Incentives Gone Wild!

Commentary by  Kirk Smith!

Have you ever noticed that every time government gets involved in the private sector, it always has the ability to screw things up?  The same can be said about government incentives. 

With the successful track record of the U.S. Post Office, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the ever solvent Social Security and Medicare Systems, it is only fitting that the always financially astute Department of Energy, now find themselves providing loan guarantees for start up “green industries!”

Have you heard of Solyndra?  You know the premier solar company touted by our Dear Leader as the green job maker of the future?  The green energy company that relished the benefit of the tax payer’s largess to the tune of $528,000,000.00 in government loan guarantees!  That is over a half a BILLION dollars!  With all that government money, Solyndra filed for bankruptcy and laid off employees.  Of course, Solyndra is nothing like the Enron Corporation that was connected to the evil George W. Bush!  So it is not surprising that the progressive media fails to beat the drum day after day, for the failure of Solyndra as they did against Enron?  Besides, it is tax payer’s money that was frittered away, not private investors.

Another company receiving a loan guarantee of $43,000,000 (that is $43 million for the mathematically challenged) from the ever business savvy Department of Energy, Beacon Power has also filed for bankruptcy this past November.  Then of course there is Evergreen Solar Inc. that received a paltry $5.3 million in stimulus cash in order to make ‘institutions of higher indoctrination” (universities) in Massachusetts “GREEN!”  Well you guessed it. Evergreen Solar filed for bankruptcy protection as well.

Then we have the troubled lithium battery company Ener1, also promised $118.5 million in grant money from the 2009 stimulus package. You remember the stimulus package superbly orchestrated by our Dear Leader and his progressive comrades in the U.S. Congress in order to keep unemployment below 8%?

Let us not forget that SpectraWatt, another solar cell company in New York, received a tidy little sum of $500,000 grant as a result of the Stimulus Package.  I know, I know, what is a measly $500,000 grant to the average taxpayer today?  Surely it is chump change!  Then there is the evil corporation, Mountain Plaza Inc. who received $424,000 of tax payer money from the Environmental Protection Agency, laundered as a grant through the Tennessee Department of Transportation.  They too have filed for bankruptcy. . .   

In October of last year, we discover the Department of Energy provided a $529 million U.S. taxpayer funded loan to Fisker Car Company that will build the electric Karma sports car, in Finland!  Yes, our Dear Leader enjoys and certainly knows how to spread the wealth around!  Surely the United Auto Workers collective is happy that their international brethren will enjoy our tax money?

Now the culmination of stimulus / incentives gone wild!  You know the corporation too big to fail, General Motors or GM?  Now affectionately called Government Motors as we the so-called taxpayers hold 25% interest in the company. 

We now learn that the “Government Motors” premier “green” car, the Chevy Volt apparently costs a little bit more than the actual $40,000 per car price tag.   You see, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that the taxpayer subsidies will total nearly $250,000 per Chevy Volt!”  There you have it!  Taxpayer incentives from the local, state, and federal level always add to the real cost of any product. Which in most cases incentives force us all to pay more! 

Let us not forget that the Chevy Volt enjoys a stellar performance record as it’s range of 40 miles per charge greatly diminishes in freezing weather, the charging system is prone to fires, survival in an accident is lessoned with 450 lbs of battery to contend with in a collision, and then the emergency rescue personnel are subject to electrocution while extracting the injured passengers!  Don’t you just love being forced to go green?

How can government justify taking risks with tax payer’s money, by doling it out as “incentives,” without a track record of success?   Of course most of the pay offs were to “political contributors” who in turn will return the favor!  Can you say, Corrupt Chicago Corporate Cronyism?

So the next time the Lee County Economic Development Corporation comes up with a wonderful tax payer funded scheme, just remember the words of Michigan State Representative Tom McMillan:

It just goes to show there are certain folks [in Washington and Lansing] who will spend anything to get their vision of what people should do. It’s a glaring example of the failure of central planning trying to force citizens to purchase something they may not want…. They should let the free market make those decisions.

As always, I shall remain . . . In Search of Our GOD Given Liberties!

Kirk