Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
According to the EWG Farm Subsidy Database, fewer than 5% of congressional districts (19 out of 435 districts, or 4.35%) accounted for almost half (49.7%) of crop subsidy program spending in the U.S. between 2003 and 2005.
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
4 Comments:
Everybody knows
Leonard Cohen
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows
Everybody also knows that a representative who works for his constituents gets re-elected. What incentive is there for the constituents to elect someone who does not get funding for their area?
When it's millions at stake, is it surprising that people are tempted to game the rules? It would be more surprising if they did not.
With regard to Leonard Cohen, one cannot help but remark on the irony of a man who is battling his former financial advisor while embracing Buddhism, a philosophy that disavows all material wealth.
I like Ben Franklin. So did the French.
He said, the poor should not be comfortable. Lest we keep them that way. So, one wonders, who benefits from keeping the poor comfortable and weak? Do the poor? Seems pretty un-american to me to embrace policies that create the "comfortable poor". Shackles and chains if you ask me....
However, I agree, we will always have rich and poor. Jealousy of the rich has been used as a tool to motivate society to do some pretty evil things (see the National Socialists).
The cool part is that the poor have the opportunity to become rich; thanks to the policies and philosphies of the USA: capitalism, hard work, dedication.
But, this phenomena, is not limited to the USA. See India, for example: http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501041206/two_indias_vpt_das.html
The shrinking middle class is another class warfare tactic. Sure, they are shrinking because "According to the 2001 and 2004 surveys, affluent middle-class households are the fastest growing segment."
The middle class appears to be getting more rich, not poor.
"Between 2001 and 2010, families with net-worths of between $1 million to $10 million are projected to grow by 50 percent."
I'm proud of USA efforts to help the world accomplish the same success we have in so short a time period.
God bless America.
God bless America squared.
According to Peter Drucker, the U.S. was able to produce more planes & tanks in WWII in 1 year than the Germans thought they would produce in 5 years.
America rocks!
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