The word “privatization” is a loaded term these days. Unions and big government worshippers scoff at the idea of any public services being in the hands of ruthless, greedy capitalists. The left has the distorted view that people in the private sector are driven primarily by their desire to cut costs and throw workers out on the street. To them, government workers are angels sent from heaven to do God’s work like picking up the neighborhood trash or maintaining a public pool filled with the bodily discharges of kids whose derelict parents decided to drop off and go shopping for a few hours. On the right, conservatives who supposedly hold high regard for market forces and Ronald Reagan’s classic declaration “government is the problem,” typically have a favorable view of privatization schemes. Continue reading
solyndra
Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers | Heritage
…These programs might be the greatest—and most expensive—example of crony capitalism in American history. Tens of billions of dollars went to firms controlled or owned by fundraisers, bundlers, and political allies, many of whom—surprise!—are now raising money for Obama again. via Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers.
White House Orders Review Of Energy Department Loans To Avoid Solyndra Subpoena And Exercising “Executive Privilege” | ZeroHedge
via | ZeroHedge.
The Solyndra-gate scandal, which the GOP realizes has the potential to shake the Obama administration to the very top, refuses to go away.
Earlier today AP reported that to a republican Subpoena demanding all documents instead of just those selectively produced, “could trigger a claim of executive privilege by the Obama administration and elevate the political stakes. The loan is being investigated by two House committees, which have released Solyndra-related documents from federal agencies including the Energy and Treasury departments and the Office of Management and Budget.” The White House has refused a request by the House Energy and Commerce Committee for all internal White House communications about Solyndra. White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said the committee leaders’ request has implications for “long-standing and significant institutional executive branch confidentiality interests.”
Naturally: it would be a big hit to the presidency’s interests if it was uncovered that crony capitalist vigilante #1 himself is more than willing to distributed taxpayer capital to the highest bidder. So instead the The White House is ordering a review of loan guarantees made by the Energy Department after a California solar company that got a half-billion-dollar federal loan went bankrupt. There are more than two dozen of these to a variety of clean energy companies.” And here is where the latest joke from this president jumps the shark: “[White House chief of staff] Daley said he’s tapping a former Treasury official to conduct the review.” A former Treasury official… of the Obama administration?To paraphrase Erin Burnett, “Seriously?”At least in Europe they assume the audience is somewhat sophisticated before they baffle them with endless bullshit and non-news after non-news.Here, they skip that key assumption completely.