Schumer's Progress

Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, politicians can finally stop dancing around the issue of the ethanol tariff. Senator Schumer did exactly that on Sunday, calling, according to a report by the Associated Press, for a repeal of the 54-cent a gallon tax on imported ethanol. Mr. Schumer blames soaring demand for domestic ethanol for raising the price of corn used to feed cows, and for contributing to a 35% rise in the cost of milk in New York City. Or, to put it another way, the ethanol tariff turns out to be a dagger through the heart of the American consumer. "Reducing the pressure on the corn market is a quick, commonsense, way to bring down milk prices across the board without hurting our region's dairy farmers," the wire quoted Mr. Schumer as saying. It's a rare day when we find ourselves in agreement with Mr. Schumer, whose protectionist instinct has led these columns to refer to him as Smoot Schumer, but then again, it's a rare day when the senior senator from New York finds a tax he wants to repeal rather than increase. If Mr. Schumer can milk this issue and actually build a coalition in Washington to repeal the protectionist tariff, congratulations will be in order.