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Oct 25, 2011 | ISBN 9781609611132 Buy
Oct 25, 2011 | ISBN 9781609613181 Buy
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Oct 25, 2011 | ISBN 9781609611132
Oct 25, 2011 | ISBN 9781609613181
Just reading the word “subsidies” may cause many people’s eyes to glaze over. We don’t think itaffects us directly, so we tune out. But it turns out that this complicated-sounding issue has an enormous impact on all of us. The Big Handout is about bad fiscal, environmental, agricultural, water, energy, health, and foreign policies. And it’s a story about just one thing—subsidies. A subsidy is a grant by the government to a private business that is deemed advantageous to thepublic. Cotton, wheat, corn, soy, and oil are the most subsidized commodities in the United States. Inthis eye-opening book, New York Times best-selling author Thomas Kostigen explores government policies that cost taxpayers $200 billion per year, over $1,500 per household. In some cases we pay more for subsidized goods than we’d pay in a free market—and, in the most shocking abuses of the subsidy system, we pay for goods that aren’t even produced.The Big Handout exposes how artificial pricing hurts us and people worldwide, from our waistlinesand pocketbooks to our health. By revealing just how toxic America’s subsidy system has become, for everyone, The Big Handout is a wake-up call that empowers readers to effect change.
Just reading the word “subsidies” may cause many people’s eyes to glaze over. We don’t think it affects us directly, so we tune out. But it turns out that this complicated-sounding issue has an enormous impact on all of us. The Big Handout is about bad fiscal, environmental, agricultural, water, energy, health, and foreign policies. And it’s a story about just one thing—subsidies.A subsidy is a grant by the government to a private business that is deemed advantageous to the public. Cotton, wheat, corn, soy, and oil are the most subsidized commodities in the United States. In this eye-opening book, New York Times bestselling author Thomas Kostigen explores government policies that cost taxpayers $200 billion per year, over $1,500 per household. In some cases we pay more for subsidized goods than we’d pay in a free market—and, in the most shocking abuses of the subsidy system, we pay for goods that aren’t even produced.The Big Handout exposes how artificial pricing hurts us and people worldwide, from our waistlines and pocketbooks to our health. By revealing just how toxic America’s subsidy system has become, for everyone, The Big Handout is a wake-up call that empowers readers to effect change.
Thomas M. Kostigen is an award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and journalist. He founded the Climate Survivalist column for USA Today and has written for numerous publications, including The Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover, Departures, The Los Angeles Times,… More about Thomas M. Kostigen
“A lively polemic…Kostigen provides a forceful statement of the need to reorganize food and other primary goods production in the U.S.” —Kirkus Reviews“The Big Handout is a clear-eyed look at how a maze of government programs, greedy agribusiness lobbyists, and craven politicians have broken our agriculture system and how Americans can fight back for a more equitable, healthier food and farm policy.” —Ken Cook, President and Cofounder, Environmental Working Group
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