Cheap Beer No More

Germany is facing a national disaster. The price of beer will be increased. Not as a revenue scheme because of a Value Added Tax, but because more land is being used to grow crops for biofuels rather than the barley needed to make beer.

Supply and demand. The demand is increasing and the supply is decreasing. Price goes up. The only law you really need to know about business or economics. Supply and demand drives price.

And for what? The hybrid cars are more expensive and more eco-unfriendly. While buying less gas makes one think that overall cost may be lessened, it is only one of the many costs incurred in running a car.

The biggest reason hybrids cost more is because they don't last as long. They break down. And when they do, they have to be discarded, filling up old car graveyards at a faster clip.

When factoring in the cost of producing the vehicle, getting it to the dealer, your purchasing the thing and running it until the wheels fall off (or reselling it until it finally has the wheels fall off) and then disposing of the carcass, the price of a hybrid is greater than the cost of running a Hummer. This galls environmentalists no end.

We can't all ride motor scooters or even walk to where we need to be. We should be as efficient with our use of energy (nature's and our own) as we can be. Raising the price of beer seems an odd way to keep any country happy.