Welfare for the rich / by kevin murray

There are plenty of people, that have their criticisms when it comes to welfare for the poor and the disadvantaged, such as governmental expenditures for food stamps, housing vouchers, disability payments, earned income tax credit, and just about anything in which impoverished people, seemingly receive something without having to give up much of anything of corresponding value, in return.  Yet, despite the railings of those that claim that by such payments we are encouraging or validating or enabling those that are perceived as being lazy, slothful, wastrel, and the like, the bottom line is that the vast majority of those so receiving governmental assistance are by receiving that helping hand, typically not doing much more than just surviving, and certainly are not living “high on the hog.”

 

On the other hand, there is that other sort of individual and corporate welfare, which typically isn’t called out as such, but is really welfare all the same.  For instance, in regards to some of the biggest mega-corporations that the world has ever known, some of these behemoths, despite profits in the billions upon billions of dollars, do not pay any income taxes, whatsoever; or for those corporations that do pay such taxes, they have so many shell games that they play, in which monies are parked in low-taxed or untaxed foreign domiciles, that their overall tax rate is far below what would be anticipated that they would normally pay.  Additionally, mega-corporations are known for often driving a hard bargain with communities in regards to special favoritism in which property taxes are reduced considerably for some considerable period of time – so reasoned, because of the employment that will come into that community, along with often having favorably decisions also so being made in regards to the infrastructure that they so desire.  Then there are those mega-corporations that do an extensive amount of business with the government, in which, the structure of the contracts so being made, are for all practical purposes, essentially sole source, allowing that corporation to not only “win” the contract, but also to make a nice profit, especially so when it comes time for the invariable changes to that contract, spare parts, and the like.

 

In regards to superrich individuals, their pattern follows in conformance with the mega-corporations, in which, the goal, so of, is to reduce their taxable income as much as possible, and to correspondingly increase their passive income, which typically is not taxed, until a sale has been made, thereby postponing any necessary payment to the tax authorities, for considerable amounts of time.  So too, they are experts at setting up foundations, that allow them to funnel money that would be taxed at a much higher rate into a foundation, which pretty much is in harmony with the entity who created it. Additionally, estate taxes are at historic lows, thereby signifying that the government, even at the time of death, gets a minimal amount; hurt further, by some unfathomable reasoning, that the entity so inheriting, inherits at the “step-up” basis, effectively erasing any capital gains, that have accrued over a long period of time.

 

One of the pet peeves of many of those that have lots of money and influence, of which, perhaps they have worked hard to get to where they are at, is that welfare for the poor, not only subsidizes those that will not apply themselves, but encourages them in their indolence.  What they never seem to address, though, is that virtually all those that inherit money, and specifically those that inherit lots and lots of money, haven’t earned it, and therefore this easily encourages those rich heirs in their indolence, with the difference between the rich and the poor, being that the rich can easily afford to be indolent and still live a wonderful life, whereas, the poor, really can’t.