Millionaires earn billions in federal benefits, report says

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/    By Ed O’Keefe     14 Nov 2011

As the congressional super-committee struggles to develop comprehensive plans to address the nation’s fiscal woes, a Republican senator is suggesting they look at the billions of dollars in federal benefits collected annually by the nation’s millionaires.

On average, Americans earning more than $1 million annually receive a combined $1.6 billion in federal benefits and $28.5 billion in tax credits annually, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) says in a new report published by his office, “Subsidies of the Rich and Famous.”

Coburn — a frequent critic of federal spending — argues that Congress and the White House should target federal benefits paid to millionaires instead of focusing on their tax rates.

“We should never demonize those who are successful,” Coburn says in his report. “Nor should we pamper them with unnecessary welfare to create an appearance everyone is benefiting from federal programs.”

“The government’s social safety net, which has long existed to catch those who are down and help them get back up, is now being used as a hammock by some millionaires, some who are paying less taxes than average middle class families,” Coburn writes.