FACT:
CORPORATIONS GET TWICE THE AMOUNT WE SPEND ON "SOCIAL WELFARE", AND AN ACTUAL "ACT OF CONGRESS" GUARANTEES THEY ALWAYS WILL!
YES, VIRGINIA, CONGRESS PASSED AN ACT TO DOLE OUT YOUR TAXPAYER MONEY TO THE RICHEST COMPANIES ON EARTH, BILLIONS AT A TIME, EVERY YEAR! IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS, IT'S JUST IGNORANCE.
BUT KNOWLEDGE CURES IGNORANCE.
IT'S BLIND STUPIDITY THAT THERE IS NO CURE FOR.
SO, LET'S "WISE UP"!
THERE IS A WEBSITE YOU CAN GO TO THAT WILL SHOW YOU A LONG LIST OF AMERICAN CORPORATIONS WHO ARE MILKING AMERICAN TAXPAYERS LIKE COWS.
SUBSIDY TRACKER
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/subsidy-tracker
HOW MANY SUBSIDIES HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO CORPORATIONS?
441,000 (277,000 state/local; 164,000 federal)
HOW MANY SUBSIDY PROGRAMS ARE SET UP TO GIVE AWAY TAX COLLECTIONS TO BIG COMPANIES?
704 (567 state/local; 137 federal)
HOW MANY PARENT COMPANIES ARE GETTING THE "WELFARE LOOT"?
1,833
SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
A group of 582 large companies account for 67% of the $68 billion total."
ENERGY COMPANIES, OF COURSE!
THEY'RE ALSO SOME OF THE BIGGEST CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS, TOO, ARE THEY NOT?
WHO CAN ADD 1 + 1 ON THIS ONE AND TELL THE TEA ROOM ABOUT MUTUAL BACK-SCRATCHING?
"YOU GIVE ME BIG OLD CAMPAIGN BUCKS, I'LL GIVE YOU BIG OLD SUBSIDIES!"
AND IN THAT SWEET DEAL, YOU LOSE, AMERICAN TAXPAYERS!
YOU LOSE.
AS THE HUFFINGTON POST RECENTLY POINTED OUT:
"As for government bailouts, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase have all received hundreds of billions of dollars in guarantees of their toxic paper.
(All of these banks, notably, have had to pay large fines in recent years for misconduct despite being rescued by American taxpayers.)
Corporate welfare kings!"
WELFARE KINGS, INDEED!
REAGAN WAS LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE!
WELFARE KINGS, NOT QUEENS!
BIG BUSINESS, NOT STRUGGLING SINGLE MOMS!
DUHHH?
DUHHH?
Some recipients of these subsidies are benefiting while suckering the unsuspecting, unquestioning taxpayers AND while also avoiding paying taxes.
THAT'S RIGHT, MANY PAY NO TAXES!
Enter Uncle Sam, the OTHER sucker!
From the subsidy tracker data:
"Federal subsidies have gone to several companies that have reincorporated abroad to avoid U.S. taxes.
For example, power equipment producer Eaton (reincorporated in Ireland but actually based in Ohio) has received $32 million in grants and allocated tax credits as well as $7 million in loans and loan guarantees from the Export-Import Bank and other agencies.
Oilfield services company Ensco (reincorporated in Britain but really based in Texas) has received $1 billion in support from the Export-Import Bank."
LIKE THE MAN SAYS ON HUFFPOST:
"It's time for a serious public rebellion to curtail welfare spending on giant, profitable corporations who use our public services and infrastructure, ship American jobs to dictatorial regimes overseas and even brazenly avoid paying their share of taxes to Uncle Sam.
This is a clear left/right convergence issue that has been muddied by corporatist rhetoric about free markets and self-reliant capitalism for far too long. "
AND NOW, MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOU SEE WHY YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, THOSE LIARS WHO HAVE BEEN CAUGHT IN LIES AFTER EVERY ELECTION, HAVE BEEN FEEDING YOU MALARKEY ABOUT HOW WE MUSTN'T UPSET OUR BUSINESS OWNERS, MUSTN'T TAX OUR BIG BUSINESSES, ELSE WE'LL "LOSE" THEM?
HELL! THEY'RE PAYING THEM TO MOVE OVERSEAS!
"AMERICAN CORPORATIONS PAID TO SEND JOBS OVERSEAS"
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS FACT, PLEASE!
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPENDS TWICE MORE ON CORPORATE WELFARE THAN IT SPENDS ON ALL SOCIAL WELFARE COMBINED!
THAT'S BEEN THE CASE FOR FAR TOO LONG!
EVEN BACK IN 2006, BEFORE OBAMA, THE FEDS GAVE BIG COMPANIES ABOUT $92 BILLION, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SPENDING $59 BILLION ON ALL OF SOCIAL SECURITY, ALL OF MEDICARE, ALL OF "FOOD STAMPS", ALL OF "WELFARE CHECKS", ALL OF DISABILITY PAYMENTS COMBINED!
AND YOU WONDER WHY AMERICA IS BROKE, WHY WE CAN'T BALANCE A BUDGET, WHY WE'RE IN THE SHAPE WE'RE IN?
CORPORATE WELFARE AND DEFENSE SPENDING TOP THE BIG TICKET LIST, PEOPLE!
IT ISN'T GRAMMA AND GRAMPS, OR THE POOR WHO ARE BURDENS TO SOCIETY!
IT'S THE FREE-LOADING CORPORATE FAT-CAT BASTARDS!
WHO'S MOOCHING OFF AMERICA?
WALL STREET!
WHO'S AGREEING TO THIS?
WHO KEEPS FEEDING THE GREEDY?
YOU!
ALL WHO HAVE FALLEN FOR THE SPIEL SLUNG AT YOU BY YOUR SOLD-OUT, ON-THE-TAKE, WALL STREET BUTT-KISSERS WHOM WE CALL "CONGRESSMEN" ...LET'S UNDERLINE THE CON IN CONGRESS, SHALL WE?
AMERICA, YOU'VE BEEN HOODWINKED, ROBBED, CONNED, LEFT HOLDING THE BAG!
BUT HOW BAD IS IT?
IT'S BAD.
THE 2005 "ENERGY POLICY ACT" PRETTY MUCH ASSURES THAT OIL, GAS, COAL COMPANIES AND NUCLEAR FACILITIES WILL FOREVER BE ON THE FEDERAL WELFARE ROLLS.
UNLIKE THOSE ON WELFARE, WHERE 'FOOD STAMP' RECIPIENTS AND THOSE WHO ACTUALLY GET 'WELFARE CHECKS' DROP OUT OF THE SYSTEM IN 1 TO 4 YEARS, AND UNLIKE THE ELDERLY, WHO WILL LIKELY DIE WITHIN 15-30 YEARS OF THAT FIRST SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK, BIG BUSINESS WILL BE ON THE GOVERNMENT WELFARE ROLLS FOREVER, FOREVER, AND LONG AFTER WE'RE ALL GONE, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL BE WORKING TO PAY FOR CORPORATE AMERICA'S HUGE, CONTINUAL WELFARE CHECKS!
How on earth can the richest companies on the planet qualify for federal handouts?
"...because no goods or services are directly returned to the government in exchange for these expenditures."
BUT WAIT!
THERE'S WORSE NEWS IN THE 2005 BILL, THAT GIFT FROM CONGRESS TO THEIR SWEETHEARTS ON WALL STREET.
CONGRESS REALLY WORKED THEIR BUTTS OFF TO SATISFY THEIR CORPORATE "JOHNS"!
The bill ALSO gave the federal government NEW EMINENT-DOMAIN POWERS to do the big boys favors... like clear paths for power lines -- a long-standing demand of the nation's electric utilities.
The utilities said they were being thwarted by "not-in-my-back-yard" opposition, so the politicians came to their rescue.
YOU WANT ACCESS TO PRIVATELY OWNED PROPERTY?
SURE THING, SWEETHEART!
NOW WRITE ME A CAMPAIGN CHECK!
CONGRESS LOVES ITS BIG DONORS, MY, YES!
LOOK HOW MUCH!
The Washington Post contended that the spending bill is a broad collection of subsidies for United States energy companies; in particular, the nuclear and oil industries.
THAT IT IS!
"Every industry gets their own little program," said Myron Ebell of the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute. "There's pork in there for everybody."
The bill exempts oil and gas industries from some clean-water laws, streamlines permits for oil wells and power lines on public lands, and helps the hydropower industry appeal environmental restrictions.
One obscure provision repealed a Depression-era law that has prevented consolidation of public utilities, potentially transforming the nation's electricity markets.
It also included an estimated $85 billion worth of subsidies and tax breaks for most forms of energy -- including oil and gas, "clean coal," ethanol, electricity, and solar and wind power.
The nuclear industry got subsidies for research, waste reprocessing, construction, operation and even decommission.
The petroleum industry got new incentives to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.
It exempts oil and gas companies from the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements when they inject fluids -- including some carcinogens -- into the earth at high pressure, a process known as hydraulic fracturing.
Betty Anthony, director for exploration and production at the American Petroleum Institute, said states already regulate the process, but residents of Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia and other states have complained that it has polluted groundwater in their communities.
House Majority Leader, at the time,Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) also managed to insert at least $500 million in subsidies over a 10-year period -- with the option to double the amount -- for research into deep-water oil and gas drilling, a grant that many lawmakers expect to go to the Texas Energy Center in DeLay's home town of Sugar Land.
OINK, OINK! WHAT A PIG'S JOY!
LET THE PORK BARRELS ROLL!
The bill also includes royalty relief for deep-water drilling projects, a strategy that helped jump-start production in the Gulf during the 1990s.
The bill's most far-reaching provision may be the repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which has blocked the owners of utilities from owning other companies, and has prevented mergers in the electricity industry.
Consumer advocates warned that the repeal will trigger a flurry of mergers and acquisitions by banks, oil firms and even foreign countries, leading to increased rates and Enron-style frauds.
The bill's biggest winner was probably the nuclear industry, which received billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks covering almost every facet of operations.
There were subsidies for research into new reactor designs, "fusion energy," small-particle accelerators and reprocessing nuclear waste, which would reverse current U.S. policy.
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Tex.) even inserted a $250,000 provision for research into using radiation to refine oil.
RADIOACTIVE OIL?
THAT'S INSANE, RIGHT?
The bill also included $2 billion for "risk insurance" in case new nuclear plants run into construction and licensing delays.
And nuclear utilities will be eligible for taxpayer-backed loan guarantees of as much as 80 percent the cost of their plants.
EAT IT AND SMILE, AMERICAN TAXPAYERS!
LOOK WHAT YOUR BELOVED CONGRESSMEN DID FOR YOU!
The bill passed the Senate, 74 to 26.
All Maryland and Virginia senators voted for the bill, except Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.).
In the House, the majority of area representatives approved the bill, which passed 275 to 156 . Voting against it were Reps. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
During the debate over the bill's numerous subsidies, taxpayer groups questioned why thriving energy companies need federal aid to produce energy.
THE ANSWER GIVEN TO THEM WAS, BASICALLY, "UP YOURS!
THE ANSWER GIVEN TO THEM WAS, BASICALLY, "UP YOURS!
AND BUSH 2 DAMN SURE DIDN'T VETO IT!
THE BUSHES MADE A FORTUNE IN OIL, AFTER ALL,
THEY OWED THEIR PALS!
HOW MANY CONGRESSMEN OWE AT LEAST SOME OF THEIR MILLIONAIRE STATUS TO OIL, COAL, NUCLEAR, OR GAS STOCKS?
OR, MAYBE, TO THEIR LOBBYISTS?
AND ALL OF US WILL PAY...AND PAY...AND KEEP PAYING!
TO SEE SOME OF THE LATEST BIG MOOCHERS AND HOW MUCH YOU GAVE THEM, YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO GO HERE:
http://www.progress.org/banneker/cw.html
THAT'S A DAMN FINE WEBSITE FOR CALLING CORPORATE AMERICA OUT ON WHY IT KEEPS ON TAKING.
EVEN THE ABOMINATION KNOWN AS THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION RECENTLY SLAPPED AMERICA FOR ITS CORPORATE WELFARE!
IMAGINE THAT!
"'The World Trade Organisation confirms that a $4bn export subsidy programme for some of America’s best known companies violates global trade rules.
A WTO rejection of the US appeal against an earlier judgment in favour of the European Union will pave the way for Brussels to slap up to $4bn in retaliatory sanctions on US goods, a move which Washington has described as a “nuclear weapon”.'"
IRONY Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made the corporate welfare bill an issue in the 2008 Democratic Primary by criticizing Senator Barack Obama's vote FOR the bill.
One Senator, Sanders, has said corporations get more like $125 BILLION every year!
The Export-Import Bank Is Corporate Welfare At Its Worst
"'This country has a $6 trillion national debt, a growing deficit and is borrowing money from the Social Security Trust Fund in order to fund government services. We can no longer afford to provide over $125 billion every year in corporate welfare – tax breaks, subsidies and other wasteful spending – that goes to some of the largest, most profitable corporations in America.
At a time when the government is under-funding veterans’ needs, education, health care, housing and many other vital services, over 80% of the subsidies distributed by the Export-Import Bank goes to Fortune 500 corporations.
Among the companies that receive taxpayer support from the Ex-Im are Enron, Boeing, Halliburton, Mobil Oil, IBM, General Electric, AT&T, Motorola, Lucent Technologies, FedEx, General Motors, Raytheon, and United Technologies.'"
Among the companies that receive taxpayer support from the Ex-Im are Enron, Boeing, Halliburton, Mobil Oil, IBM, General Electric, AT&T, Motorola, Lucent Technologies, FedEx, General Motors, Raytheon, and United Technologies.'"
HE OUGHT TO KNOW, RIGHT?
BUT OTHERS PLACE CORPORATE WELFARE AT OVER $150 BILLION IN A YEAR!
SEE: http://cloudfront-media.reason.com/mc/2015_03/corporatism2x.png?h=2994&w=1350
SEE: http://cloudfront-media.reason.com/mc/2015_03/corporatism2x.png?h=2994&w=1350
SPIN DOCTORS CAN MAKE IT SOUND DOWNRIGHT PATRIOTIC!
Politicians say that they’re "stimulating the economy" or helping struggling industries or "creating jobs" or "funding important research".
SENDING ALMOST 600,000 AMERICAN JOBS OVERSEAS EACH YEAR SINCE 2005 TO MAKE MORE PROFITS!
SEE : http://havacuppahemlock1.blogspot.com/2015/02/4-million-american-jobs-moved-overseas.html
AND CONGRESS MADE SURE THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER HELPS FUND ANY COMPANY THAT WANTS TO SHUT DOWN HERE AND MOVE TO FOREIGN SOIL!
"FUNDING IMPORTANT RESEARCH" TRANSLATES TO PORK BARREL SPENDING.
GO SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE PLAIN OLD DUMB THINGS OUR GOVERNMENT, OUR CONGRESS HELPS "FUND" AND CALLS IT "RESEARCH".
http://cagw.org/reporting/pig-book
MORE CORPORATE WELFARE, CREATING EVER MORE WELFARE KINGS WHO LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK, WHILE AMERICAN WORKERS LOSE JOBS, LOSE BENEFITS, LOSE HOPE OF HIGHER WAGES, AND DIG IN TO PAY THE COMPANIES, AROUND 2,000 TO 4,000 MAJOR COMPANIES, TWICE AS MUCH AS THE MILLIONS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO RECEIVE ANY FORM OF "SOCIAL WELFARE".
2,000 FAT CATS GET TWICE AS MUCH WELFARE EVERY YEAR AS MILLIONS OF CITIZENS!
AND THIS IS OKAY WITH YOU, AMERICA?
WE SHOULD NOT ONLY COMPLY WITH WALL STREET MOOCHING BUT NOT DEMAND TO KNOW WHO GETS HOW MUCH?
IT'S OKAY THAT THIS IS NEVER IN HEADLINE NEWS?
REALLY?
WHEN YOU STEAL MONEY FROM THE PAYCHECKS OF HARD-WORKING PEOPLE, YOU HURT THE ECONOMY, NOT HELP IT!
WHEN YOU ROB AMERICAN WORKERS TO PAY THEIR EMPLOYERS SUBSIDIES, WELFARE, YOU HURT THE ECONOMY BECAUSE THE WORKERS DON'T HAVE THAT MONEY TO BUY GOODS OR SERVICES.
WHEN PEOPLE CAN'T BUY, THEN DEMAND IS DECREASED, AND OTHER SMALLER INDUSTRIES WHO SUPPLY MEGA-INDUSTRY ARE FINANCIALLY DAMAGED AND HAVE TO LAY PEOPLE OFF WORK!
WE SEE TODAY WALL STREET'S REACTION TO LOWER FUEL PRICES, WHICH HELPS THE AVERAGE WORKING MAN/WOMAN...THEY ARE FREAKING OUT!
LOWER FUEL, LOWER CRUDE IS A DISASTER TO WALL STREET!
WHY?
WHY?
TELL US WHY, WALL STREET, DOW JONES, STANDARD AND POOR?
CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL!
BIGGEST PIGS AT THE GOVERNMENT TROUGH
Most of the pigs at the government trough are among the biggest companies in America, including:
~ Boeing heads the list
~The Big 3 automakers
(Fiat Chrysler, Ford, but GM tops them all)
~Intel
~Alcoa
~Enron
~ Royal Dutch Shell
~Nike
MEGA-FARM SUBSIDIES
However, the largest fraction of corporate welfare spending, about 40%, went through the Department of Agriculture, most of it in the form of farm subsidies. (Edwards, Corporate Welfare, 2003)
Well, that sounds OK.
Someone’s got to help struggling family farms stay afloat, right?
But in reality, farm subsidies actually tilt the cotton field in favor of the LARGEST industrial farming operations.
SMALL FAMILY FARMS CAN'T COMPETE, SO THEY GO BANKRUPT OR SELL OUT TO THE BIG BOYS.
WHEN SMALL LOCAL FARMS GO UNDER, YOU WILL PAY MORE, MUCH MORE, AMERICA, TO HAVE THOSE GOODS SHIPPED IN FROM SOME MEGA-FARM HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY!
THE BIGGEST PIGS GET THE MOST SWILL
When it comes to deciding how to dole out the money, the agricultural subsidy system utilizes a process that is essentially the opposite of that used in the social welfare system.
In the CORPORATE welfare system, the MORE money and assets you have, the MORE government assistance you get.
Conversely, SOCIAL welfare programs are set up so that the more money and assets you have, the less government assistance you get.
NOT FOR THE WALL STREET CROWD!
THE FAT-CATS IN CONGRESS KEEP CUTTING SOCIAL WELFARE TO THE BONE, BUT STEADILY INCREASE SUBSIDIES/FEDERAL WELFARE FOR THEIR DARLING DONORS, THE BIG SPENDERS WHO DROP THE MOST COINS IN THOSE CAMPAIGN TIN CUPS!
The result is that the absolute largest 7% of corporate farming operations receive 45% of all subsidies. (Edwards, Downsizing the Federal Government, 2004)
THE TOP 7% OF THE "BIG BOYS" GET ALMOST HALF OF THE DOLE-OUT, THE WELFARE?
YES, YES THEY DO!
So instead of protecting family farms, family-owned businesses, local small companies, these subsidies actually enhance the ability of LARGE industrial operations to shut them out of the market.
RESULT?
FOOD PRICES UP, CORPORATE PROFIT UP, AMERICAN WORKING CLASS SCREWED AGAIN!
THIS IS NOT RIGHT AND NOTHING CAN MAKE IT RIGHT, BUT WHAT AMERICANS DON'T KNOW... EMPTIES POCKETBOOKS, RIGHT?
FOR AMERICAN CONSUMERS, YES, BUT IT FATTENS THOSE CORPORATE MOOCHERS EVERY SINGLE YEAR!
THANK CONGRESS!
THANK A PIG-HEARTED PIG-FEEDER!
NOW YOU KNOW, AND KNOWLEDGE EMPOWERS!
A FEW OF MY SOURCES (perhaps not hyperlinked above)...I LOSE TRACK, MEA CULPA...
~http://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanalysts/2014/03/14/where-is-the-outrage-over-corporate-welfare/
~ http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/terrorism-risk-insurance-act-time-end-corporate-welfare
~ http://www.progress.org/banneker/cw.html
~ http://www.cato.org/research/corporate-welfare
~ http://cloudfront-media.reason.com/mc/2015_03/corporatism2x.png?h=2994&w=1350
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