Cut Big Business's Corporate Welfare | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary

Cut Big Business's Corporate Welfare | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A new study from the Cato Institute estimates that the federal government will spend almost $100 billion on corporate welfare this year."

"Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been lost year after year on businesses that were simply not financially viable"

"as the ongoing debacle with clean energy subsidies shows, policymakers do not possess special knowledge that enables them to allocate capital more efficiently than markets."

"The reality is that lawmakers often have base parochial interests in mind when they support subsidy programs. During a Senate committee hearing on the Department of Energy in February, Sen. Al Franken, Minnesota Democrat, spent his allotted time badgering Secretary Steven Chu about a federal loan his department conditionally approved for a company in his state in 2010 but had yet to be finalized. On the other side of the aisle, dozens of congressional Republicans — many critical of the administration's energy subsidy policies — were found to have quietly sent letters to Mr. Chu requesting handouts to businesses in their backyards."