Every year, the federal government’s budget is loaded with hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer- funded subsidies. A little known piece of that pile of taxpayer cash giveaways is the nearly $20 billion spent each year on “community development” subsidies.
While not as well known as farm subsidies or the special benefits of the mortgage interest deduction, the money spent on community development programs surpasses the $15 billion in subsidies the Department of Transportation uses to subsidize Amtrak and air traffic controllers, and equals the $20 billion in renewable energy subsidies from the Department of Energy.
This report examines the relationship between “crony capitalism” and community development subsidies, and the susceptibility of these subsidy programs to crony capitalism. Crony capitalism is when private interests collude with government to acquire subsidies or economic benefits that give them an advantage or special
privilege in the marketplace that would not otherwise exist
Read the report.