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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (43665)	6/9/2010 11:43:11 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

That is not the only definition of subsidy any gift or boon or assistance, or transfer of (esp. but not only) financial assets can be considered a subsidy. Its a loosely defined word. By some definitions tax advantages (where the government takes less, but still takes) wouldn't count as subsidies, by others they would. By some transfers not intended to provide advantage in the market or move away from free market conditions would count, by your they would not. Also using your definition, oil companies are not net receivers of subsides. The competitors of the oil industry (at least some of them, most specifically, but not only, the ones that tend to be called "alternative" energy sources), get advantage by the transfers and boons from the government. Some of them almost wouldn't exist without such subsidies. On the other hand, the oil companies, receive a disadvantage. Special taxes are added to the end products from the industry that are not applied to their competitors, and these special taxes exceed the subsidies (even using your definition, and esp. if you only count direct transfers to the industry), given to the industry.