Ed Lasky reported yesterday on the House investigations into these "green loans" of which Solyandra is just the tip of the iceberg.
But beyond the pressure the White House put on the Department of Energy and OMB to expedite the loan, it is coming to light that solar industry analysts were always skeptical of the company's business plan.
ABC News:
While Energy Department officials steadfastly vouched for Solyndra -- even after an earlier round of layoffs raised eyebrows -- other federal agencies and industry analysts for months questioned the viability of the company. Peter Lynch, a longtime solar industry analyst, told ABC News the company's fate should have been obvious from the start.
"Here's the bottom line," Lynch said. "It costs them $6 to make a unit. They're selling it for $3. In order to be competitive today, they have to sell it for between $1.5 and $2. That is not a viable business plan."
Other flags have been raised about how the Energy Department pushed the deal forward. The Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News and ABC disclosed that Energy Department officials announced the support for Solyndra even before final marketing and legal reviews were in. To government auditors, that move raised questions about just how fully the department vetted the deal -- and assessed its risk to taxpayers -- before signing off. (Emphasis mine)
How many times have we heard from Obama supporters over the years how "non-ideological" this president is? I daresay that only a radical ideologue would take the steps this administration took to approve a risky loan for a company whose major investor, George Kaiser, was an Obama bundler.
It should also be noted that The Kaiser Foundation did an enormous amount of shilling for the Affordable Health Care Act. A steady stream of studies, polls, and op-eds touting Obamacare, or highlighting some aspect of American health care that Obamacare would "fix" poured forth from the non-profit group.
An investigation into other loans and subsidies granted to companies in the stim bill should make interesting reading. How many more Obama fundraisers were rewarded in this manner?
Faster, please...
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