The Solyndra Saga Continues…

Solyndra is the latest in the long list of “green energy” companies that have failed after being artificially propped up by the Obama administration. The solar panel manufacturer that received more than $500 million in federal “stimulus” loans declared bankruptcy a couple weeks ago. The highly publicized scandal further confirms that the Obama’s “stimulus” and “green energy” agenda are boondoggles that reward his cronies at the expense of taxpayers.

The Solyndra scandal is a prime example of political favoritism. Obama singled out the solar panel manufacturer for merely self-interested reasons. The $535 million loan to Solyndra in the “stimulus” law appears to be nothing more than a political kickback. As the Examiner’s Timothy Carney writes, “this company’s short life was dependent on government connections.”

Enter George Kaiser, one of Obama’s well-known campaign fundraisers. Campaign finance records show that Kaiser himself donated $53,500 to Obama’s 2008 election campaign. Well, it just so happens that Kaiser was Solyndra’s biggest shareholder. Shareholders and executives of Solyndra fundraised for and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Obama administration over the past few years.

We just have to follow the money to find out why Obama was so keenly interested in the solar panel manufacturers. Obama administration top officials met with Solyndra executives at least twenty times during the loan approval process. The President himself made a personal visit to the California-based manufacturing firm to make an overly optimistic speech and pose for a few photo ops. In this big government era, it’s unfortunately become easier for businesses to profit through the halls of Congress rather than the marketplace.

The cartoon from Pajamas Media below shows the trail of money in the Solyndra scandal:

 
Click here for an enlarged version.

Obama has become notorious for his crony capitalist policies that collides government and business interests. As Tom Borelli of the National Center for Public Policy Research says, “crony capitalism is the root cause of the taxpayer loss resulting from the Solyndra bankruptcy and it’s also responsible for the huge, misguided investment in clean energy that has failed to create meaningful and sustainable job growth.” All businesses should sink or swim on their own merits.  Taxpayers should not be forced to prop up any business that could not survive in the marketplace on their own.

Unfortunately, the Solyndra scandal is not an exception to the rule. This one example of corruption within the Obama administration is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Obama’s “stimulus” was full of political kickbacks to his campaign donors. With the crown jewel in Obama’s “green energy” plan bankrupt, Obama would be wise to change course and let the free market work for a change.