ERIE, Pa., Aug. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Personal stories of the effect of tax exemptions, subsidies, government regulations, and bailouts are presented in the provocative new documentary, Corporate Welfare: Where’s the Outrage?, debuting on public television Sunday, August 29, 2021 (check local listings). The one-hour program begins streaming on the PBS App, YouTube, Roku, Venmo and on Free To Choose Network on August 30.
Hosted by Free To Choose Media Executive Editor and Cato Senior Fellow Johan Norberg, the provocative documentary examines America’s system of farm subsidies, Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Big Oil subsidies, government policies, and tax breaks for big business, and retired Chairman/CEO of BB&T John Allison offers a perspective of the 2008 financial crash from the viewpoint of a banker caught in the middle.
“We’ll meet some people whose lives and livelihoods have been directly affected by these bloated programs…the individuals who pay the price,” said Norberg. “And you will ask yourself, ‘Where’s the outrage?’”
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, viewers learn what one community did to redirect money for tax exemption packages for large oil companies and bring it back into the community. The documentary examines how the Swedish multinational conglomerate Ikea secured a $9.5 million tax incentive in Memphis, Tennessee, while local retailers, who were also taxpayers, were turned down for any financial incentives. In Chicago, we see the impact of the $6 billion Lincoln Yards project on long-time small business owners as the city uses TIF funds, created to spur development in poor areas of the city, to transform a busy light manufacturing neighborhood sitting on prime riverfront property into a private, luxury live/work/retail development.
“Many government programs begin with good intentions, but they result in unintended consequences,” says Norberg. “From what I’ve observed…it’s better to let the economy evolve in its own natural way, rather than to rely on government intervention.”
Corporate Welfare: Where’s the Outrage? was inspired by the book, Welfare for the Rich, by Phil Harvey and Lisa Conyers.
Corporate Welfare: Where’s the Outrage? is a production of Free To Choose Media. The program was written by Jim Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty and Mike Majoros; Jim Tusty, producer; Maureen Castle Tusty, director; Thomas Skinner and Rob Chatfield, executive producers.
Major funding is provided by Sarah Scaife Foundation, Melvin S. Cohen Foundation, and Family Muhlenkamp Charitable Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Free To Choose Media (FTCM) creates award-winning national broadcast productions seeking to stimulate thought on vital topics, including economics, taxes, education, civics, and human rights. FTCM offers diverse voices, powerful stories, and a fresh perspective on important global and national issues. Most FTCM programs are available on public television stations across the U.S., on Amazon, YouTube, Roku, and at freetochoosenetwork.org. Free To Choose Media is the film production arm of Free To Choose Network.
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