Federal Corporate Insurance System

Problem: It seems unfair that certain industries get federal bailouts as part of their revenue model. An example that came up recently in the news is the citrus industry. California suffered an unusual frost that killed a large percentage of the annual orange crop. Now they are asking the government to grant them emergency disaster bailout funds. However, when they have good years I do not see them lining up to pay any extra amount to the government. You also hear about farmers getting bailed out from time to time, for floods or other disasters. So these industries are receiving an unfair subsidy that other industries do not receive. I am not unsympathetic to the people experiencing these disasters - it just seems that there should be a more equitable way to handle this than random bailouts.

Solution: Create a federal insurance fund that can be applied to any industry. Corporations in that industry pay into the fund at an agreed-upon level. For example, maybe the citrus farmers pay 2 cents per orange, or a dollar per basket. These funds are kept in a trust. When there is a disaster, the government pays out some of the money in the trust. Everything is budgeted. If the funds fall short over time, the premiums can be increased. This sort of idea is already in place for the pension industry (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation), so it seems like a reasonable idea for other industries to start funding their own disaster relief as well.