Dr. Kling and NU Alumnus Publish Paper in Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Dr. James A. Kling, associate professor of supply chain management, and Alex Keller, a 2015 Niagara University alumnus, published Fighting For An End To Federal Ethanol Mandates May Be An Ideal Social Justice Cause For Students At U.S. Catholic Universities in Journal of Vincentian Social Action. 

Here is the abstract: 

"Many social justice issues such as the $15 minimum wage and ending fossil fuel use are “complicated” in the sense that valid arguments can be made to support or oppose them from the perspective of their impact on the poor. It would be ideal if social justice leaders at Catholic Universities could identify a practical issue that appeals to students and unambiguously aligns with helping the poor around the world. After reviewing the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, a case is made to end the ethanol mandates that create the 10% corn-based ethanol blended gasoline in the U.S. This U.S. policy was responsible for between 25% and 45% of the significant global increase in corn prices in the early part of this decade (Griffin, 2013). The policy has been a great example of corporate welfare and drives up food and energy costs which disproportionally impact the poor. Also, the environmental value of ethanol mandates is now almost universally doubted. The reader will learn how ethanol subsidies and mandates work in the U.S., their unintended consequences, and the political difficulties of fixing bad law when special interests and presidential races are involved. Finally, the authors lay out a series of specific actions and steps that could be taken by social justice minded groups to move this issue forward and successfully oppose the mandate’s renewal in the year 2022."