Solyndra - Worthy of Its Own Thread

[PapaG]

ABC News, the LA Times, and even the GAO/FBI are now starting to investigate this scam.

How much money of this failed business ended back up to Democrats for 2012?

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

This is deeply concerning. It could easily be a scandal that brings down the administration or it could just be a plain old hopelessly stupid move on Obama's part. I mean, I admire him wanting to invest in alternative energy, but this was at best a haphazard way of going about it.

 

[barfo]

It is deeply concerning, but maybe not for the reasons you think.

The actual issue is that the Chinese out-subsidied us on solar energy. In addition to loan guarantees like what was provided to Solyndra (China loaned $30 billion to solar power companies in 2010), the Chinese government also paid 50% of the cost of any solar installation.

Now, maybe you think that's ok. Let the Chinese build solar cells. We can use the tax dollars we save by not subsidizing the US solar industry to buy solar cells from the Chinese, perhaps.

As for it being a "scam",

But to assert, as numerous conservative commentators have been quick to do, that Solyndra’s failure is proof positive of the government’s supposed inability to “pick winners” is patently absurd. After all, Solyndra received repeated rounds of investment to the tune of $1.1 billion from some of the private sector’s biggest stars, including Richard Branson, the WalMart family, and leading venture capital firms like U.S. Venture Partners and RockPort Capital. Venture capitalists and the U.S. government both placed a bet, Solyndra’s entrepreneurs took a shot, and unfortunately for all, they missed. Such is to be expected in the high-risk but high-reward world of early-stage technology ventures. In addition, the loan commitment places the government in a senior position in the result of a bankruptcy, ensuring that DOE will get paid out before the VCs and other investors.

barfo

 

[PapaG]

The plot thickens ... and get the shredders ready...

GOP wants White House papers on loan to failed solar company

House Republicans are demanding White House paperwork related to a $535 million loan guarantee to a solar company that shut down this week.


The Republicans are probing the White House role in the 2009 federal loan guarantee to Solyndra Inc., a California solar panel manufacturing company that ceased operations and is filing for bankruptcy, resulting in 1,100 layoffs.


The shutdown is a bit of an embarrassment for the administration, as the company was the first selected to receive the loan guarantee under a stimulus-backed renewable energy program. President Obama visited the company just more than a year ago to tout White House green energy efforts.


Republican leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler on Thursday seeking records of communication between the White House, Solyndra and its investors — including Democratic fundraiser George Kaiser.

The letter states:

continued

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I wonder where the $535,000,000.00 went to? Or to whom? I hope they can account for every dollar.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It is deeply concerning, but maybe not for the reasons you think. barfo

That's what the right said when Watergate first became public.

 

[barfo]

That's what the right said when Watergate first became public.

Oh? Why did the right think Watergate was deeply concerning?

barfo

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Oh? Why did the right think Watergate was deeply concerning?

barfo

HA! Won't even waste time on that barfoism. That trap is failing you these days.

This incident is worthy of a full investigation. That's clear. It may just be Obama bumbling stupidity or it may be something much deeper. But it's worth getting to the bottom of. When this much taxpayer money is given away in the absence of oversight or accountability, margin calls.

It's the proper thing to do.

 

[barfo]

HA! Won't even waste time on that barfoism. That trap is failing you these days.

This incident is worthy of a full investigation. That's clear. It may just be Obama bumbling stupidity or it may be something much deeper. But it's worth getting to the bottom of. When this much taxpayer money is given away in the absence of oversight or accountability, margin calls.

It's the proper thing to do.

I'm not opposed to a full investigation. Let them chips fall where they may. So far I haven't seen any evidence of wrongdoing, but maybe you'll be lucky and there will be something discovered.

barfo

 

[huevonkiller]

The government blowing through cash again. Shocking!

 

[maxiep]

Government needs to stop being the venture capital firm of last resort.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I'm not opposed to a full investigation. Let them chips fall where they may. So far I haven't seen any evidence of wrongdoing, but maybe you'll be lucky and there will be something discovered.

barfo

Actually, I'm not hoping to find something that topples the government, but when either side is handling tax payer money like this, there needs to be accountability. It's not a left ot right thing, but the proper thing to do.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Government needs to stop being the venture capital firm of last resort.

Or at least with proper oversight.

 

[barfo]

Actually, I'm not hoping to find something that topples the government, but when either side is handling tax payer money like this, there needs to be accountability. It's not a left ot right thing, but the proper thing to do.

Ok, fair enough. I completely agree.

barfo

 

[MrJayremmie]

I'm all for this. Just like I was all for an investigation into the corrupt Bush administration and the billions upon billions that was lost, as well as evidence of the war in Iraq.

But noooo.... Dems are too pussy to bring any type of investigation. Good for the right. Unfortunately, they wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot pole if it was a Republican president.

Just politics as usual.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Just politics as usual.

So what can be done about "politics as usual"?

 

[3RA1N1AC]

we should spend alot of money figuring out why we spent alot of money

 

[jlprk]

I agree that the government should not take risks. It should internalize development of solar energy. Government agencies, not corporations, should do this. If those 1100 laid-off employees had been Federal employees, their agency would still be in business and they would still have jobs. The corporate loss would simply be called a cost overrun.

This never happened in the Bush administration. Of the hundreds of subsidized companies, not one ever went bankrupt. At least, the controlled media didn't tell us about it. Halliburton got tens of billions in no-competition contracts. Weren't a lot of people howling about investigating Halliburton? You know--the company that employed the top Bush cabinet members before Bush became President. With overruns automatically covered, Halliburton is healthier than ever.

The fact that no subsidized company was allowed to go under during the Bush era proves what a good lender he was. Zero out of hundreds. Impressive.

 

[PapaG]

"Bush did it too" and "Halliburton".

These seem to be the only arguments left for the Hopey Changies.

 

[maxiep]

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/faith-based-economics-fails-obama-again

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/faith-based-economics-fails-obama-again

A few quotes from the article:

At the time Solyndra received its grant, Vice President Biden said that the Solyndra investment is "exactly what the Recovery Act is all about." Now that events have proven Biden right -- that is, now that Solyndra is a demonstrated failure like the stimulus package as a whole -- the Obama administration is wholly unrepentant and plans to continue the waste. "The project that we supported succeeded," Energy Department spokesman Damien LaVera said Wednesday. So a bankrupt firm lays off all of its workers after blowing through half a billion in private venture capital, then consuming half-a-billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans, and this is a "success?" What would failure look like?

and...

A similar leap of ideological faith caused Obama's longtime friend and fellow Democrat, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, to waste $58 million in taxpayers funds on grants to another solar company that filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago.

finally...

If Obama and his friends want to invest their own money in a clean energy company based on their faith that the technology's moment is now, we wish them well. But we'd appreciate if they would stop gambling public money away on politically correct, pie-in-the-sky ventures.

 

[julius]

"Bush did it too" and "Halliburton".

These seem to be the only arguments left for the Hopey Changies.

People don't having their hypocrisies pointed out, and this response (not liking that the other side is pointing out that their side did it, and in some cases, did it more) is one of the consequences of it.

 

[Masbee]

I agree that the government should not take risks. It should internalize development of solar energy. Government agencies, not corporations, should do this. If those 1100 laid-off employees had been Federal employees, their agency would still be in business and they would still have jobs. The corporate loss would simply be called a cost overrun.

This never happened in the Bush administration. Of the hundreds of subsidized companies, not one ever went bankrupt. At least, the controlled media didn't tell us about it. Halliburton got tens of billions in no-competition contracts. Weren't a lot of people howling about investigating Halliburton? You know--the company that employed the top Bush cabinet members before Bush became President. With overruns automatically covered, Halliburton is healthier than ever.

The fact that no subsidized company was allowed to go under during the Bush era proves what a good lender he was. Zero out of hundreds. Impressive.

Did Bush campaign on "Change we can believe in"?

How often did Bush bash big business and corporations to the extent that any reasonable voter should conclude that a Bush Administration would crack down on them?

So, while it is true that "Bush did it too", he never claimed he was going to fix that issue, while Obama did.

 

[barfo]

Did Bush campaign on "Change we can believe in"?

How often did Bush bash big business and corporations to the extent that any reasonable voter should conclude that a Bush Administration would crack down on them?

So, while it is true that "Bush did it too", he never claimed he was going to fix that issue, while Obama did.

It seems to me Obama campaigned on investing in new energy technology, and that's what he did in this case.

I'm not sure what the beef is here, really. Some of you are insinuating that there was something underhanded, but what exactly was it? Where's the beef?

Surely all of you understand that any investment in a company includes the risk of failure.

barfo

 

[PapaG]

Follow the money ... first in line to get $69 million back is George Kaiser, who was the primary private funder of this failed business. Hell of a deal. Bundle millions for Obama, and you get to invest in a company with the government backing it. If it fails, you're first in line to get your money back. If it booms, your investment becomes a windfall.

This is a clear-cut case of crony capitalism at its worst.

Solyndra Files Bankruptcy, Employees Sue


Solyndra, the solar-cell company whose collapse last week triggered a national debate over green jobs, filed its bankruptcy papers Monday, listing $859 million in assets and $784 million in secured loans.

The company's biggest lender was the federal government, which loaned Solyndra $528 million in 2009 to build a new factory near its Fremont headquarters. As part of an effort to boost renewable power companies, the government offered Solyndra as much as $535 million for the project, but the factory cost slightly less to build than expected.

The government will not, however, be the first creditor in line during Solyndra's bankruptcy proceedings. A $69 million loan this spring from the company's private investors will be repaid before taxpayers get their money back, according to a creditors' agreement cited in the bankruptcy filing.

Solyndra's former employees, most of whom were laid off last week, also hope to receive money from the company.

Research and development engineer Peter Kohlstadt filed a class-action lawsuit against the company Friday, arguing that Solyndra violated California's WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) by laying off employees without 60-days' notice. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, seeks 60-days' pay, 401(k) contributions and health benefits for the more than 1,100 employees affected, who were let go without severance.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/06/BUF81L0R1P.DTL#ixzz1XDY0HPch

 

[barfo]

Follow the money ... first in line to get $69 million back is George Kaiser, who was the primary private funder of this failed business. Hell of a deal. Bundle millions for Obama, and you get to invest in a company with the government backing it. If it fails, you're first in line to get your money back. If it booms, your investment becomes a windfall.

This is a clear-cut case of crony capitalism at its worst.

That's pretty lame analysis, PapaG. Kaiser will get the money he loaned to the company back, as per the terms of that loan. He won't get the money he invested back.

And it appears that the assets are enough to cover that loan and completely repay the government loan - so who gives a shit anyway?

Again, where's the wrongdoing? Looks to me like a bunch of private investors lost some money. Happens all the time.

barfo

 

[jlprk]

Did Bush campaign on "Change we can believe in"? How often did Bush bash big business and corporations to the extent that any reasonable voter should conclude that a Bush Administration would crack down on them? So, while it is true that "Bush did it too", he never claimed he was going to fix that issue, while Obama did.

Can you link me to where Obama made a campaign promise to evaluate government loans more thoroughly? I missed that one. You and PapaG are acting as if accepting a normal loan risk is so hideously unethical it's like breaking one of the 10 Commandments or something.

I used to read some little thing like this at least weekly during the Bush years. Everyone immediately forgot them because of bigger things he was doing wrong.

 

[maxiep]

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/08/s...-numerous-trips-to-the-white-house-logs-show/

 

[PapaG]

Follow the money...

AP NewsAlert .Associated Press

Posted on September 8, 2011 at 10:35 AM

Updated today at 11:00 AM

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — FBI spokesman says federal agents executing search warrants at California solar firm Solyndra

http://www.wfaa.com/news/national/129458283.html

 

[PapaG]

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/08/s...-numerous-trips-to-the-white-house-logs-show/

Follow the money...

Solyndra officials, including (George) Kaiser himself, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Barack Obama.

Kaiser personally donated $53,500 to Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. Ben Bierman, executive vice president of operations donated $5,500 to Obama, and Karen Alter, senior vice president of marketing gave $23,000, just to name a few.



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/08/s...s-to-the-white-house-logs-show/#ixzz1XNTL3YzX