There are two types of businesses: successful ones that don't need financial assistance from the government, and unsuccessful ones that don't deserve it.
Those lucky enough to have foreign deals backed by the Export-Import Bank fall almost entirely in the first group. They don't need the help, but they'll take all the favors they can get.
Only 2% of American exports get this kind of subsidy from the government, and over time, those special taxpayer-funded favors can mean hundreds of millions in additional profit to those lucky few corporations.
As for the others, they're left to compete at a disadvantage. That's not opportunity for all; it's favoritism for a few politically connected cronies.
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The Sunlight Foundation found 19 of the top 20 organizations lobbying Congress to extend the charter of the Export-Import Bank are direct beneficiaries of its financing and loan guarantees. The cost of such lobbying is far beyond the resources of most small businesses, meaning they don't stand a chance competing for similar subsidies.
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But it's not just a handful of big domestic companies getting a leg up from Ex-Im. A new study by the Mercatus Center revealed overseas buyers — the foreign businesses on the purchasing end of exports subsidized through Ex-Im — are primarily very large firms.
Additionally, authors Veronique de Rugy and Diane Katz found that "among the top 10 buyers, five are state-controlled and rake in millions of dollars from their own governments in addition to Ex-Im Bank subsidies. These multiple-subsidy streams offset operating costs, and provide a significant competitive advantage over unsubsidized US firms engaged in similar ventures."
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http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/051315-752457-time-to-close-the-ex-im-bank.htm
