Aid to Dependent Corporations It seems people are quick to criticize the welfare system in the United States. However, there is another form of welfare that few are aware exists. This type of corporate welfare, termed "wealthfare," by Chuck Collins, the author of "Aid to Dependent Corporations," benefits corporations and the wealthy. Mr. Collins mentioned some very interesting facts with which I totally agree. His article helped me to understand how the rich continue to get richer, all at the cost of the United States taxpayer. Chuck Collins brings out many instances of corporate wealthfare in his article. For example, since 1987, American Barrick Resources Corporation has b ...view middle of the document...
They may also be less apt to make such radical changes to the welfare programs. Most people would take a closer look at the policies, or laws, that contribute to the corporations' ability to manipulate these laws to their favor and take advantage of the government. It seems to many people that welfare is putting a drain on the government budget. On the other hand, if corporations were paying as much in taxes today as they did in the 1950's, it would amount to $250 billion a year--more than the entire budget deficit (15). The true drains on the government budget are the corporations who get away with avoiding taxes. It appears to me that the problem is not welfare, but wealthfare. Chuck Collins provides additional cases of corporate wealthfare. One example is the foreign tax credit, "which allows U.S.-based multinational corporations to deduct from their U.S. taxes the income taxes they pay to other nations" (15). A perfect argument of the foreign tax credit is the oil companies that purchased oil from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had no income tax, which was good for the American companies; but the Saudi Arabians charged royalties. Because the royalties were not income taxes, they were not tax deductible. When King Saud decided to raise the royalties, the oil companies convinced him to substitute a corporate income tax instead. Other oil-producing countries followed suit, which, in the end, was a huge cost to the U. S. Treasury. I cannot help but think the large corporations are manipulating the government and creating changes to fit their needs.A second example is the wages of corporate executives. The average top executive today is paid at a ratio of 140 to one, compared to twenty years ago when a top executive made 34 times the wages of the lowest paid employees. "In 1993 the Clinton administration capped the deductibility of salaries at $1 million, but the law has several loopholes that allow for easy evasion" (16). It is insane to think that any one individual would be worthy of such a h...
