Monday, November 14, 2011

Watch Out 1%: "Sen. Tom Coburn targets 'welfare for the well-off' in new report"

Senator Dr. Coburn is an interesting guy.
From the Los Angeles Times:
As the congressional "super committee" works to overcome divisions on a deficit reduction deal, a leading conservative lawmaker is blasting billions wasted on "welfare for the well-off."

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who served on the president's bipartisan fiscal commission and has been a member of the so-called Gang of Six, released a report Monday detailing the kinds of subsidies and loopholes that he says benefit those least in need of a government safety net.

Coburn calls his 37-page report, which features a number of charts along with clip art of the Monopoly man, "Subsidies of the Rich and Famous."

"We should never demonize those who are successful. Nor should we pamper them with unnecessary welfare to create an appearance everyone is benefiting from federal programs," Coburn writes.

Among the most egregious offenses of "reverse Robin Hood" handouts: $20.8 million in unemployment insurance paid to millionaires in 2009; $16.4 million in subsidized student loans for millionaire college students from 2007 to 2010; $27.7 billion in mortgage interest deductions for millionaires....MORE
Here's the press release:
Dr. Coburn Releases Report Exposing Billions in Giveaways for Millionaires

which includes the link to "Subsidies of the Rich and Famous".
(37 page PDF)