Nice try but, as opposed to the person in your bad analogy, I actually pointed you to the dictionary definition. If you're truly up to the task, try reasoning instead of name-calling.
If the Federal Government gives money to, or waives taxes of one product over the other, it is a subsidy.
That's your definition, not the dictionary's. If you have a problem with that, tell it to the people at Merriam-Webster.
My problem is not with the terminology, it is with the dollars. We can call it what ever you would like. But it is still wrong.
It appears to be more than just my definition.
Federal Energy Subsidies
Direct and Indirect Interventions in Energy Markets
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/emeu9202.pdf
"There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a subsidy. A typical textbook definition of a subsidy is a transfer of economic resources by the Government to the buyer or seller of a good or service that has the effect of reducing the price paid, increasing the price received, or reducing the cost of production of the good or service. The net effect of such a subsidy is to stimulate the production or consumption of a commodity over what it would otherwise have been."
Types of Energy Subsidies Reviewed
• Provision of energy and energy services.
• Provision of loans.
• Tax exempt interest on debt.
• Assumption of environmental, safety, and health liabilities.
• Research and development.
• Provision of Regulatory Services.