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President Obama continues to bash Wall Street bankers yet his administration has gambled billions of taxpayer dollars on now defunct green energy companies. Courtesy AP
How is President Obama’s gambling billions of dollars in taxpayer money on risky, unproven green energy companies like Solyndra any different from the banks who gambled on subprime mortgages?
In fact, the Obama administration gambled taxpayer money on several green companies who have subsequently filed bankruptcy. By now everyone has hear about Solyndra receiving $535 million and filing bankruptcy less than two years later. Evergreen Solar also received millions of dollars in taxpayer assistance to manufacture photovoltaic cells and is now defunct.
According to a report by Fox News, SpectraWatt received $500,000 in stimulus funds as part of a grant from the National Renewable Energy Lab. The company cited heavy competition from Chinese manufacturers as the reason for their failure. One of the major reasons American companies cannot compete with Chinese manufacturing firms is that we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Now the Obama administration, who admonished Wall Street Banks, and instituted sweeping new financial regulations because of their supposedly reckless lending practices is doubling down on their own reckless lending policy to green companies.
That’s right; earlier this summer the Obama administration just issued nearly $2 billion in taxpayer backed loan guarantees to Next Era and Abengoa for solar projects. Furthermore, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu has issued over $1 billion in taxpayer money to Tonopah Solar and Mesquite Solar. Tonopah Solar has drawn criticism because former Enron executive Tom Georgis is now an executive with Tonopah.
I compared the Obama Administration to Enron back in September when they were caught cooking the books when reporting economic numbers such as GDP, jobs, and inflation. Now it appears that President Obama is redefining corruption by giving billions of dollars of taxpayer money green companies who just happened to be large donors to his campaign and the DNC.
In April of 2010, President Obama gave a speech at Cooper Union where he said we need to enact a set of updated common sense rules to ensure accountability on Wall Street and protect consumers.” Well Mr. President; if Wall Street has to be accountable, shouldn’t you?
PS: I might add that the government backed Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac issued more subprime mortgages than any other lending institution. Just in case you were wondering…
WHAT is wrong with the morons in the media that attribute “greedy Wall Street banks” with the collapase or very sharp down-turn in the housing market and the overall economy?
The simple and excruciating fact is that under the auspices of the likes of Barney Frank, Jesse Jackson, and great number of others, has pressured, intimidated, and cajoled the banking (as an industry) into FORCING them to extend loans to people who could not afford the loans they were taking out. Many of those people may have been duped into taking out a loan because the PREVAILING rate was very low. The banks were FORCED by law, into issuing these loans. On the other hand, the homeowner was extraordinatly STUPID, not ignorant, in signing onto a loan they should have known they could not pay back. Yes, the banker’s made the loans, but the stupid people signed them and now are crying they can’t pay for them. Tough shit! When it came to light that many people who had loans were not paying them, the government claims it’s the banker’s fault, when in fact ehy were FORCED by social activists to give the loans out in the first place. Now, once the bank has a loan on the accounting books, they then SELL that low rate mortgage to another bank (or entity) that buys it, hoping to get at least as much interest money in future payments. Hence, the credit-default debacle. Government is to blame in the FIRST place. Stupid homeowners that can’t figure out a simple adjustable mortgage rate and plan for it are second. Thirdly are the criminally irresponsible REALTORS and sales agents that artifically jacked-up the value of the home based upon false and misleading previous sales values of other homes. The REALTORS are the real crooks. The new buyer was duped because of his own stupidity on handling his own FUTURE finances. Now the Jesse Jackson’s and Barney Franks of this world want to clamp down on how much leverage a “bank” has in it’s loan-to-value porfolio? Are you f’n kidding me? It is high time that the realtors, bankers, and general public understand that THEY are responsible for thier decisions, and NOT to expect the GOVERNMENT to bail them out when they screw up. I bought and paid my mortgage (with an ARM) 15 years before the contract expired by paying into the mortage an additional $100 per month. If the homebuyer today can not, or will not, understand the terms of their COMMITMENT, then they are losers! They don’t “own” a house to lose because they have not fully PAID for it. I don’t wan’t my federal dollars going to assholes who can’t figure out their own finances. If you lose “your” home, then go back and live with your mommy and daddy until you can figure out how to balance your checkbook. You jertks!
The U.S. Government caused and is responsible for the financial crisis. They are conveniently blaming Wall St, who for some reason, are remaining silent.
How is it different? His gamble didn’t bring the economy to its knees! Sorry but that is a lame comparison. Just like those who say we should stay in Afghanistan and Iraq forever just like we have stayed in Germany or South Korea. Except they forget one thing- people in Germany aren’t strapping bombs to theirs chests and picking us off a few at a time.
It is unfortunate, that in hindsight, tax money was “wasted.” But at least he’s trying to ween us off foreign oil. And I also understand why Republicans will fight to never see that happen, or at least until the oil wells dry up in the Middle East. I wish Republicans would stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution.
Your lack of world affairs is frightening. Do you know who owns the most subprime mortgages? The US Govt. Do you know who forced banks to issue subprime mortgages to people who didn’t qualify for loans. The US Govt.
Solyndra and the other companies Obama gave money to just conveniently happen to be major donors. There’s no shortage of oil and a deposit larger than Saudi Arabia was just discovered in Montana. There’s no scientific evidence that man contributes anything to climate change, in fact, study after study has proved just the opposite.
Good to see you’ve been brainwashed comrade Matt.
The picture of the person crapping on the flag is a very old picture from like 5 years ago. I dislike the protest going on myself because these people have no clue what they are doing but posting lies doesn’t look good on anyone. Now I cannot validate the man on the police car but I am sure that is a false flag also. Please if you are going to report the news do the research and stop reporting false information.
Thanks,
Garrett
I have deleted it and made the correction. I pulled it from another reputable news outlet and regret not double checking. But I love how all of you liberals are making it sound like its okay because it happened at another communist protest. Its still deplorable and the jackass in the picture should be sent to Iraq or North Korea.
Todd, let me tell you, how it is different.
Banks were FORCED to make loans to individuals with less than stellar credit.
They were forced by politicians, pressure groups, Congress, and lawyers, like Barack Obama.
The administration had / has two reasons to make these loans:
1. – the puerile, naive, utopian vision of changing world energy sources within months, or within a US presidential term of 4 years,
2. – the vicious circle, money running in circles between politicians and their supporters (like Obama fundraiser / supporter George Kaiser, and others). Make no mistake about it, this is NOT a Democratic issue, it is done in the exact same manner by Republicans as well.
As for Fannie and Freddie, I don’t believe they were issuing mortgages directly.
They are in the SECONDARY market.
They were buying up mortgages from PRIMARY lenders.
That was one of the reasons primary lenders DID NOT CARE: they would pass them on to the GSEs, and the monkey is off their backs!
As another thought on the matter, the existence of entities like the Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are privately owned entities under government sponsorship, is a characteristic of FASCISM. Wholly owned by the state would be characteristic for communism, of course.
All things that I know. My comparison was the corruption involved in both. Most of the Wall St. firms that received bailouts were also Obama donors.
Fannie & Freddie have loans totaling well over $6 trillion which is almost half of the outstanding mortgage balance on the books. The Obama administration has announced that it would like to turn all of these into government housing. I predicted this over a year ago and it is just now coming to fruition.
Good.
Glad it wasn’t a mere rhetorical question …
As for Obama and the Wall Street donors: he wasn’t a mere recipient, if I am not mistaken, he was the ALL-TIME most successful recipient of Wall Street INVESTMENT funds. I intentionally call it an investment, and not a “campaign contribution” …
As for turning the real estate owned into public housing, it is ONE of the available options. Of course, they could sell them, like banks do. However, like it is happening to many of them in California, usually insiders are picking them up, for pennies on the dollar. The general public doesn’t even find out about them.
Then, another option is the Detroit option: demolishing whole abandoned neighborhoods, bulldozing them off the face of the Earth. In neighborhoods, where residents are hunting raccoons for food …
Of course, the public housing option could turn out to be useful to all the unemployed, as jobs are leaving the US by the millions (2.9 million having left the US just in 2010). Like Government Motors (bailed out by the US taxpayer), who will be building a new manufacturing plant in China, and will be SHARING technology with China, to get all the tax benefits.
And the pundits are worried about China catching up with the US! After HP, IBM, and all the others “sharing” their technology with China! Like the former HP disaster, Carly Fiorina, serving on the board of the Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co.! Selling out the US, in the name of cheap labor …