Welfare For Me But Not For Thee

Darn those illegal immigrants, welfare moms, and minorities demanding affirmative action! Why can't they pull themselves up by their bootstraps the way heroes of the free-market do?

BANDON, Ore.--Mike Keiser, who made a fortune selling greeting cards on recycled paper, turned this remote spot on the southern Oregon coast into a golfing mecca that attracts wealthy people in private jets from around the world.

To many in this hard-luck town of 3,000, Mr. Keiser is an economic hero. Work became scarce after the timber and fishing industries collapsed a quarter-century ago, and his Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, a few miles north of town, has created 325 full-time jobs, plus hundreds more part-time jobs. Mr. Keiser earns millions of dollars in profits each year.

But beneath this model of enterprise, largely hidden subsidies from airline passengers, state-lottery players, taxpayers and company shareholders support the benefits that the owner, workers and visitors at Bandon Dunes enjoy.

Airline passengers and lottery players are paying for a $31 million airport expansion to serve the 5,000 business jets that arrive each year, filled almost entirely with golfers. Many of them are executives of publicly traded companies flying at a small fraction of the real cost of their trips; taxpayers and shareholders bear nearly all of these costs.

Well, I'm sure Mike Keiser is at least consistent about his pro-big-government views, right? Oh, wait . . .

An enthusiastic supporter of Newt Gingrich's GOPAC ($20,000), he consistently exceeded contribution restrictions: In 1990, Keiser spent four times the federal limit.

I guess Keiser's career helps demonstrate that old capitalist adage: You get what you pay for.

Tags: Michael Keiser, Bandon, Oregon, corporate welfare, government subsidies