Author Topic: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism  (Read 1303 times)

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sirs

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Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« on: November 04, 2011, 02:24:15 PM »
Has anyone alerted the Occupy Wall Street crowd over this?  This story should be a perfect storm for generating occupy anger -- the rich got richer thanks to sweetheart hook-ups from their powerful cronies -- all at taxpayers' expense, and despite multiple warnings that the expenditures were reckless in the first place.  And rank-and-file employees got the shaft.  Why, it almost makes me want to light a car on fire.  Almost:

Senior executives at Solyndra collected hefty bonuses -- ranging from $37,000 to $60,000 apiece -- as the Fremont company bled cash and careened toward bankruptcy this summer. Bankruptcy documents filed in Delaware earlier this week reveal that more than a dozen senior executives at the defunct solar manufacturing company were awarded sizable quarterly bonuses April 15 and again July 8. Solyndra ceased operations in late August and filed for bankruptcy Sept. 6. About 1,100 employees were laid off without severance pay.

The bonuses, awarded to more than a dozen executives, came on top of what were already highly competitive salaries. Karen Alter, Solyndra's vice president of marketing, had an annual base salary of $275,000; she was awarded a $55,000 bonus in April and again in July. Ben Bierman, Solyndra's executive vice president of operations and engineering, had an annual base salary of $300,000; he was awarded $60,000 in April and again in July. Will Stover, the company's chief financial officer, was also awarded a $60,000 bonus in April and again in July. Details of the bonuses come as Solyndra attempts to auction off the manufacturing equipment that remains in the idled Fremont factory.


The kicker is that 'green energy' cash is still flying out the federal door, even as the Energy Department's Inspector General has opened up more than 100 criminal investigations into the way the DOE spent stimulus money.  As you read this excerpt, keep in mind that the Obama administration is currently pushing a second stimulus package:
 
The Energy Department's inspector general has launched more than 100 criminal investigations related to 2009 economic stimulus spending.  In written testimony prepared for delivery to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, Inspector General Gregory Friedman said the investigations have involved "various schemes, including the submission of false information, claims for unallowable or unauthorized expenses, and other improper uses of Recovery Act funds."

Mr. Friedman had better hope he doesn't get Walpin'd as he carries out his duties.  (For a chortle, check out this little flashback).  Things could get interesting when those subpeonas start landing at the White House, and when Energy Secretary Steven Chu appears before a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee later this month.

Shhhhhh....MSM needs to focus on Cain and the continued unsubstantiated rumor mill
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2011, 08:41:55 PM »
So much for "transparency"

Show of keystrokes....

Who thinks the MSM will start to spend any energy and begin to scrutinize what's happening with Solyndra, not to mention Fast & Furious ....?

Who thinks the MSM will devote 99% of its "energy" into asking Cain the same questions on this alleged "harrassment"....?
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2011, 03:20:10 PM »
Well, who could've seen this coming?

The White House on Friday all but refused to turn over the documents House Republicans have subpoenaed on bankrupt solar firm Solyndra, firing off a letter saying the request would put an "unreasonable burden on the president's ability to meet his constitutional duties."

The feisty response appears to set up a clash between congressional investigators and the White House over the sprawling probe into Solyndra's finances and the administration's involvement in the decision to provide the struggling company a $528 million loan with taxpayer money.

White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, in her letter, scolded GOP lawmakers for demanding more documents, noting the Obama administration has already turned over 85,000 pages of documents in the course of their investigation. Without explicitly refusing to comply with the subpoena, Ruemmler repeatedly described the order as "overbroad."

"The Committee's extremely broad request for documents -- now a subpoena -- is a significant intrusion on Executive Branch interests," she wrote, saying she can only conclude the subpoena was "driven more by partisan politics than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation."


The subpoena, which went out on Thursday afternoon, asked the White House to hand over any and all documents relating to the Solyndra debacle. And yes, I'm sure the subpoena is a significant intrustion on executive interests - because the White House is clearly witholding information here, making it seem more and more likely that higher-ups could be incriminated.

Me thinks thou doth protesteth too much...

One also has to laugh, at that statement "unreasonable burden on the president's ability to meet his constitutional duties".  He has circumvented the constitution every chance he's gotten. The basic fact is, Obama has spent more time in campaign mode and photo ops than doing his constitutional duty
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2011, 04:04:51 PM »
While the MSM continues with their 24/7 firestorm scrutiny of a potential Republican presidential nominee, Hermain Cain, and the allegation that someone was made to feel uncomfortable, 1time, 20+yrs ago, a total of 53 seconds of prime time reporting, was provided to scrutinize the congressional Subpoena sent to our current Democrat President, involving Solyndra and the billions in tax payers dollars that were not just thrown away, but pretty much handed over to a big time Obama contributer, before the taxpayers see 1 dime of any repayment

But naaaaaaa, no MSM bias here.  Move along
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

Xavier_Onassis

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2011, 04:39:49 PM »
What exciting discussions you have with yourself, sirs.
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2011, 04:44:57 PM »
Who ever claimed, or even implied, I was having a discussion with myself?  You have a problem with posts conveying a similar pattern in a thread??  You care to debate any of the issues presented in this thread?  Or you going to do what you predominantly do?
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

Xavier_Onassis

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2011, 06:14:58 PM »
It is  pretty obvious that if you post to the same topic three times, you are having a discussion with yourself.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2011, 06:23:17 PM »
So "obviously" you're posting not to debate, but spew your predominant grade school insultive gibberish.  Should have just said so

Here's a news flash, if I wanted to "discuss something with myself", it doesn't require a keyboard and public forum.  Since you "obviously" keep forgetting what this forum is supposed to be, its a debate forum.  Here, we post ideas, topics, opinions, positions, we support as well as non-support.  We post them for others to read at their leisure, at which point they can respond like an adult, with how they agree or disagree, along with the why.

Or they can repond like you. 

Theirs (and your) choice to "discuss" the topic.  My choice simply to post it
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

Plane

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2011, 07:24:12 AM »
    Dear President Obama,

           You are not doing well at choosing winning tecnologys to finance, I understand you are trying to do a good thing and  >pull< the tecnology you wouold like to see from the marketplace.

             Unfortunately what you are getting is swindled.

            Allow me to suggest that you study the role that central planning played in hamstringing the Soviet economy.

            The role of the government in the marketplace is to insure honest weights and measures, discourage fraud and otherwise get out of the peoples way, not to grasp the reigns and lead the market. The market is a horse that knows the shortest path to the water itself.


Michael Tee

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2011, 09:04:18 AM »
I myself am having a problem and wondering if Professor sirs can help me here?

If it takes ONE bad business venture and ONE failed company to "prove" the failure of "socialism," then how many bad business ventures and how many failed corporations does it take to prove the failure of capitalism?

Plane

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2011, 09:50:50 AM »
I myself am having a problem and wondering if Professor sirs can help me here?

If it takes ONE bad business venture and ONE failed company to "prove" the failure of "socialism," then how many bad business ventures and how many failed corporations does it take to prove the failure of capitalism?

   In the last ten years or so how many business failures was the government involved in? In how many of these was the governments involvement a cause for the failure , and in the rest an insufficent aid?

     The number of businesses that die young is huge, the ones that fail after becoming well established is less but it is still important that it happen.

     If the Government had always been as supportive of its "too big to fail" corporations as it now is we would still have six big railroad companys running all of our transport needs. Business failure is an important, necessacery, forseeable and survivable part of a healthy capitolist free market system.

     It is very painfull to have several big ones fail at once, this is why competition is better than interdependance.

     It is threatening to national sovernty to have the whole system fail at once , which can happen now and then which is why having anti trust laws are worthwile, competition being a good idea, companys that have become too big to fail are big enough to split.

    When a business can fulfill a function or the same function can be performed by government , the business ought to be preferred, one reason for this is that the government agency won't die when it needs to.

sirs

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Re: Behold, the wonders of Venture Socialism
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2011, 01:30:36 PM »
The role of the government in the marketplace is to insure honest weights and measures, discourage fraud and otherwise get out of the peoples way, not to grasp the reigns and lead the market. The market is a horse that knows the shortest path to the water itself.

If the Government had always been as supportive of its "too big to fail" corporations as it now is we would still have six big railroad companys running all of our transport needs. Business failure is an important, necessacery, forseeable and survivable part of a healthy capitolist free market system.

It is very painfull to have several big ones fail at once, this is why competition is better than interdependance.

No truer words.  I wonder if Xo will ever get a hint on how you're able to "discuss" things & topics.  Nice job, Plane     8)
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle