Pork! Pork!*

From Dr Eamonn Butler's "The Best Book On The Market":

When I worked for the US Congress, I was astonished that the Food Stamp Bill (a welfare measure) was tacked on to the end of the Farm Bill. Then I realized: the Democrats disliked farm subsidies, but desperately wanted more welfare for their inner-city voters. The Republicans disliked welfare but desperately wanted farm subsidies for their rural voters. Put subsidies and welfare together, and they both vote for the package.

What's called 'public choice theory' explains the details of such things, but in reality it's easy: you vote for my measure, I'll vote for yours. The politicians all get what they want. Unfortunately, in the process, voters get more government than they ever wanted.

OK, set that against the background of the Biggest Corporate Welfare programme in recent history, the Federal Reserve's proposed $700 billion dollar bail out, and what else comes crawling out of the woodwork?

From the blatant ... US carmakers forced to wait for $25bn 'green' loan: Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, has already expressed concern about the state of Wall Street’s frozen credit markets, which have ceased offering car loans... a warning over government intervention came from Kenneth Rogoff ... professor of economics at Harvard University. He told The Times that any Washington bailout would open “a can of worms”. He forecast that once the banks and financial institutions have been rescued with taxpayer money, other distressed industries such as car manufacturing will seek federal help.

To the ridiculous ... Wooden arrows of fortune to save the US bailout plan: Scrapping the controversial children's arrow tax - we are not making this up - is one of dozens of tax breaks included in the latest version that were supposedly crucial to getting the final draft through Congress... Other lucky winners of this week's political debacle include stock car racetrack owners, Hollywood producers and those who received payouts in the Exxon Valdez oil spillage. Passage of the Bill was held up all week while politicians deliberated the inclusion of measures to help 'Main Street USA'... The first Bill given to Congress by US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson two weeks ago was three pages in length. The Bill before the House tonight is 451 pages.

* Apologies to this 'blog's many Jewish readers.