Ep. 341 Kill the Corn Tax: The Hidden Gas Tax Washington Won’t Touch

Jared Whitley joins Light Beer Dark Money to make the case for repealing the Renewable Fuel Standard — the 2005 Washington mandate that forces refiners to blend renewable fuels into America’s fuel supply or buy compliance credits.

What started as a promise to reduce foreign oil dependence and help the environment has become something much more familiar: a federal program that outlived its purpose, protected the politically connected, and quietly made life more expensive for the people who can least afford it. And, it actually hurts the environment. Jared argues the RFS is now a hidden tax at the pump, driving up fuel costs while Congress pretends it has no role in the pain Americans feel every time they fill up.

Sean and Jared break down how ethanol politics, Iowa caucus mythology, Renewable Identification Numbers, and Washington’s fear of touching farm-state sacred cows have kept the RFS alive long after America became an energy powerhouse. They also talk about why repealing the RFS would be a real, immediate pro-consumer move: no new bureaucracy, no new subsidy, no gimmick — just stop forcing Americans to pay more for gas.

The conversation also turns to the lost art of governing. Jared and Sean discuss how leaders like Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy could remain completely true to their principles while still finding ways to solve problems for the American people. That kind of serious legislating is rare today, but it should not be impossible.

Sean closes with a simple call to action: call your member of Congress and tell them it is time to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard.

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