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Backing up "corporate subsidy" number in my post titled "If you make $50,000 a year"
Lots of discussion regarding the source/accuracy of the data on this graphic, particularly the "corporate subsidy" ...
Here's the source, and how the corporate subsidy was calculated:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/23
Add It Up: The Average American Family Pays $6,000 a Year in Subsidies to Big Business
1. $870 for Direct Subsidies and Grants to Companies The Cato Institute estimates that the U.S. federal government spends $100 billion a year on corporate welfare. That's an average of $870 for each one of America's 115 million families. Cato notes that this includes "cash payments to farmers and research funds to high-tech companies, as well as indirect subsidies, such as funding for overseas promotion of specific U.S. products and industries...It does not include tax preferences or trade restrictions."
2. $696 for Business Incentives at the State, County, and City Levels The subsidies mentioned above are federal subsidies. A New York Times investigation found that states, counties and cities give up over $80 billion each year to companies, with beneficiaries coming from "virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains." $80 billion a year is $696 for every U.S. family. But the Times notes that "The cost of the awards is certainly far higher."
3. $722 for Interest Rate Subsidies for Banks According to the Huffington Post, the "U.S. Government Essentially Gives The Banks 3 Cents Of Every Tax Dollar." They cite research that calculates a nearly 1 percent benefit to banks when they borrow, through bonds and customer deposits and other liabilities. This amounts to a taxpayer subsidy of $83 billion, or about $722 from every American family.
...
5. $1,268 for Overpriced Medications According to Dean Baker, "government granted patent monopolies raise the price of prescription drugs by close to $270 billion a year compared to the free market price." This represents an astonishing annual cost of over $2,000 to an average American family. OECD figures on pharmaceutical expenditures reveal that Americans spend almost twice the OECD average on drugs, an additional $460 per capita. This translates to $1,268 per household.
1. $870 for Direct Subsidies and Grants to Companies The Cato Institute estimates that the U.S. federal government spends $100 billion a year on corporate welfare. That's an average of $870 for each one of America's 115 million families. Cato notes that this includes "cash payments to farmers and research funds to high-tech companies, as well as indirect subsidies, such as funding for overseas promotion of specific U.S. products and industries...It does not include tax preferences or trade restrictions."
2. $696 for Business Incentives at the State, County, and City Levels The subsidies mentioned above are federal subsidies. A New York Times investigation found that states, counties and cities give up over $80 billion each year to companies, with beneficiaries coming from "virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains." $80 billion a year is $696 for every U.S. family. But the Times notes that "The cost of the awards is certainly far higher."
3. $722 for Interest Rate Subsidies for Banks According to the Huffington Post, the "U.S. Government Essentially Gives The Banks 3 Cents Of Every Tax Dollar." They cite research that calculates a nearly 1 percent benefit to banks when they borrow, through bonds and customer deposits and other liabilities. This amounts to a taxpayer subsidy of $83 billion, or about $722 from every American family.
...
5. $1,268 for Overpriced Medications According to Dean Baker, "government granted patent monopolies raise the price of prescription drugs by close to $270 billion a year compared to the free market price." This represents an astonishing annual cost of over $2,000 to an average American family. OECD figures on pharmaceutical expenditures reveal that Americans spend almost twice the OECD average on drugs, an additional $460 per capita. This translates to $1,268 per household.
More at the link.
Original post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023974549
14 replies
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on FB for being inaccurate.. they even apologized...
glad you found something for one of the numbers... but I dunno.
seems fishy to me. unless you can source out all the numbers, not worth passing around.. too risky.
don't wanna be like our opponents and just pass around everything we see cause it agrees with us 
