Democracy and Power 104: Future Debt BurdenGovernment debt is a government claim against personal income and private property – an unpaid tax bill. – Hans F. Sennholz

While researching another blog post, I came across an article that truly shocked me - which is really hard to do, given my familiarity with the Obama administration's free-spending ways.

Green energy failures under President Barack Obama’s Department of Energy are nothing new. However, it is becoming apparent that the cronyism behind these loans could lead all the way to the White House. 

President Obama’s ever-growing list of green energy failures now has one more company. Solar panel manufacturer Abound Solar is under criminal investigation for possible securities fraud, consumer fraud, and financial misrepresentation in Colorado. Of this particular company, he said in 2009 that it would create 2,000 jobs in construction and 1,500 permanent jobs. Instead, the plant was closed in July and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving 125 workers unemployed.

Personal Freedom and Prosperity 110: The Rule of LawA government with moral and legal authority promulgates written rules and universally, impartially and uniformly enforces the rules, which provides a predictable and stable legal order on which to base economic and personal decisions.  The law prevails, not the proclamation or arbitrary decision of a ruler, government bureaucrat, the enforcer (e.g., policeman) or judge.  

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.- James Madison, Speech in the Virginia State Convention of 1829-1830

In the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney said of Obama’s green energy initiatives “You don’t pick winners and losers, you only pick losers.” The list of so-called losers, which already included the well-known Solyndra and the Chevy Volt also included Finnish car company Fisker. Fisker’s new electric vehicle, Karma, was created with a $529 million loan guarantee from Obama’s Department of Energy (DOE) and, as with previous green projects, it is not looking as though the taxpayers can expect repayment. 

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  -John Adams

 Personal Freedom and Prosperity 102:  Acquiring and Possessing Property That all Men are born equally free and independant, and have certain inherent natural Rights,…; among which are the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursueing and obtaining Happiness and Safety. -Virginia Declaration of Rights – 1776

Democracy and Power 108: ObfuscationA professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get any where near high office has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker. - H.L. Mencken