Cowboy Capitalism or Welfare Ranching? The Public Lands Grazing Policies of the Bush Administration

George W. Bush ran for president as an advocate of a "cowboy capitalist" ideology of low taxes, deregulation, free markets, and free trade. The ranching industry that produced the cowboy, however, has long had a heavy dose of government planning and welfare state subsidies, especially in public lands grazing. This article examines the Bush Administration public lands grazing record to answer the question: when cowboy capitalist ideology met the welfare ranching reality, how did each fare?