Subsidizing Lead Balloons

With the economy in shambles some look to more government intervention as the solution. The buzzwords are jump start, rescue, stabilize, stimulate. The word they are looking for is subsidize.

Subsidies come in many sizes and shapes. Most (if not all) social programs (which are sometimes given the horribly wretched misnomer, entitlements) could be lumped into this general category. There does seem to be a difference, though, in the government’s stated motivation behind subsidies.

On one hand, there are subsidies that are a misguided (not to mention Socialistic) attempt to “level the playing field.” These usually come in the form of social welfare. The theory is that the government has the responsibility to maintain a minimum living standard for every single individual in its boundaries. (Increasingly the boundaries are disappearing as the U.S. moves toward globalization of social welfare.) The subsidy of the welfare state is the wage for failing, be it by slothfulness, poor economic decisions, or simply the inability to “make ends meet.”

Then there are subsidies which are “necessary” for the survival of the collective citizenry which includes the one probably most talked about; the farm subsidy. The government tells us it is essential to prop up the farm and that if we do not, folks will starve.

Recently Congressman Randy Kuhl (NY) told John Stossel in a one hour 20/20 special titled, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics that if we did not have farm subsidies, people would starve for lack of jobs (i.e. if farmers failed at farming, then they would starve for lack of employment).

Why has farming become an occupation very nearly impossible without the crutch of the taxpayers? It is not as though these “endowments” catch the shortfall on the occasionally horrible year. The same farmers receive these subsidies year after year after year. (For detailed information about various state and local farm subsidies, visit http://farm.ewg.org/sites/farmbill2007.)

The reader should see the theme developing. Government subsidies in nearly every form are the salaries for failure.

So too is the “bail-out” of Wall Street and the bankers. What D.C. should learn from subsidizing lead balloons is that they attract a lot of lead balloon manufacturers. The banks in question are part of that elite group that is deemed too big, too important to fall. This Emergency Economic Stabilization package is nothing more than another subsidy.

Considering the perpetuity of all “temporary” subsidies, it should be no shock that this is only a continuation of former Wall Street bail-outs. Nor should it surprise the reader when another multi-billion dollar rescue is in order.