Washington investing our taxes

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Amazing that Washington people have any money when they invest our taxes like this. Maybe Obama should pay the taxes he plundered back?

01/26/12 Plundering the Treasury

'To the victors go the spoils' is an age-old phrase that has applied to politics for decades. It has reached new heights in the last few years.

Months ago, the 'green energy' company Solyndra declared bankruptcy, taking with it more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer money. In recent days, Solyndra attempted to pay employees half a million dollars in bonuses even while a local news station videotaped employees destroying millions of dollars in equipment.

The failed marriage of 'green energy' companies and taxpayer dollars is widespread. This administration in Washington gave more than $6.5 billion in taxpayer money to at least a dozen 'green energy' companies in various stages of financial difficulty including five that have already declared bankruptcy.

One company, Beacon Power, received millions even though it had a junk bond rating. Try making that kind of investment in the private sector and the feds will open an investigation.

A common thread with all of these companies is they are owned by Obama fundraisers, political advisers, or they benefit Obama supporters such as Senator Harry Reid and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This is truly a despicable effort by the Washington crowd to plunder the Treasury in order to enrich friends, donors, and political supporters.

Posted at BEHINDTHEHEADLINES with Mark Hieman

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http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-company-us-loan-builds-cars-finland/story?id=14770875

Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland

With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the company's manufacturing jobs are still limited to the assembly of the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car in Finland.

"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here."

Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.

"We're not in the business of failing; we're in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business," Fisker said. "That's why we went to Finland."

The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley.

An investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News found that the DOE's bet carries risks for taxpayers, has raised concern among industry observers and government auditors, and adds to questions about the way billions of dollars in loans for smart cars and green energy companies have been awarded. Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio. Tesla's SEC filings reveal the start-up has lost money every quarter. And while its federal funding is intended to help it mass produce a new $57,400 Model S sedan, the company has no experience in a project so vast.