Dear Editor:
Who should the federal government subsidize and why? That seems to be a question worth asking and hearing the opinions of others. My position is that government subsidies should be kept at an absolute minimum and that government should be fully transparent about what we taxpayers are being forced to subsidize. Many of the subsidies amount to nothing more than crony capitalism, "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours." Some forms of scratching the backs of politicians are the gifts they receive, campaign contributions and the votes they receive from those receiving subsidies.
The Open Secrets web site reports that in 2015 there were 10,230 lobbyists trying to buy the favor of those in the federal government. They spent $831 million doing so. That does not include the campaign contributions made to influence office holders.
I support doing away with income tax as we know it and the associated deductions. I prefer switching to a consumption tax similar to that proposed on the FairTax.org web site. The FairTax would replace federal income taxes including personal, estate, gift, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment and corporate taxes with a national sales tax on the purchase of new goods, paid by the end consumer of those goods.
The richer you are and the more new stuff you buy, the more you pay in taxes. Read more about it at http://fairtax.org/faq and read further discussion at http://www.factcheck.org/2007/05/unspinning-the-fairtax/ Please take the time to read about the FairTax before criticizing and/or dismissing it.
I have read many comments similar to "taxpayers subsidize fossil fuels by $10-50 billion a year." If those of you who understand how these direct transfers of tax dollars to the fossil fuel industry are made, would you please cite specific instances of such transfers. I would appreciate learning more about them.