One of government’s primary undertakings is transferring wealth, frequently from taxpayers to politically favored corporations. Sometimes these transfers are rightly called corporate welfare, but more frequently they are disguised with terms such as stimulus, bailout, or infrastructure investment. Government programs of this kind, whether financed with current taxpayer dollars, deficit spending, or promised via loan guarantee, divert resources from higher-value uses and reward firms that have invested in special interest lobbying rather than superior products and services. Subsidizing and bailing out private firms is a negative-sum exercise that destroys wealth and prevents the efficient redeployment of resources throughout the economy.
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Boeing-Airbus Dispute Remains Unsolved: Tariffs Gone, Subsidies Stay
The European Union and the United States eagerly announced today that they had resolved their 17-year dispute over aerospace subsidies. They exaggerate their claims.
The Washington Examiner
Biden’s Expansion Of The Affordable Care Act Was Never About The Pandemic
Less than two months after jamming through a “temporary” expansion of the Affordable Care Act in the American Rescue Plan, President Joe…
News Release
Federal Bailouts for States Forestall Necessary Reforms Needed for Long Term Resilience
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today reacted to reports that Congress is considering including a provision for state bailouts in legislation aimed at…