Free Lunch author, David Cay Johnston, talks about growing wealth inequality and how taxpayers foot the bill. Sports stadiums and some golf resorts receive more in subsidies than they earn in profit, which means without taxpayer help, they couldn’t afford to operate.
The problem starts with government subsidies, says Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. States are spending around $70 billion on government subsidies, he estimates. That doesn’t include the hundreds of billions more doled out in federal subsidies.
“Is that capitalism?,” he complains. “Go compete in a competitive arena. Don’t go to Washington and say ‘give me money’ either by saying ‘I don’t have to pay taxes’ or forcing other people to pay taxes that go to me. Go earn your money in the marketplace.”
