Corporate socialism for the politically connected 

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, first of all, they say they offer cheaper goods. I don't accept that that's necessarily true. But here's what happens. And this is a good example of where the news media hasn't done a good job. I have tons of news clips that say, oh, this new shopping mall is coming o... More

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON: Well, first of all, they say they offer cheaper goods. I don't accept that that's necessarily true. But here's what happens. And this is a good example of where the news media hasn't done a good job. I have tons of news clips that say, oh, this new shopping mall is coming or a new Wal-Mart or a new Cabela's store, and thanks to tax increment financing, this store is going to be built. Well, what is tax increment financing? I'll tell you what it is. You go to the store with your goods, you pay for it at Wal-Mart, and there's a very good chance that that store has made a deal with the government that the sales taxes you are required to pay, that government requires you to pay, never go to the government. Instead, those sales taxes are kept by Wal-Mart and used to pay the cost of the store. And typically in those deals, the store is tax exempt, just like a church. (...) And I tell about a man named Jim Weaknecht who owned a little store in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. He sold fishing tackle, hunting gear, stuff like that. And the way he made his living in his little tiny store, enough that he was able to have his wife stay at home and raise their three kids full time, was by charging less than a company called Cabela's. Well, then Cabela's came to town. This little city of 4,000 people made a deal to give Cabela's $36 million to build a store. That's more than the city budget for that town for ten years. It's $8,000 for every man, woman, and child in that town to have this store. And even though he charged lower prices, he was pretty quickly run out of business. That's not market capitalism, which is what Ronald Reagan said he was going to bring us. He said, you know, government's the problem, we need markets as a solution. Well, that's not the market. That's corporate socialism. And what we've gotten is corporate socialism for the politically connected rich—not all the rich, the politically connected rich—and market capitalism for everybody else. Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfQDBjVhMzA&feature=PlayList&p=5EF4E9A462353E17&index=0&playnext=1 Book: http://books.google.com/books?id=iuKyGAAACAAJ&dq=david+cay+johnston+free+lunch&ei=QGiSR_L-G4Kw7gKw-dypBw NPR interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17808622 Less

madashelldude

Added Jan 19, 2008  

Channel News

Duration 4:39   |   views 2234

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Tags walmart  cabelas  conservatie  libertarian  free  market  economy 

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