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This is a great report from 2012 (using 2010 numbers) that outlines gov subsidies, loans, and contracts by industry: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/upl

This is a great report from 2012 (using 2010 numbers) that outlines gov subsidies, loans, and contracts by industry: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/ninesubsidyscopechartspdf.pdf http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_as... Energy is the 5th most subsidized sector, counting both grants and tax expenditures (exemptions), with $34.5b in total federal subsidies. Compared to the $743.5b we subsidized healthcare, this is pretty small stuff. Energy makes up the 2nd largest share of direct federal loans at $48.4b, behind education at $87.8b: The energy sector contained the second largest number of loans, with $48.4 billion in loans, about half of the amount of education loans. These loans were administered by the U.S. Department of Energy to promote advanced technology vehicles and energy efficiency through innovative technologies and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for the purpose of improving electricity transmission in rural areas. The energy sector’s loans made up 31 percent of all loans in the nine sectors in FY2010. Good breakdown of competed vs non-competed contracts by sector as well, with transportation and national defense coming out on top in terms of nominal size of contracts as well as ratio non-compete to compete, unsurprisingly.

revelation 11y ago
I'm afraid this is missing the point. The subsidies we are talking about when it comes to energy are not "cash in hand" loans to energy companies. It's the tacit approval of and ignorance towards externalities energy companies cause, mostly pollution in any number of forms, from those carcinogenic to those crushing the climate (CO2) and finally things like nuclear waste (and possibly decontamination) that will be with us for many thousand years to come. These massive costs are not being accounted for, and they sum up to subsidies vastly exceeding the puny $50b cited here.
- roymurdock 11y ago
  We're in agreement here. Unfortunately, until we develop a serious pollution permitting scheme where companies can buy and sell pollution "credits" on a market with some max set and enforced by the government, we will be unable to capture these negative externalities in dollar form.

revelation 11y ago

I'm afraid this is missing the point. The subsidies we are talking about when it comes to energy are not "cash in hand" loans to energy companies. It's the tacit approval of and ignorance towards externalities energy companies cause, mostly pollution in any number of forms, from those carcinogenic to those crushing the climate (CO2) and finally things like nuclear waste (and possibly decontamination) that will be with us for many thousand years to come. These massive costs are not being accounted for, and they sum up to subsidies vastly exceeding the puny $50b cited here.

roymurdock 11y ago
We're in agreement here. Unfortunately, until we develop a serious pollution permitting scheme where companies can buy and sell pollution "credits" on a market with some max set and enforced by the government, we will be unable to capture these negative externalities in dollar form.