America Loses as Congress Wins Golden Fleece Award
By webreporter on Oct 20, 2008 in GOLDEN FLEECE AWARDS
While crafting the aptly named “Bailout Bill,” a bill intended to rescue the U.S. economy, lawmakers couldn't stop themselves from adding billions of dollars in tax breaks that have little to do with restoring confidence in financial markets.
Senators quietly tucked a number of earmarks, also appropriately called “pork’” into the tax package of the 451-page bill that was passed:
Wooden arrows: This tax break, backed by Oregon's two senators, would benefit an Oregon manufacturer of wooden arrows for children by $2 million over 10 years.
Racetracks: Earmark would allow auto racetrack owners to depreciate their facilities over seven years, saving the industry $100 million over two years.
Rum: Offers rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate on excise taxes worth $192 million over two years.
Wool: Reduces tariffs for U.S. makers of wool fabric that use imported yarn, worth $148 million over five years. The measure was pushed by Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Melissa Bean, D-Ill.
Exxon Valdez: Plaintiffs in the suit over the 1989 oil spill could spread their tax payments on punitive damages over three years, cutting their tax bill by $49 million. The measure was backed by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.
American Samoa: Allows certain corporations to reduce their tax liability on income earned in American Samoa, at a cost of $33 million over two years.
Hollywood: Extends a tax break for film and TV companies that keep their production in the United States, worth $478 million over 10 years. The provision was originally pushed by Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles.
Many of the tax breaks were put in place years ago and were set to expire. But many of the low-life opportunists, also known as Congress-people, saw the perfect chance to “piggy-back” their way to a quick approval.
The sickening and sad thing is that the tax earmarks were scarcely noticed during the Senate debate over a bill that featured a $700 billion bailout package and a $112 billion tax package, including the renewal of popular tax breaks for businesses and renewable energy projects and a one-year effort to shield at least 20 million Americans from paying the alternative minimum tax.
The tax earmarks were championed by both sides of the aisle so both the credit and the blame can be equally shared.
So The Lang Report wishes to bestow the new and improved GOLDEN FLEECE AWARD on the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives for the unabashed adding of $100,000,000,000 to legislation they thought would save America.
1 Comment(s)
By majog on Jan 4, 2011 | Reply
Cutting $100 Billion is not the hard part. It is dealing with all the pork that continues to slide through the congressional budget grinder. In 2007 alone(latest easy to find figures, we gave out almost 30 Billion in non-military economic aid. That included 2.5 Billion to Israel, 393 Million to South Africa, and 1.6 Billion to Russia. Why are we giving money to economically stable countries? A large chunk of the rest went to countries like Egypt, Iraq, and the Philippines that hate us and our presence?
Now look at wasted government spending. For JAN 2010, the Oregon Department of Corrections spend nearly $1 million on free satellite television service for prisoners. Heck who is paying for the taxpayers television. I live in the country and can’t even get the satellite company to grant me the FOX channel access due to “government regulations”. Other fleece winners include: Wooden arrows: This tax break, backed by Oregon’s two senators, would benefit an Oregon manufacturer of wooden arrows for children by $2 million over 10 years.
Racetracks: Earmark would allow auto racetrack owners to depreciate their facilities over seven years, saving the industry $100 million over two years.
Rum: Offers rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate on excise taxes worth $192 million over two years.
Wool: Reduces tariffs for U.S. makers of wool fabric that use imported yarn, worth $148 million over five years. The measure was pushed by Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Melissa Bean, D-Ill.
Exxon Valdez: Plaintiffs in the suit over the 1989 oil spill could spread their tax payments on punitive damages over three years, cutting their tax bill by $49 million. The measure was backed by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.
In all it is estimated that in the 2009 Fiscal Year over $100 Billion went to such useless spending. So cutting $100 Billion is nothing. We also need to decide once and for all if America is going to be a socialized nation or a democratic republic. We keep acting like a socialized nation but funding every socialized program from life insurance (Social Security) to healthcare (Medicare/Medicaid) just cloaking it under different names. There is nothing wrong with being a socialized country but let’s just get it on the table then then get something for all the taxation that we are under.
America is still the greatest nation on the planet and I would not want to live anywhere else (and have lived all over the world). It just run by self-serving individuals who are more interested in power brokering and what is in it for them than running a country. They should take lessons from the leaders of successful companies and learn fiscal responsibility. They should stop legislating about things they know nothing about (i.e. healthcare) and focus on the basics of government like ensuring America has a strong infrastructure and take care if its own people before trying to take care of the rest of the world.
Just my 2 cents as a voting citizen.