The Corporate Welfare State: How the Federal Government Subsidizes U.S. Businesses

The federal government spent $92 billion in direct and indirect subsidies to businesses and private- sector corporate entities -- expenditures commonly referred to as "corporate welfare" -- in fiscal year 2006. The definition of business subsidies used in this report is broader than that used by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which recently put the costs of direct business subsidies at$57 billion in 2005. For the purposes of this study, "corporate welfare" is defined as any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries. Supporters of corporate welfare programs often justify them as remedying some sort of market failure. Often the market failures on which the programs are predicated are either overblown or don't exist. Yet the federal government continues to subsidize some of the biggest companies in America. Boeing, Xerox, IBM, Motorola, Dow Chemical, General Electric, and others have received millions in taxpayer-funded benefits through programs like the Advanced Technology Program and the Export-Import Bank. In addition, the federal crop subsidy programs continue to fund the wealthiest farmers. Because the corporate welfare state transcends any specific agency -- and therefore any specific congressional committee -- one way to reform or terminate those programs would be through a corporate welfare reform commission (CWRC). That commission could function like the successful military base closure commission. The CWRC would compose a list of corporate welfare programs to eliminate and then present that list to Congress, which would be required to hold an up-or-down vote on the commission's proposal

Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006

This report presents the findings of the Cato Institute's eighth biennial fiscal policy reportcard on the nation's governors. The report card's grading is based on 23 objective measures of fiscal performance. Governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades. Those who have increased spending and taxes the most receive the lowest grades

House bias : the economic consequences of subsidizing homeownership

Housing - Finance ; Tax incentives

Policy update : Federal debt limit raised to cover shortfalls

Related links: http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/region_focus/2010/q1/policy_update_weblinks.cfmBudget deficits

The state of modern economics : Is rational man extinct?

Searching for Homo EconomicusEconomics ; Rational expectations (Economic theory)

Research spotlight: Have free markets failed us?

Related link: http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/region_focus/2009/spring/research_spotlight_weblinks.cfmEconomic policy ; Capital market

Opinion : Why the Great Depression matters

Perhaps the most important lesson to take from the Great Depression is that policymakers should follow the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm.Economic history

Federal Reserve : An anchor of gold : how the gold standard works in theory and practice

Related links : http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/region_focus/2010/q2/federal_reserve_weblinks.cfmGold ; Monetary policy

Federal Reserve : Capital cushions : the Basel accords and bank risk

Related link(s): http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/region_focus/2009/spring/federal_reserve_weblinks.cfmBanks and banking

Book review : The precursors of financial crises

"This time is different: eight centuries of financial folly" by Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2009, 463p.Books - Reviews