Report advocates responsible investment, rejects crony subsidies
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Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report on the importance of reinstating responsible investment practices by rejecting corporate welfare strategies and subsidies.
Corporate subsidies, namely economic development subsidies, pose as pro-business measures by which federal, state and local governments dish out millions in taxpayer dollars in return for promises of widespread economic growth. In reality, the beneficiaries of these deals are the companies that receive this special treatment and the elected officials who take credit with voters for ‘creating jobs,’ while the losers include disfavored competitors, taxpayers and anyone concerned about corruption and cronyism in government.
“Quite simply, companies that play the economic development subsidy game are profiting at the expense of the communities in which they do business while contributing to cronyism and government corruption,” CEI Senior Fellow Richard Morrison and Center for Economic Accountability President John Mozena say in their report. “That’s not a sustainable or responsible way to do business, and anyone who cares about ethical business management should treat economic development subsidies accordingly.”
The paper suggests ways to combat corporate welfare:
- Companies should forego subsidies and de-emphasize controversial programs like ESG and DEI.
- Activists should pressure lawmakers to commit to reforms or the elimination of economic development subsidy programs.
- Taxpayers must use consumer, voting, activist, and political power to reject corporate welfare subsidies and encourage governments to get out of the business of central economic planning.