Examining the 2016 GOP Candidates’ Use of Tax Dollars for Private Companies

When Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently blasted his own party leader on including the renewal of the Export-Import Bank in a highway funding package, he thrust “crony capitalism” to the front of the national agenda.

Cruz is at odds with some of his competitors in the Republican presidential field about the bank and on other examples of tax dollars going to private companies. But even Cruz, who is among the most fiscally conservative candidates in the field, doesn’t have a flawless record among governors, senators and former office holders seeking the 2016 GOP nomination.