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WASHINGTON, DC — A new study has identified $200 billion in U.S. government subsidies and tax breaks for industries that pollute the environment and waste taxpayer dollars could be eliminated at a time of record deficits.
"Green Scissors 2010," from Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Environment America, and Public Citizen, examined four areas for unnecessary and ineffective policies. The Green Scissors campaign found a slew of wasteful and sometimes outdated fiscal policies in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and biofuels, and public lands that it argues deserves elimination.
This includes a loan guarantee program through the Department of Energy that covers coal companies' debts if a project fails; eliminating this program could save more than $50 billion, according to the report.
Meanwhile, halving subsidies for commodity crops that largely flow to big agro-corporations could generate more than $26 billions in savings over the next five years. Eliminating giveaways on public lands, such as timber, mining and grazing subsidies, could save taxpayers billions.
"Staring down the barrel of record budget deficits, it is well past time for lawmakers to tackle our nation's fiscal challenges," Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said in a statement. "The billions of dollars of cuts detailed in this report provide lawmakers a veritable menu of policy options that will help our country's bottom line while also helping the environment."
Since the last Green Scissors report in 2004, there have been several notable victories for the environment and taxpayers, according to the report. For example, Congress allowed several subsidies to expire at the end of last year in what it called a major victory for fiscal responsibility. This includes a 50 cent per gallon tax incentive for production of liquid coal, which generates twice the greenhouse gas emissions as traditional gasoline.
Funding for the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository was also eliminated, which the report considered a positive step because the project is intersected by at least two major earthquake fault lines and water issues made the site unsuitable for long-term storage.
Royalty rates for offshore drilling were also increased to 18.75 percent from 12.5 percent, considered to be one of the lowest royalty rates in the world.
Image CC licensed by Flickr user Ken Lund.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - is
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - is the first ingredient on half of the processed crap we eat and drink. Most of the fruit juice we drink, soda pop, candy and other junk are mostly this sweetener. Because it is the best product? No in fact, along with subsidized meat the American diet is killing us. It is because Government subsidies for corn make this chemical sludge cheapest for crap food manufacturers. Coal, partly because it is subsidized by the Government, is the cheapest fuel for Big Power to use to make electricity. It is also responsible for the greatest single source of CO2 pollution on the planet. Government subsidies are killing us. (Soylent green is PEOPLE)