Last month, with Washington mired in the debt ceiling battle and facing a potential default, public disapproval of Congress reached a record 82 percent. That figure might have been a little lower had Congress succeeded in solving another long-festering issue: putting an end to the massive subsidies being given to the corn ethanol scam. Alas, it was not to be.

In early July, it appeared that a bipartisan group of senators had come up with a plan to end the 45-cents-per-gallon subsidy almost immediately rather than wait for it to expire, as planned, on Dec. 31.

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