Overview
What comes to mind when you think of welfare? Do you think of poor people just getting by with assistance from the government or billion dollar companies getting tax breaks and government subsidies? Are tax credits and subsidies justified if there is a benefit for average Americans? In this video John Stossel and Lisa Conyers, co-author of Welfare for the Rich, discuss ways federal and state governments subsidize wealthy business owners.

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Grade level and subjects
• Recommended for grades 6-12
• Subjects: Government and Business
• Works in Classroom, Hybrid, and Homeschool settings

What students will learn
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• identify examples of subsidies and tax credits;
• discuss the premise of Lisa Conyers’ book, Welfare for the Rich;
• explain the advantages and disadvantages of subsidies and tax credits; and
• argue whether it is justified for taxpayer money to be used to help businesses.

Key concepts and terms covered
Feed at the Public Trough, Welfare, Subsidy, and Tax Credit.

Sample discussion questions
• Why do many politicians like to give away taxpayer money? What does Lisa Conyers mean when she asks, “Who wouldn’t like to play Santa Claus?”
• Does that moving football field in the Raiders new stadium seem like a good use of tax dollars? Why / Why not? How else might that have been paid for?
• Explain what is meant by “cash preservation” in the context of GM and Foxconn who received billions in tax credits but didn’t deliver as many jobs as they had initially stated they would? Should these corporations be allowed to keep that full amount in tax subsidies or should there be a partial/full repayment?
• The state of Wisconsin provided billions in tax credits to Foxconn because it promised to create 13,000 new jobs. Only a couple of hundred jobs were established. What, if anything, should be done about that?
• A recent political campaign commercial had a senator telling viewers that she supports “increasing investment in research and development to create more jobs.” Sounds great, right? Whose money is she talking about? To whom would it go? How does this commercial relate to the point of the video?

What’s in the free teacher’s guide
This printable 13-page Teacher's Guide includes a lesson description, learning objectives, key vocabulary, a fill-in viewing guide with answer key, discussion and analysis questions, and classroom activities.

Standards alignment
Aligned to state standards — use the SITC Standards Tool to match this video to the standards in your state.