Captain Morgan at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 2008. Photo by Frank James.
by Frank James
Will U.S. taxpayers be subsidizing Captain Morgan Rum ads?
No, I don't have a little Captain in me, so to speak. That could actually be the result of something that was stuck into the Wall Street bailout legislation.
The group Tax Payers for Common Sense and ProPublica, an investigative reporting outfit, have both probed the rum provision and believe one result of it could be U.S. taxpayers paying for rum ads.
Little noticed beneficiaries of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, commonly known as the $810 billion bailout bill, are the liquor companies Diageo (producers of Captain Morgan) and Bacardi.
A Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) analysis has found that both of these liquor conglomerates benefit from a program renewed in the bailout bill. This program, known as a "cover over," rebates excise taxes charged on rum imported from Puerto Rico or the the U.S. Virgin Islands back to the territorial governments. The governments in turn provide as much as 35% of the rebated revenue back to the distillers to help market rum in the U.S. - to teach Americans to "do the mojito"and find out if they "have a little Captain" in them.
This may explain a scene I witnessed at the Democratic National Convention. There was a guy dressed in a Captain Morgan outfit accompanied by a couple of mini-skirted women holding signs that said "Captain for president." Not unexpectedly, he made something of a scene as he strolled near the Pepsi Center and stopped to talk with delegates and the otherwise curious.
I don't think the guy in the pirate suit was lobbying necessarily. But there's nothing like making sure your brand has top-of-mind awareness as you try to get a taxpayer subsidy to pay for marketing your rum and building a new distillery.
Comments
Isn't wonderful to see a little " capitalism " mingled in with President Bush's and Secretary Paulson's Bailout of the Dead-Enders on Wall Street !! Why are those two pushing that " socialism " on the American Taxpayer !!?? See how nonsensical the McCain-Palin argument is !!? What would they have us do, allow our economy to fail, completely ?? Senator McCain was not kidding when he said his strong suit wasn't economics and it didn't help him to pick former Senator Phil Gramm, the Deregulator Supreme, as his economic adviser. He was the source of that wonderful quote about our nation, being " a nation of whiners " !!
If the McCain-Palin ticket to Nowhere is elected, you will see a lot more Captain Morgans, pirates, that is, all over our government and on Wall Street !! If that is what you want America, by all means, and I do mean, all means, elect them. They will make President Bush look just as bad, as you think he is, only, they will be right beside him !!
Vote for Senator Obama and Senator Biden, America, for a brighter future !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | October 27, 2008 2:21 PM
A bottle of Rum for every american would be an excellent economic stiumulus package!
Posted by: MeLikeRum | October 27, 2008 3:15 PM
Send it all to Wall Street; We can all retire rich.
Posted by: C.Hussein.Morris | October 27, 2008 3:22 PM
I truly believe that the way to get us out of this deficit is to pour money into things like highways and whatnot. Perhaps even these new fangled contraptions called zeppelins. Check out this site and their revolutionary ideas http://www.petergreenberg.com/2008/10/27/tired-of-airplanes-how-about-a-zeppelin/
This idea is not new, its a great idea but not a new one. The answers are not these huge revolutionary things but things that already exist but need tweaking.
Another thing that would help our economy is to increase exports. Its simple math more money coming in is good. Why pay farmers not to farm? Thats a socialist idea not a capitalist idea. We are not capitalist nor do we truly believe in free trade. This means we have a mixed economy and that essentially means we are socialist...that however is an entire other can of worms.
Posted by: David | October 27, 2008 4:15 PM
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Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | October 27, 2008 2:21 PM
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Yes, Don, you're right. And your savior, Barack Obambi, voted for the whole bail out package - all $800 plus billion of it. And he's also in favor of yet another $300 billion stimulus package to be paid out of money the federal government also doesn't have to spend. So please, go ask Obambi why he's pushing for so much socialism for the benefit of Wall Street, will you?
Posted by: John W. | October 27, 2008 5:50 PM
I'll bring the Coke and lime.
Seriously - don't forget the wooden arrows.
This bill had a much larger % of dems passing it than it did GOP. This bailout is as much on Reid and Pelosi as it is on Bush and Paulson. Don't forget, Obama, Biden, and Mccain all voted for it.
And let's not forget the reason we are in this mess - the gov't sticking its nose into bank lending practices thru the CRA and "encouraging" banks to make loans to people that couldn't afford them if the banks wanted to get something thru the regulators, such as a merger.
This sub-prime crisis is not a failure of the free markets, it is just another example of what happens when gov't put its nose where it does not belong.
Posted by: Terry | October 27, 2008 10:30 PM
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So please, go ask Obambi why he's pushing for so much socialism for the benefit of Wall Street, will you?
Posted by: John W. | October 27, 2008 5:50 PM
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Probably for the same reason that McCain also voted for the $800 plus billion dollar bail out package. And don't forget about McCain's proposal to use $300 billion dollars to buy mortgages at original face value, rather than purchase them at current market value - a multi-billion dollar gift to the mortgage industry and Wall St.
Posted by: BC | October 28, 2008 11:32 AM
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Posted by: BC | October 28, 2008 11:32 AM
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I agree. That's why I agreed with what Don wrote above.
Posted by: John W. | October 28, 2008 12:27 PM