....beyond the timing of political announcements, the Solyndra investigation has churned up questions about the White House's overall strategy of doling out taxpayer money. The rolls of green energy subsidies show that beyond a few headline-grabbing cases, several well-connected Democrats obtained taxpayer assistance for environmentally friendly projects. Among the recipients are: -- Solyndra, which received $535 million in loan guarantees and whose chief investor was Obama campaign bundler, George Kaiser; -- Brightsource Energy, which received $1.6 billion and whose senior adviser is Robert Kennedy, Jr., an early Obama backer; -- Solar Reserve, which got a $737 million loan, and whose major investor, Michael Froman, was a deputy assistant to the president. Froman bundled up to $500,000 for the president's 2008 campaign; -- Granite Reliable Wind Generation, which received a $168.9 million loan. The company's majority owner is Nancy Ann DeParle, a White House deputy chief of staff and former head of the president's health care communications team during the reform debate; and -- Abound Solar, which received $400 million in grants. A key investor is billionaire heiress Pat Stryker, who gave $87,000 to Obama's inauguration committee, and hundreds of thousands more to Democratic causes. Peter Schweizer, author of the book, "Throw Them All Out," wrote that at least 10 members of Obama's finance committee and more than a dozen of his campaign bundlers took money from administration loan programs. Schweizer told Fox News that he believes that many of those who were chosen to receive loan guarantees, were picked almost solely for their success in raising money for the Obama campaign. Obama used the alternative energy program as an opportunity to make his campaign contributors "even more wealthy than they are," he said. "This is a payoff to people who are your political backers and supporters. And this is really a wealth transfer from middle class taxpayers to billionaires," Schweizer said, adding that about 75 percent of the loans and grants doled out by the federal government has gone to "Obama-connected companies" even though the acceptance rate in the program is less than 10 percent......... Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...inistration-loans-obama-allies/#ixzz1dttM2EOC
Do the people out in flyover country really believe these rich donors support the democrats and a radical marxist like obama because they agree with his policies and just want good government? I guess what surprised me is that people continue to be usrprised when these outrages surface. Who did they think was going to get the money? The next Steve Jobs? Or some sleazeball VC guy who pumped money into the campaign? I don't say the republicans are totally innocent either. When someone pours money into the trough, all the hogs stick their snouts in. That is why the only way you can really prevent fraud and abuses is to stop all these so-called "public-private" partnerships. The objectives always sound good, eg., early stage transformational technologies, green jobs, affordable housing, you name it. But what comes out the other end is bloated costs for minimal production and rich people getting their pockets lined. The most dangerous programs are not the ones where money is actually spent and goods and services delivered, no matter how overpriced or shoddy. The big risk is the loan guarantees and the implicit government backing, whether of the congressional slush funds known as FNM and FRE or too big to fail banks. Those potential liabilities never show up as actual spending, not until they are called that is. Then the costs are gargantuan, as we have learned.
What do you mean, flyover country? You might want to think twice about that. You might be surprised about flyover country.
Disgusting behavior indeed, not unlike this scumbag who claims to just hate government spending, unless of course the money is going in his pockets. Then it's perfectly A-OK. URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) â Rising in national polls, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich found himself on the defensive Wednesday over huge payments he received over the past decade from the federally backed housing agency Freddie Mac. Gingrich said he didn't remember exactly how much he was paid, but a former Freddie Mac official said it was at least $1.5 million for consulting contracts stretching from 1999 to 2007. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Speaking with reporters in Iowa, Gingrich said he provided "strategic advice for a long period of time" after he resigned as House speaker following his party's losses in the 1998 elections. He defended Freddie Mac's role and said, "every American should be interested in expanding housing opportunities." Long unpopular among Republicans, the federally backed mortgage lender has become a focal point of anti-government sentiment because of the housing crisis.