product was falling below Moore's law. So Intel took a major risk - that therefore accomplished a major breakthrough.

Same concept applies to energy. In particular, EROI (energy return on investment). The oil industry once had numbers around 40. Forty units of energy produced by consuming one unit. Hydropower still does 40. Wind is 20. Natural gas is 7. Nuclear is 5. EROI is the energy industry's equivalent to Moore's law.

Due to a severe shortage of good (sweet) oil, today's oil only gets 16. We have burned the good stuff so excessively (ie of $35 of gasoline; only $4 moves the car; rest wasted as heat and noise) that only crappy energy is left.

This oil shortage made possible innovation from Brazil - sugarcane ethanol. Its EROI is 9. Studies suggest that a modern society can only exist when EROI is somewhere above between 5 to 9.

Tar sands from Alberta do 6. But the worst energy source, without doubt, is ethanol from corn. Somewhere between 1 and 1.4. Nothing else is lower.

Environmentalists using facts would not waste energy attacking Alberta tar sands and a pipeline to the Gulf coast. Instead, they would vigorously campaign against a disaster, created by liars: American ethanol. Informed consumers would demand that American corn ethanol lose all massive and unjustified subsidies. And remove a 50 cent gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol.

The naive created welfare (corn ethanol laws) based in stupidity. Even using lies about jobs to enrich the wrong people at expense of the American consumer and economy. American ethanol only destroys American jobs.

Again, an EROI number must be somewhere above 5 to 9. American corn ethanol, at best, only does 1.4. Numbers define a technology that we pay taxes to subsidize. American corn ethanol could never exist in any free market. Because its EROI is 500% to 800% too low.

Does corn ethanol make sense? Nobody knows without hard numbers. EROI a hard number that defines the product; is not invented by special interests.

Ethanol from corn never made sense. Cannot exist without welfare. And is protected by wackos in Congress who also said we want American to fail. If they really wanted to cut spending, then eliminate subsidizes to corn ethanol. And eliminate tariffs that only exist to enrich unproductive special interests. Only then do free markets work properly.

Enriched special interests would either have to innovate. Or go bankrupt. Welfare protects them from doing either.