Courtesy of Paul Caron in Johnston: Your Tax Dollars At Work, Unconstitutionally:
Reuters, A Gift, From NY to Abu Dhabi, by David Cay Johnston:
How does being taxed to give money to the oil-rich kingdom of Abu Dhabi and its hereditary ruler strike you? The cost, if you live in New York State, comes to about $1.4 billion, or roughly $190 per household, for an economic development deal with a privately held company called GlobalFoundries to build a microchip plant near Albany. … The deal for the chip plant is being challenged in court by a long-time critic of “corporate welfare” in a case that will test New York‘s long-standing policy of subsidizing business.
Interesting bit of reporting by Mr. Johnston, but I don’t think it means what he thinks it means.
Johnston has unwittingly provided us with an excellent example of why people should oppose, not support, tax increases. Governments that waste the moneys already given them have no right to force taxpayers to give them more money.
Postscript: Is it naive for me to assume that a similar excoration by Mr. Johnston of the Obama administration’s reckless investment in Solyndra is forthcoming?