The DOJ Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission announced they had identified over 125 federal regulations for review and potential elimination under Trump’s Executive Order on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers. The initiative represents a systematic dismantling of …
Department of JusticeFederal Trade Commission (FTC)Trump Administrationderegulationantitrustregulatory-capturecorporate-welfare
Wyoming lawmakers pass House Bill 75, reducing the coal severance tax rate from 6.5% to 6%, marking the second consecutive tax cut for coal producers in two years. In 2022, the Legislature reduced the severance tax from 7% to 6.5%, together costing the state approximately $20 million in annual …
Wyoming LegislatureMark GordonBlack Hills EnergyPowder River Basin Coal Producerswyomingcoalfossil-fuelscorporate-welfareregulatory-capture+2 more
Amazon announced on November 13, 2018 that it would split its HQ2 project between Long Island City in Queens, New York and Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia (rebranded as “National Landing”). While Amazon claimed the combined subsidies totaled approximately $2.8 billion, analysis by …
AmazonJeff BezosAndrew CuomoBill de BlasioGood Jobs Firstcorporate-welfareeconomic-extractionbillionaire-impunitywealth-extraction
Seattle’s City Council unanimously passed a “head tax” on large employers on May 14, 2018, taxing companies earning $20 million+ annually at $275 per full-time employee to fund affordable housing and homeless services. Amazon—with 45,000 Seattle employees and facing a $12 million …
AmazonJeff BezosWashington PostSeattle City CouncilJenny Durkanmedia-capturecorporate-welfaretax-avoidancelocal-politicseditorial-capture
Amazon paid zero federal income tax for the second consecutive year despite nearly doubling its U.S. profits to $11.2 billion in 2018. Beyond avoiding all federal taxes, Amazon actually received a $129 million tax rebate from the federal government—yielding a negative 1% effective tax rate. This …
AmazonJeff BezosInstitute on Taxation and Economic Policytax-avoidancecorporate-welfarewealth-extractionbillionaire-impunity
Amazon announced in September 2017 that it would build a second headquarters (HQ2) equal to its Seattle campus, sparking a bidding war among 238 North American cities desperate to win 50,000 promised jobs. Cities competed to offer the largest subsidy packages—with bids averaging $6.75 billion from …
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin announces that Braidy Industries, a new venture led by metals industry veteran Craig Bouchard, will build what is described as “the most sophisticated aluminum mill in the world” in Greenup County near Ashland, promising 600 well-paying jobs. One week later, …
Matt BevinCraig BouchardBraidy IndustriesKentucky LegislatureMitch McConnell+1 morecrony-capitalismkentuckycorporate-welfarestate-capturekleptocracy+2 more
Congress included $120 million for Abrams tank upgrades in the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act, marking the third consecutive year lawmakers overrode Army leadership requests to suspend tank production—the first such production halt proposed since World War II. Representative Mike Turner …
General DynamicsMike TurnerRay OdiernoRob PortmanSherrod Browncongressional-corruptiondefense-contractorsmilitary-spendinggeneral-dynamicscorporate-welfare+1 more
Congress approved $255 million to upgrade M1 Abrams tanks through 2014 despite explicit Army testimony that it had ceased ordering tanks and wanted to save billions by halting production to develop next-generation armor. The appropriation represented a direct override of military leadership by both …
General DynamicsRob PortmanSherrod BrownRay OdiernoMike Turner+1 morecongressional-corruptiondefense-contractorsmilitary-spendinggeneral-dynamicscorporate-welfare+1 more
On June 7, 2012, 38 Studios LLC—the video game development company founded by former baseball star Curt Schilling—files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with $151 million in debt and just $22 million in assets, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers to absorb $38.6 million in losses from a $75 million state loan …
Curt Schilling38 Studios LLCRhode Island Economic Development CorporationLincoln ChafeeWells Fargo+1 morecorporate-welfareeconomic-developmentbankruptcytaxpayer-lossesrhode-island+3 more
In 2007, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) launched its first annual ‘Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index’ report, co-authored by economist Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and ALEC staff. The report ranked all 50 states based on 15 …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Arthur LafferStephen MooreJonathan WilliamsKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policyrace-to-bottompropaganda+4 more
President Jimmy Carter signed the Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979 into law on January 7, 1980, following House passage on December 13, 1979 (271-136 vote) and Senate passage on December 21, 1979 (53-44 vote). The legislation provided up to $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees to …
Jimmy CarterLee Iacoccacorporate-welfareeconomic-policyauto-industrybailouts
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program) begins on April 3, 1948, as the United States initiates a $13.3 billion economic recovery program for Western Europe ($137 billion in 2024 dollars). Announced by Secretary of State George Marshall in June 1947 and signed into law by …
George MarshallHarry S. TrumanU.S. CongressEuropean Recovery Programcold-warforeign-aidcorporate-welfaremilitary-industrial-complextrade-policy
President Woodrow Wilson signs the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act after its sponsor Senator Wesley Jones of Washington, mandating that all goods shipped between U.S. ports must be transported on ships that are American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed. The law …
The banking firm Jay Cooke & Company collapses, triggering a devastating financial panic and economic depression lasting until 1879. Cooke’s firm, heavily invested in the Northern Pacific Railroad and backed by over 60 million acres of federal land grants used as collateral, becomes …
Jay Cooke & CompanyNorthern Pacific RailroadNew York Stock ExchangeEuropean Investorseconomic-crisissystematic-corruptioncorporate-welfarefinancial-manipulation