Why do American voters and taxpayers put up with this from our Congress? This quote isfrom Time Magazine (which usually leans left). Perhaps it’s time people and the left-leaning media stop demonizing the Tea Party and start listening a little. Perhaps those concerned about economic inequality need to look at how these programs contribute to that problem, and then go after them.
“Some federal largesse--tax breaks for NASCAR racetracks ($40 million) and subsidies for rum distilleries ($172 million) and rural airports ($200 million)--is just silly. There's no reason my poker buddies should be able to deduct the gambling losses I inflict on them once a month. (Just kidding, guys!)
The silliest handouts that brighten my morning are the boondoggles that funnel billions to America's cotton and grain farmers and maybe knock a few cents off the price of my T-shirts and my kids' breakfast waffles. Uncle Sam sends at least $15 billion every year to farmers and agribusinesses in the form of grants, loans, crop insurance and other goodies.”
The farm lobby is so omnipotent in Washington that when the World Trade Organization ruled that U.S. handouts give our cotton farmers an unfair advantage over Brazil, the U.S. cut a deal to shovel $147 million a year to Brazilian cotton farmers rather than kick our own farmers off the dole. Our food and clothing may seem cheap, but, oh, we pay for them.”
[Let’s go over this again: U.S. Taxpayers gave, and will give, Brazilian cotton farmers $147 per year so we can keep on giving millions to American cotton farmers? This is INSANE]
I'm all for rural airports. If it were not for the federal subsidy, most of my home state, Wyoming, would be without any kind of mass transit. We don't even get AMTRAK.
ReplyDeleteI too am OK with federal infrastructure spending that serves national security needs, like interstate highway and airport grants. Not to mention the liberals much despised military industrial complex which is crucial to our country's defense. All the above expenditures are constitutionally legitimate uses of federal tax dollars. Domestic welfare is not an appropriate function nor outlay for this centralized revenue. Domestic taxing and spending belongs solely to the respective states.
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