If Republicans are in Favor of Lower Taxes and the Free Market Why Not End Corporate Welfare?

Question

The US has spent $92 BILLION on Corporate Welfare in 2006 ALONE. In a FREE Market a business will Fail or Succeed on their OWN and doesn't need to be propped up on the backs of the US tax payers.

If Wal-Mart and the Oil Companies. etc. are only able to provide us with lower cost goods because of government subsidies then aren't we STILL paying the difference?

Why not let us keep more of "OUR" money and decide where we want to spend it?

Are those companies REALLY creating jobs or are they creating jobs with OUR tax dollars?

Why should OUR tax dollars go to build a new pro-sports stadium? Why can't they just pay the players less? Stadiums create seasonal, temporary jobs with no benefits and no future and take money from surrounding businesses/ recreational activities.

Why does the US government take from the many to give to the FEW as with Eminent Domain laws?

If Republicans/ Democrats are REALLY in Favor of Lower Taxes and the Free Market Why Not End Corporate Welfare?

Answer 1

We don't have a free market.

We have a market in which the government artificially inflates wages (minimum wage, unions). We have a market in which the government over regulates (EPA, OSHA, ADA) and over taxes businesses (highest in the world).

All of these cripple the ability of American companies to compete in a global market. One way of negating these crippling policies is what you call "corporate welfare". Is it the best solution? No, the best solution is to get rid of the minimum wage, deregulate, and slash taxes. However, in our current political environment, that isn't going to happen. "Corporate welfare" is just a band-aid to try to let our companies be competitive and stay in business.

As with all forms of welfare, it is abused and there are many that receive it that don't need it. However, until we can convince our government to give us a truly free market, it is an ugly, but necessary compromise.

Tax dollars going to a sports stadium is a totally different topic. However, so far, the federal government has not gotten involved in that racket and it isn't really a "free market" issue.

We should end "corporate welfare", but only when our government returns a free market to us so that our businesses can compete.

Answer 2

Cause our elected official get a lotta kickbacks from the corporations.

They just have to make us happy enough to vote for them

It's easier for Republicans, all they have to do is bring up God and how much they don't like g*y people, and how the crazy liberals wanna take away people's guns.

The Dems gotta finesse it a bit more by talking about the environment and rich peoples taxes.

Answer 3

Since Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, Republicans take care of their base, the wealthiest 1%. Now 61% of Corporations pay no taxes and there has been a huge transfer of wealth from the middle class and working class to the wealthy.

Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows.

The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression.

While total reported income in the United States increased almost 9 percent in 2005, the most recent year for which such data is available, average incomes for those in the bottom 90 percent dipped slightly compared with the year before, dropping $172, or 0.6 percent.

The gains went largely to the top 1 percent, whose incomes rose to an average of more than $1.1 million each, an increase of more than $139,000, or about 14 percent.

The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980.

Examples of Corporate Welfare:

BILL MOYERS: You mentioned Warren Buffet. I was impressed in the book that you do name names. And so let me mention some of the names that you talk about in the book. Warren Buffet. Everyone respects him as the world's greatest investor. Yet he's in your book on free lunches.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: In Several places.

BILL MOYERS: Several places.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: He got a $665 million interest-free loan for the utility he has in the Midwest. Now--

BILL MOYERS: From? He got the loan from?

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: From the taxpayers. Now, imagine for a moment that the house you live in today, you bought it 24 years ago and you agreed to pay the price then. And now you've got to pay back with no interest half the price in the dollars you agreed to in 1924. You could be rich just from that alone?

BILL MOYERS: But those are the rules. Buffet was doing something legal.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: That's right. And that's always the biggest scandal is what is legal. Steve Jobs. Well, Steve Jobs got $70 million of stock options at a meeting of the board of Apple company directors that never took place.

BILL MOYERS: In fact, you say Steve Jobs arranged to have his fraudulently-issued options exchanged for restricted stock worth hundreds of millions. And the government has yet to take any action.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, not against him.

BILL MOYERS: But not against him.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: They prosecuted two people under him, one of whom said, "I warned Mr. Jobs about this." Mr. Jobs says, "You know I really didn't understand the rules."

Answer 4

I think 'corporate welfare' can't end because too many people feel that some corporations must succeed because corporate failure would adversely affect the economy.  

In my opinion, a perfect free market would also be free of EEOC, EPA,SEC and any other government imposed rules.  Because so many rules and regs are imposed and so many people's livelihood rests with corporate success, you simply cannot allow a company to fail and take many people with it.

I am not attempting to justify or complain against corporate welfare.  This is just my 2cents.

Answer 5

I love it when people on yahoo answers show they are more intelligent than our political leaders.

Answer 6

We're going to have a problem this Fourth of July. Being a consumer country tourism is one of our main incomes. Although people are going to stay home this holiday season because of gas prices.

This is the same with these sports arenas. The thing is though games like football are pretty much American. They don't attract multiple nations like soccer does.

We're losing jobs because of free trade, and tourism because of gas prices.

Answer 7

The very existence of "Corporations," government created entities which can take all the risks of companies, without any of the potential downfalls; who were only supposed to ever exist for one generation and then be dissolved; who are multi-national and avoid the laws of any country, including America... is anti "Free Market."

There is no "Free Market."  It's a fairy tale. You're either on the side of those born into money, who only now pay 15% taxes on their incomes, or you're on the side of the workers, and are willing to set up a system/economy that benefits the most people.

Nobody will lower taxes. Countries with low tax rates are called 3rd world. All 1st world countries have high tax rates.

Should man be shackled to serving the economy (right wing thought) or the economy be designed and adjusted in ways to serve man? (left wing thought)

Answer 8

I'm all for ending corporate welfare, it is often given to companies to subsidize their product so it can be cheaper for the masses.  In reality, it is a socialist system; it redistributes wealth.

"If Wal-Mart and the Oil Companies. etc. are only able to provide us with lower cost goods because of government subsidies then aren't we STILL paying the difference?"

That's true, but the amount paid per person varies on what they make vs. what the value of the product is.  People that pay more in taxes are essentially paying for the cost of gas for people that pay less in taxes.

Although, people won't support this idea when the price of gas rises, this is why corporate welfare won't end.

Answer 9

an excellent observation that will wasted on the right because for all the rhetoric about communism and socialism they still want the public to help pay the cost of/for capitalism.

the cries of "redistribution of wealth" some how never applies to corporate welfare but show some compassion for the needy, the poor, the less advantaged and you are blasted as a bleeding heart libtard.

Answer 10

Support the war, buy more stuff

The [Taliban]  are freedom fighters

Catsup is a vegetable

Greed is good

Bin Laden isnt important anymore

Saddam has WMD

Supply-side spending is voodoo economics

Trickle down theory

Vote for me, get three to six hundred bucks

Answer 11

Because they don't want to. it's all bu!!****

Answer 12

Because they are in favor of a free market only as long as it favors big business. if a free market causes their corporate masters to fail they are the first to prop them up.

No small business will get the same benefits and will undoubtedly get regulated out of existence to keep them from creating new ideas to replace the old ideas propping up the big corporations.