This print is a comment on corporate subsidy. While average Americans struggle to make ends meet, many profitable industries and corporations receive tax breaks and subsidies. This is due to the dangerously disproportionate influence corporations have on politics and policy. Too much power under current campaign finance structure yields the ability for corporations to manipulate politics. A lot of people freaked out that the Obama administration lost taxpayers about $600 million by investing in Solyndra, a solar panel company developing a new technology, which went bankrupt. However, few people seem upset that the U.S. government gives approximately $70 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the highly profitable oil and gas industries. Green Energy companies only received 12 billion in subsidy because they don’t have the deep pockets of fossil fuel companies.  The Solyndra investment did not work out, but the need to fund new, renewable technologies, should be obvious when the rapidly depleting oil and gas sources become more difficult and dangerous to extract each passing day. The only reason the government subsidies are so disproportionate is because of the massive power the dying oil and gas industry still has.

The Oil & Gas industry, which includes multi-national and independent oil and gas producers and refiners, natural gas pipeline companies, gasoline service stations and fuel oil dealers, has long enjoyed a history of strong influence in Washington. Individuals and political action committees affiliated with oil and gas companies have donated $238.7 million to candidates and parties since the 1990 election cycle, 75 percent of which has gone to Republicans.

Check out this article on the political influence of the Oil & Gas industry.

and these other articles on Corporate Welfare:

www.thinkbynumbers.org

www.truth-out.org

Thanks for caring.

Profits from this print will got to Rootstrikers and Represent.US to push campaign finance reform and end legal bribery of politicians.

-Shepard

SOLD OUT

CORPORATE WELFARE  Shepard Fairey

18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckle tone paper.  Signed and numbered edition of 450.  $55.  Limit 1 per person/household.  A portion of the proceeds to benefit Rootstrikers and Represent.US

Release date:  Tuesday August 11, 2015 at a random time between 10am and 11am PDT in the STORE