I wrote a commentary dated 7/23/08 titled: Innovation: Lost In America, which pointed out how greed among Corporate America has replaced our ability to be innovative and stay on top of economic progress. That result has devastated free enterprise across our country and has destroyed competition. We have become a nation of giving away our revenue to businesses in the form of tax exemptions and etc., at the expense of the people's needs.
And individual states are at the forefront. Lets just take a look at what is happening. States are granting long range tax exemptions for businesses to be located in their state even though it is not necessary. Owners of professional sports are given millions of dollars in concessions to multi million dollar owners who can pay their own way. All of this loss revenue while the states are running huge deficits.
Every state has a built in advantage to lure business and a free market system allows businesses to compete or fail based on those principals. Smart business people find a means to compete without receiving tax exemptions. The problem is businesses have to constantly innovate to progress but why innovate when states are falling over each other to build them new plants or give 10 years of tax exemptions at the expense of the tax payers.
Louisiana is a prime example. The legislature just passed a $26 billion budget for next fiscal year which contains approximately $7 billion of tax exemptions. The owner of the Saints football team has seen his equity in the team increase from $78 million to over $900 million, yet he is still receiving millions of dollars of tax payers money and Louisiana has to plug deficits in its budget every year. And Louisiana is close to the bottom in ranking in a number of area's compared to other states. To top it all the latest report says Louisiana has approximately 700,000 people without insurance.
State governments and their legislature have to once and for all stop the give away of tax dollars and let competition rule. That would be the true free market system, return innovation and let each state reap the benefits of its natural attractions for business and its built in advantages.
The federal government has given the oil and gas industry billions in tax incentives for over 40 years, yet our country is more dependent on foreign oil now than ever before. During the Bush administration it amounted to over $8 billion and the people got record oil and gasoline prices while oil company executives received record bonuses.
It is past time for state and federal governments to end this unnecessary Corporate Welfare that is paid for by the average tax payer and start using that loss revenue to do what is necessary to advance the quality of life for the people. The BP oil spill in the Gulf is a good example. Here we have a company and industry who has yet to develop a plan or equipment to plug a blow out in offshore drilling timely or a plan and equipment to timely remove the spilled oil from the water of the Gulf before that spilled oil reaches land. It should be noted today is day 72 since the explosion and leak.
The free market and enterprise system is truly lost in America just like innovation. All of the huge profits American companies make go to feed the greed of their executives. It is no wonder the economic and fiscal conditions of the states and federal governments are swimming in debt. It is also no wonder why the economic recession is still with us.
