BrianGarst.com

One of the eternal frustrations in dealing with those who argue for expanded governmental power in order to address ‘inequality’ is that government itself is the source of so much inequality. Farm subsidies transfer wealth to farmers who are much richer than the average American. Social Security transfers wealth from young workers without much wealth to older individuals who have had a lifetime to accumulate savings, and are thus already much wealthier. Indeed, the idea that government distributes from the haves to the have-nots is a myth. Rather, government distributes from the less politically connected to the more politically connected.

Add the Chevy Volt to the list of government welfare programs for the rich. Like so many ‘green’ subsidies, they benefit primarily wealthy, high-minded liberals at the expense of everyone else.

The buyers of Chevrolet’s taxpayer-subsidized Chevy Volt hybrid have an average income of $170,000, but still receive thousands in tax breaks for their purchases.

The wealthy buyers of the Volt each get a $7,500 tax credit for buying the car. The number of people who get the subsidy is unknown, because the company does not say how many of its buyers are individuals who pay taxes, as opposed to companies or government agencies.

All of the buyers, however, do enjoy a share of the roughly $1.5 billion in federal and state subsidies given to Chevrolet and its parts suppliers, according to a new analysis by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

The government subsidies add up to a potential maximum of $250,000 for each of the 6,000 Volts that was sold by the end of November, 2011.

If the subsidies are discounted to include portions of the various subsidies not actually snagged by the companies, or also applied to other projects, the value per Volt of the already-used subsidies is somewhere between $30,000 and $88,000 per auto, he said.

But don’t expect to hear the so-called 99% protesting at the door of Chevy, or decrying the practices of the green elite.