Is it right to subsidize businesses with taxpayer money so that they can pay their employees less?

I know the Aspen “affordable housing” program is a sacred cow. But let’s talk about this cow for a change, rather than just worship it.

Let’s stipulate at the outset that the people who are suckling at the teat of this cow are not poor. The income cutoff for subsidized rental housing is $143,000 (and $213,000 for a couple). For subsidized owner housing, it’s $184,000 (and $191,000 for a couple).

But leave aside for a moment the questionable morality of taxing not just the wealthy but also the middle and lower class in order to subsidize the upper-middle class — where some of the subsidized are actually making more than the subsidizers.

And ignore that there are a billion people on this planet making less than $500 a year who need subsidies a lot more than a person who chooses to make $184,000 a year in Aspen.

And let’s not dwell on the fact that this cow is notoriously corrupted with individuals who lie about their eligibility to ride it.

And we’ll put aside the fact that the elites of government and media who are tasked with keeping this cow in its pasture are suckling at the teat of the cow themselves.

Finally, let’s save for another day the cost, inefficiency, cronyism and empire-building of the government agency that feeds taxpayer money to this cow. (Not to mention the inside track enjoyed by its staff — guess who learns first when another teat of the cow becomes available?)

Leave all that aside. My biggest problem with the cow is that Continue reading →