Big Chicken takes on Big Ethanol

One reason corporate welfare is so hard to kill is the problem of “concentrated benefits and diffuse costs.” A subsidy program might irk taxpayers, but how much time and money will taxpayers spend to kill a program that costs them each $20 per year? A lot less than the few lucky beneficiaries will spend to save that program.

Even worse, regulations often protect big companies from competition. Sometimes this prevents the competition from ever coming into existence.