Ethanol has as many different subsidies as it has negative side effects, and today we get word about two of those subsidies that are currently on life support.

First there’s the 45-cent-per-gallon credit for gas stations that buy ethanol to blend with their gasoline. That credit, in the face of expiration, was extended last month by Congress, but only for a year. Right after the election I predicted that ethanol subsidies would be an early test for the GOP’s professed interest in free markets. But I also reported an interesting twist: due to the ethanol mandate (different from the tax credit) it would seem that the tax credit isn’t really helping ethanol companies — it’s just subsidizing gasoline consumption.