Elliot Spitzer's Welfare Check For J.P. Morgan

The New York Sun reports:

For a governor who got elected by amassing a reputation for standing up for the little guy against Wall Street bankers, Governor Spitzer sure got taken to the cleaners by JPMorgan Chase. Mr. Spitzer yesterday acknowledged that the bank — 2006 profits, $14 billion — was getting a subsidy for its new downtown building of more than $200 million — or more than $25 from every man, woman, and child in New York City.

It turns out that the governor's acknowledgement may understate the amount of the subsidy, which, according to the watchdog group Good Jobs New York, includes goodies such as a $5 a square foot rent subsidy and a sales tax exemption on things like fancy office furniture for the investment bankers. A press release from Governor Spitzer also announced that the company will get $20 million from something called the " World Trade Center Job Creation & Retention Grant Program."

Is this the best example of rent-seeking or should we say theft-seeking today? J.P. Morgan couldn't steal $25 from everyone but they can get New York politicians to do it.What better proof than this that politics is nothing more than theft by majority rule?