Because the government tells me I can choose no other person?

Having worked in the educational sector for almost a decade (still have friends in it), I can see your dilemma. I used to LOVE my educational benefits (and I'd still like them), but once I moved to the private sector I've been much happier with the pay. There is a lot more stress though.

Can you explain this a little further? I have run snowmobiles and lawnmowers for years with ethanol (in Michigan) and have had no adverse effects, or at least nothing on the scale you describe. The gas isn't "stored" in the engine - so it's not like the moisture should be making contact while not in use. When in use, as long as you run the engine for more than a couple minutes, it should heat up to a point where any moisture locked in the engine will boil off... Granted, there may be water pulled into the fuel, as you say - the vented tanks and all - but I don't understand how this affects an engine so much while not in use?

I voted... And I agree with the guy who didn't vote. So just use me as a proxy for what he said and all will be happy.

"Change" heh.

Sorry... Not the case (in the US). Pilots/Flight Attendants do get paid hourly, but only while the door is closed on the plane (plus per-diem). Pilots are limited to something like just over 1,000hours in a year because of all the extra time going to-from the airport and prepping for the flight... But none of the "extra" is paid time. So it's not exactly easy to put a $/hr figure on it.

And while, yes, you can be worried about the new pilot making less than the "people in the McDonalds", you also have to understand that there are two pilots up there, and one of them isn't new... The captain has many more hours under him... AND both of them still have to get checked out by (aka ride-with) other pilots before they continue on the path of becoming a ATP (commercial pilot). There are many people BEFORE getting to the airline they have to have sign off, THEN there are more people AT the airline that have to sign off on them.

Of course this is all dismissing the fact that a McDonalds working knows that by overcooking the fries he's not going to kill himself. I've always thought it was funny how quickly people forget that the pilots up front may not care about the passengers (I know I don't), I'm pretty sure ONE of the two of them up there want to make it home, for themselves... They're probably going to work extra hard on that part of the flight.

"Mexican agricultural economy with corn so cheap that the Mexicans couldn't afford to live by growing it."

a quick post to note that NOW is the time to grow corn... From reuters "...Corn prices hit a record at the Chicago Board of Trade in overnight screen trading on Friday at $8.25 per bushel in the July 2009 contract..."

Funny to me how bad nafta was when corn prices were to low. and now nafta is bad because corn prices are to high...