08/21/08 High Price Culprits

There is a trend going on right now that is hurting Americans from all walks of life. That trend is to hike up consumer prices while putting the blame on biofuels. I'm sure everyone has heard that higher food prices are due to ethanol production. In fact, that was the subject of a very heated debate in my house not too long ago. Most experts will agree though that high food prices can be attributed to several factors; not one of them being ethanol production. Number one would be record breaking oil prices, followed closely by natural disasters halting production, the nearly worthless U.S. dollar, and last but not least food company profiteering. Several of the major food companies, who have blamed biofuels for their price increases, have actually shown considerable net profit increases, some well over 50 percent. And let's not forget the true culprits in this ugly little story, the oil companies, who by the way are enjoying record profits. The greatest thing oil companies have done, outside of picking the average person's pockets, is to convince the world that they are the innocents in this game.