May 2, 2012

Let Corporations Be ‘Free’ Enterprises By Eliminating $2 Trillion In Corporate Welfare

May 2, 2012

How does this sound? Over the next 4 years we could cut $520.9 billion from our debt by just ending certain corporate welfare programs. That’s more than one-half trillion dollars. Sounds good, doesn’t it. Well, how about this? We could increase that figure by another $1.53 trillion over the next 10 years by ending some more corporate welfare programs. That’s a total of more than $2 trillion over the next ten years just by letting the “free enterprise” system be a free enterprise.

To achieve this goal, all we have to do is convince the entire Republican Party (along with Grover Norquist) and about two-thirds of the Democratic Party to do the right thing. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? They are always telling us how they want to “do the right thing”.

Fat chance!!! Where would they get their re-election dollars and who would give them a big-paying post-public service jobs if they “did the right thing”? Let’s face it; it’s a dog eat dog world, and Congress is the big dog. Better — and much easier — to just continue sticking it to the working class.

Posted below for your reading “pleasure” are the details of where the savings could come from, compliments of DailyKos. And, while you’re reading this, keep in mind this doesn’t include the tens of billions that states extend corporations and businesses each year in the form of tax expenditures; where one hourly job can cost as much as $3.1 million, and then just move out and kill jobs after they’ve robbed the tax payers.

And think how good this would be if corporations actually paid their fair share in taxes!?!

(For some additional in-depth details, read this post and this one.)

End Big Oil and Big Gas Tax Breaks
2011-2015 savings: $80 billion (Taxpayers for Common Sense).
Big Oil has made almost $855 billion in profits in the past decade. There is no need to give such a profitable industry a tax break.

End Deferral of Taxes on Income of U.S.-Controlled Corporations Abroad
2011-2015 savings: $199 billion (Citizen for Tax Justice estimate).
Encourages off-shoring of work and capital.

End Accelerated Depreciation on Equipment
2011-2015 savings: $141 billion (CTJ estimate).
Accelerated depreciation can result in a very low, or even negative, tax rate on profits from a particular investment.

End Deduction for Domestic Manufacturing
2011-2015 savings: $76.7 billion (CTJ estimate).
Provides virtually no benefit to the economy and is blatant corporate welfare.

End Last-In, First-Out Accounting (LIFO)
2011-2015 savings: $24.2 billion (CTJ estimate).
Corporations use LIFO to hide their true profits.

Cut Subsidies to Big Agribusiness
2011-2020 savings: $52 billion (Taxpayers for Common Sense).
Small farms are disappearing while big agri-business racks up huge profits — with corporate welfare support.

Permit Government to Negotiate Drug Prices for Medicare.
Savings 2012-2021: $157.9 billion. (Congressional Progressive Caucus).
Barring government involvement is an indirect corporate subsidy.

End Tax Breaks For Drug Companies.
2011-2020 savings: $50 billion (estimated based on figures from Rep. Jerrold Nadler).
Stops a $5 billion-a year annual tax break for direct-to-consumer advertising. We should pay for drug companies to market to us?

Enact A Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.
2012-2021 Savings: $70.9 billion (Congressional Progressive Caucus).
Imposed on largest banks as a repayment of corporate welfare extended via bank bailouts for financial crisis precipitated by banks.

Enact a Derivatives and Speculation Tax.
2012-2022 savings: $650 billion (Congressional Progressive Caucus).
Wall Street receives indirect corporate welfare/subsidies via a regulatory system and infrastructure investment for which it pays virtually nothing. A very tiny transactions tax will end the corporate welfare.

Cut Military Budget
2011-2020 Savings: $550 billion (Sustainable Defense Task Force).
According to the Task Force, weapons research, development, and procurement activities…“now routinely cost taxpayers over $200 billion a year. Procurement costs are up 110% in real terms since 2000. Setting aside war-related expenditures, DoD “peacetime” spending on research, development, and procurement has increased 75% in real terms.” This focuses only on the Task Force’s cuts that reasonably have a “corporate welfare” component, primarily weapons systems that don’t work and/or aren’t needed to fight an enemy that does not exist.