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Politics | 10/02/2008 10:00 am

Your Tax Money at Work: Here Are 5 of the Crazier 'Pork' Elements of the $700B Bailout Bill

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© Shutterstock

The more than $700-billion economic package passed by the Senate last night was chock full of odd tax incentives and other pork spending that has many up in arms today.

It’s being reported that senators had to load up the package – that is critical to the survival of Wall Street, and possibly the entire American economy – in order to make it more politically acceptable to those opposed to it.

Here are five of the more outlandish things your taxpayer money is tagged to be spent on in this 451-page bill:

1. $19 million to cover excise taxes for rum brought into the U.S. from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; $33 milion for corporations operating in American Samoa.

2. $6 million to pay for a repeal of a 39-cent excise tax for wooden arrows designed for use by children. The tax "shall not apply to any shaft consisting of all-natural wood with no laminations or artificial means of enhancing the spine of such shaft …" Seriously. That one was aimed to save arrow manufacturers, like those in Oregon, about $200,000 a year.

3. $128 million for auto race tracks.

4. $223 million in tax benefits for fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

5. The "Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief" section includes: deductions for teacher expenses; additional standard deduction for real property taxes for non-itemizers; Indian employment credit; accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations; railroad track maintenance; seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility; enhanced deduction for qualified computer contributions; tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia; extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products, wool research fund, wool duty refunds.

You can read more here

26 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

BelindaJoy
The title: Your Tax Money at Work: Here Are 5 of the Crazier ‘Pork’ Elements of the $700B Bailout Bill I’m sorry but #5 as you have indicated (staff of wowOwow) in my opinion doesn’t qualify as crazy. To the contrary it seems quite appropriate to me.
By BelindaJoy on 10/02/2008 10:14 am
ElizaDodd
I believe that to Belinda! These staff people should be careful when wrtiing this stuff ..Personally myself I am online all the time since Dennis Kucinich first said he was running for President ..Because I am a Poor Person and have lived among the POOREST in the Nation .I am part Native and I belong to AIM .I am a Poor activist .Only if I had money I would make Heads Roll ! I play the Lotto …$2 a week ,QP . Native Americans do not have health care at all ..They have clinics for POOR people only ..And you are so very blessed if you have a job with health insurance .No one see what I have seen all my life ..People die in this country that are native born all because they have no health care .The other day in Dalllas a man died waiting 19 HOURS in the Emergency Room ! He had heart trouble …They take care of all the illeagl immigrants before they do American Born citizens ! I wish I had a camera like Moores I would go out and make a documentary of my own .And these Staff writters make too much money and dont go into the poor side of town do they ? Who do they think is online ? Its us People ….Because people who have money arent worried about jack shit ! I know I have realitives who have money and I have gotten into some heated arguments with them about health care and me ….and them …They havent a CLUE ! And they will never get it till they have some really hard times in their lives ..Never …They are over our heads and their heads are up in the Air …They havent a CLUE…..
By ElizaDodd on 10/02/2008 10:44 am
JJGB
Belinda, I agree with you on #5, but it shouldn’t be added on here-it’s a good enough plan to run on it’s own. Too much crap gets by us by being added onto other bills-that needs to stop.
By JJGB on 10/02/2008 1:30 pm
SherrieCrews
And which of these were the ones the reps in the House were holding out for?
By SherrieCrews on 10/02/2008 10:36 am
MsDee1
I agree, Belinda. Maybe they were being sarcastic. I don’t like anybody spending my tax dollars to build stadiums or racetracks either one. But at least they didn’t give anything to a pharmaceutical company. I’m glad to hear they’re finally helping the fisherman, but Exxon better pay that back. And we’re really not giving all that much to our protectorates. We probably owe them much more. As usual, I’m just made they’re giving subsidies to sports and not the arts. It could be a lot worse!
By MsDee1 on 10/02/2008 10:46 am
MaryNSBFlorida
They need to vote it down…in it’s entirety now… and only reconsider when it’s pork free. We’ll be back here in 3 months anyway since this won’t solve the problem so just get on with it and try to keep it focused.
By MaryNSBFlorida on 10/02/2008 11:11 am
JenniferDooley
The only one that makes any sense here is the raise in the insurance for banks THE FDIC. The rest are Votes being bought and sold, and that is disgraceful!
By JenniferDooley on 10/02/2008 12:02 pm
MarjorieC
Jennifer, I agree — it’s beyond disgraceful. I’ve made my mind up to not vote for an incumbent this year. Congress just plain stinks on both sides of the aisle.
By MarjorieC on 10/02/2008 5:13 pm
FrannieEm
This is appalling and shameful. Who do they think they are? Just who do they think they are? They should hide their heads in shame. What are they thinking? This is so particular congress people will get re-elected in their districts. MORE power play just to stay in office. You stay in office by doing your job and not screwing over the American public. What a bunch of wimps. How stupid do they think we are? They just keep stepping in it don’t they? Unbelievable.
By FrannieEm on 10/02/2008 5:42 pm
JenniferDooley
Marjorie, Yes they are all in this together in one form or another. To much fear tactics and personal interests. I am in mourning over the loss of our Representative Government and well America, the vision that so many have held for her. But Faith will get us through, ours is n ot to know everything. So one door has closed, their will b e other doors open. I am working on not being angry so I can focus on a brighter tomorrow for The Children’s Children. Peace and Blessings…
By JenniferDooley on 10/04/2008 1:32 pm
JJGB
I’d like to know who added these “pork” attachments to the bill? Name names-I couldn’t find the info. on the Internet, but maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places. With these additions, it should all be voted down and they should go back to the drawing board to rewrite the whole plan without any pork. You’d think they (or who ever is responsible for this) wouldn’t have the gall, with the whole world watching.
By JJGB on 10/02/2008 1:28 pm
FrannieEm
JJ you are right, it is time to take names. Did you see the entire list. Click the link above and take a look at the list. It is appalling. Disgraceful. So they can say they got something done this year? How many more taxes do they think we can pay?
By FrannieEm on 10/02/2008 5:46 pm
JenniferDooley
Frannie, The link above. i looked for a link and could not find one. Do you have it, if so would you post it please? It is time to keep track of these so called elected officials!
By JenniferDooley on 10/02/2008 6:11 pm
PattyE
Frannie, I have a link : . http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm… May I also inform all, that sometime between 4 and 5 pm, Glenn Beck stopped in to talk to Wolf Blitzer (I keep wanting to call him ‘wolfie’) with a Glenn Beck Forecast! Becksaid he thinks McCain LOST the election last night, when he voted in favor of the Bail-Out Bill. So I set out to find why he thought so…..first, if all recall, McCain has campaigned on ‘NO EARMARKS’…..and I put that in my pocket, then scooted over to the CNN poitical map of states held by each candidate. Obama has 19 states…2 senators per makes 38. ONLY 4 senators voted AGAINST Obama’s vote. 4 nays out of 38 total possible. McCain on the other hand, has 23 states, or 46 possible voting senators. McCain voted YES on the bill, while 28 of his committed senators voted NO! with one not voting. So, McCain showed he could not keep his word, and 60% of his senators showed him that he COULD have, if he wanted to! Obama did not set himself up for failure, and no one expected him to negate the earmarks, as they do McCain…so 90% of the Obama senators voted the same as Obama…… Now, McCain pulled out of MI today….Michigan is now an Obama state. I wonder if some of the McCain states are going to change thier mind on their vote…now that they have seen FIRST HAND, that McCain SAYS one thing and does another…..
By PattyE on 10/02/2008 6:40 pm
JenniferDooley
Patty, Thank you for the link. I am starting a an email file, just think it is time to throw out the garbage!
By JenniferDooley on 10/02/2008 7:49 pm