Different standards for different folks

Jan 2, 2006

A restaurant in Florida received a $725,000 loan and a doctor’s office in the state of Washington got nearly two million dollars – each for land purchases and improvements. Twenty-nine Dunkin’ Donuts stores in nine states received a total of 22 million. Some of the stores were in Arlington, Texas; Essex Junction, Vermont; and Woodstock, Georgia.

The roughly 8,200 guaranteed loans approved under the government’s Supplemental Terrorist Activity Relief program were supposed to help businesses recover from the attacks of 9/11. Yet in a sample of these loans examined recently, auditors found that 85 per cent had no relationship to 9/11 nor to New York City.

In reality, these government-guaranteed loans flowed like the flood waters of the Mississippi to virtually any businessman in the country who wanted one. Any excuse will work when it comes to the government subsidizing businesses with the taxes of working people.