Contributors

Friday, March 28, 2014

A Nation of Takers

Nicholas Kristof is completely accurate in identifying the group of people who continually spoon off of the government. They are:

1. People who get subsidies for their private planes
2. People who get subsidies for their yachts
3. People who run hedge funds and and private equity groups
4. Banks
5. American Corporations.

Combined, these folks account for around $200 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money. And it's OK to cut SNAP money by $8 billion dollars? Really?

I hear quite a bit of mouth foaming over food stamps and nothing but crickets when it comes to the above list of welfare queens.

6 comments:

Nikto said...

The most direct comparison is the deduction that corporations get for meal and entertainment expenses for clients and business meetings.

The Republicans are just fine with taxpayers footing the bill for champagne, caviar and skyboxes at the Super Bowl, but soda crackers and milk for the poor are beyond the pale.

The first argument for these tax subsidies for corporations is that they're business expenses.

But why should we subsidize luxury accommodations for corporate sales guys? That's the government picking winners and losers. Shouldn't companies that skip all the expensive schmoozing and bribing of purchasing managers and other company officials be rewarded for their efficiency and honesty?

The second argument is that removing these subsidies would irreparably damage the airline, restaurant, yacht, and aircraft manufacturing industries.

But that's the government picking winners and losers again. Why is it better for the government to prop up luxury industries used by a tiny percentage of the population that contribute almost nothing to the economy overall? If the rich really need those luxury yachts and private jets, they can certainly afford to pay two or three times more for them.

Or, perhaps the price of those luxury goods would actually come down without the subsidies, because the excess profit is actually coming out of the pockets of American taxpayers.

GuardDuck said...

Do either of you itemize or use the standard personal deduction?

Do you also consider those to be a 'tax subsidy'?

Mark Ward said...

I do. But I don't bitch about poor people being lazy on food stamps and give wealthy people a pass. Why do you? And do you benefit from subsidies?

Unknown said...

They do it because both political parties allow them to, that includes the democrats that markadelphia and nikto vote for. If they wanted it changed they would have changed it by now. democrats pay lip service to the problem but must not have done a whole lot about it because you're both still complaining about it.

GuardDuck said...

I do. But I don't bitch about poor people being lazy on food stamps and give wealthy people a pass.


So you admit that you benefit from what you consider to be subsidies - and you don't claim to be poor - and then you bitch about people with more money than you also benefiting from what you consider subsidies.....

Gotcha. Then what you are really bitching about is nothing more than envy.... Glad we cleared that up.

Mark Ward said...

Yet another straw man and avoidance. Props for being consistent.