Veronique de Rugy: Crony Capitalism Exists Beyond the Export-Import Bank

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is ripe for termination.

|

Large image on homepages | Dreamstime
(Dreamstime)
Dreamstime

Now that the Export-Import Bank's charter has expired, it's time to examine other programs that should follow in Ex-Im's footsteps. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a federal agency that subsidizes U.S.-owned overseas businesses with taxpayer-backed financing, is ripe for termination when its charter expires on September 30.

The parallels between OPIC and Ex-Im are chilling: two government agencies that focus on artificially propping up U.S. companies in the name of economic growth and job creation by providing cheap financing to companies that could find capital on their own. In the process, both agencies transfer large risk to taxpayers, writes Veronique de Rugy.