So, where is all of that money going?
Of that $6,000, $870 goes to direct subsidies for corporations, including the likes of Exxon, Shell, BP and other fossil fuel giants that are taking our money and destroying our environment at the same time.
Meanwhile, hundreds more go to corporations as indirect subsidies.
Researchers at the University of Illinois and University of California-Berkeley found that US taxpayers pay a staggering $243 billion each year in indirect subsidies to the fast food industry alone.
That's because the fast food industry pays its workers such low wages, and gives them such poor benefits, that "We The People" foot the bill for their health care, food and, in some cases, their housing and transportation.
And then there's Walmart, the United States' largest retailer.
In 2013, Walmart brought in a staggering $476 billion in revenue, netting some $16 billion in profits.
Every hour, that retailing giant takes in over $36 million, making just over $34,000 in profit every minute.
Yet, as Michael Snyder points out over at The Economic Collapse Blog,
"Wal-Mart's low wages have led to full-time employees seeking public assistance. These are not the 47 percent, lazy, unmotivated bums. Rather, these are people working physical, often difficult jobs. They receive $2.66 billion in government help each year (including $1 billion in healthcare assistance). That works out to about $5,815 per worker. And about $420,000 per store."
So, a corporation that made $16 billion in net profits in 2013 is getting some $2.66 billion in government subsidies each year.
That's crazy.
If we're serious about going after "welfare queens" in the US, to use Ronald Reagan's phrase, then let's start by going after the corporations and industries that use the Walmart business model of paying such low wages that their employees qualify for welfare benefits.
It's unconscionable and morally reprehensible that workers working for the largest retailer in the United States, or for a fast food giant, aren't making enough money to survive and provide for their families.
We need to stop rewarding businesses for screwing over their employees.
That starts by raising the minimum wage to a point where giant corporations like Walmart can't run this scam of a business model on the US public any more.
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