The Washington Post had a depressing piece this weekend on the ever-expanding influence of the sugar lobby, which has managed now to rope in influential Democrats from districts that have no sugar presence whatsoever.

The good news is that NAFTA will soon open the U.S. up to massive new imports of sugar. The bad news is that the federal government plans to spend $1-2 billion per year propping up a domestic sugar industry that’s become complacent, wasteful, and anachronistic after decades of being propped up by tariffs and price supports. Oh, and they plan to use all of that government-bought sugar to create a completely artificial, government-planned industry that wouldn’t otherwise exist–sugar-based ethanol.

Here’s a clue, gang: If an “alternative energy” source is so inefficient that it needs massive government subsidies to even exist, never mind thrive, it’s not a viable long-term source of energy.

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