Picking Winners and Losers

   The Federal government has been granting subsidies to "green" energy companies, many  of which have turned into absolute failures.  At the same time, this administration has been pushing for taking away tax breaks from the oil companies.  They also always refer to these tax breaks as subsidies.  I happen to think these two terms are not the same.  With a subsidy, money is given to a company.  With a tax break, money is NOT taken from a company.  The bottom line may be the same, but the terms are different. 
   At a time when gasoline prices are outrageously high and appear to be heading higher, it makes no sense to me that the solution is to punish the oil companies. The President simply does not want the oil industry to succeed.  The threat to take away tax breaks is just one example to illustrate this.  There are so many others as well.
   What it boils down to is that  President Obama feels he can be the one who determines who is going to succeed in this country and who is going to fail.  I feel that if we are going to be in the business of subsidies or tax breaks, they ought to be made the same for all.  This administration is always talking about being fair, but in some of its policies, it is attempting to do the opposite of being fair.  The President's record at picking winners is also abysmal.  Just look at how many "green" energy companies that received subsidies that are now going bankrupt.  You could even make an argument that President Obama is attempting to make winners out of his cronies.  "Crony Socialism" seems to be an accurate description of what is going on.
   I would rather see our government stay out of trying to impact businesses altogether.  Let the free market work. American would be better off for it.
   Another BIG question would be this:  Where in the Constitution does it say that the government should be determining winners and losers in the business world?
  Oh, by the way, this is also part of President Obama's re-election campaign.  His base is made up of people who like to think of themselves as victims who look to the government to take care of them.  This requires the manufacturing of as many villains as possible.  I certainly hope there are enough Americans who are wise enough to recognize this as something which is not good for America.  America has never been about victim-hood, it's been about freedom and opportunities to succeed with hard work.