Sep

30

Energy Secretary Admits He Bit Off More Than Taxpayers Could Chu

Filed Under Business, Politics | 16 Comments

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Government was invented so f*#k-ups like this would have a place to practice their craft during their brief excursions outside academia. Their slapstick incompetence might actually be funny if they weren’t playing with our money:

Energy Secretary Steven Chu acknowledged Thursday making the final decision to allow a struggling solar company to continue receiving taxpayer money after it had technically defaulted on a $535 million federal loan guaranteed by his agency.

Chu spokesman Damien La­Vera said in a statement that the secretary approved the restructuring agreement for Solyndra because it gave the company “the best possible chance to succeed in a very competitive marketplace and put the company in a better position to repay the loan.”

Hypothetical scenario: In the real world, what would happen to a bank executive who approved more credit for a customer who had already defaulted on a half billion, with “it will put them in a better position to repay the orignal defaulted amount” as rationale for a new loan?

I can imagine the conversation that took place:

Solyndra: Can we borrow more money?

Chu: But you just defaulted on the $535 million.

Solyndra: Yeah, and if you loan us another $535 million we’ll be able to pay it back!

Chu: Now you’re makin’ sense!

Comments

16 Responses to “Energy Secretary Admits He Bit Off More Than Taxpayers Could Chu”

  1. Dexter_Alarius on September 30th, 2011 5:39 pm

    The Oblamer Adminstration should develop a fill-in-the-blank Letter of Resignation, and print off a ream's worth:

    I __________________, ________________ of the Department of ___________, in light of my (incompetence, malfeasance, negligence– pick all that apply), do hereby tender my resignation effective immediately.

  2. Marshall_Will on September 30th, 2011 6:12 pm

    Signed___________________

    Date: __________

  3. Marshall_Will on September 30th, 2011 6:16 pm

    Doug,

    Hard to tell by the Agency logo in the background but does DOE use one of those buckets o' Corona-sized pails to flush CA$H down the cr@pper or is that a full fledged 30 gal. galvanized sh!tcan..?

    We're going to need a bigger commode!

  4. Turbo on September 30th, 2011 6:21 pm

    When do adults come in and start charging people with their obvious crimes?

  5. Joe Redfield on September 30th, 2011 7:00 pm

    So, basically, his excuse was "i meant well". I wonder how many more of these well-intentioned but stupid decisions to interfere with the market will come to light in the next weeks? We'll be lucky the total comes in at uner ten billion dollars.

  6. SignPainterGuy on September 30th, 2011 7:45 pm

    I have got to learn how to do the linky thingy ! Step over to Townhall.com and cartoons; forward to the Ramirez "excellent cartoon" of Oblamer / Waster-in-Chief in the bathroom, ankle-deep in water and dollar bills in front of the toilet, creating a plumber job. Fitting here !

  7. SignPainterGuy on September 30th, 2011 7:48 pm

    Rush pointed out today that with sports teams, when the manager gets a "vote of confidence" from the owners, it`s bye bye time. Watch for Chu to be funemployed soon !

  8. Marshall_Will on September 30th, 2011 9:29 pm

    SPG,

    Simply center your cursor over the article/graphic you'd like to share in the address bar. Left click to highlight. Then -right- click your mouse and chose "Copy". Then go back to say Doug's Place, put it in the context of your post, right click again and then from the drop down menu that appears, LEFT click "Paste".

    Viola! I know b/c my daughters showed me!

  9. Marshall_Will on September 30th, 2011 9:35 pm

    Joe,

    We're already getting that. Here's where the "defense" falls apart. What we learned not only during the dot.com boom, housing boom ( and predictable BUST ) was that, according to Securities Law, it's not a crime to be stupid.

    No, seriously, I've seen the Complaint Files. Once (1) small bank went under after lending out to every "builder" w/ a pickup truck and a cell phone, the claim was "I was blindsided by the economy!" Hey, worked for 'them'?

    And so, Carney's claim: "Sometimes things just don't work out?" Really Jaaaaay? Try AGAIN shipmate! Daily evidence is piling up ( no small thanks to Doug and MM ) that shows that was NOT the case. This isn't going away. This type of operation is most often associated w/ criminals that have already been sentenced so they do one last "big score" to set them up when they get out.

  10. SignPainterGuy on September 30th, 2011 10:00 pm

    Therin lies the issue. I can read destructions till the cows come home, but I still need someone to "show" me at least once.

    I WILL try your method. Maybe it`ll work for me. Thanks a ton !

  11. patti on September 30th, 2011 11:45 pm

    Here you go, SPG.:) http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/michaelram…

    BTW….did anyone see the meltdown going on at Redstate?
    Eric has his panties in a twist over when Palin will announce. lol

    Also… our friend,Van Jones, is at it again…

    They tried fashioning the permanent Democratic majority from the top-down by electing O, now they’re going to try it from the bottom-up with the “American Autumn” or whatever. Gotta stay relevant somehow, no?
    http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/30/van-jones-i…

    The other highlight: Jones casually dismissing “this phony made-up deficit stuff” that Republicans are always yammering about.

  12. SignPainterGuy on October 1st, 2011 12:10 am

    Thank you Patti for THAT Ramirez link. As an aside, I was so disappointed when Jeff McNelly stopped doing political cartoons, He was the Norman Rockwell of our time and left a huge hole. Michael Ramirez has more than filled that hole and earned a place of his own !
    Yes, Obama`s appointees have spun an incredible web of deception I`d call unprecedented and beyond belief !

  13. Fuzzlenutter on October 1st, 2011 11:02 am

    And this little asshole will be allowed to continue "stealing" and throwing away as much taxpayers' money as he wishes (and no doubt pocket as much as he wants) with NO NEGATIVE REPERCUSSIONS WHATSOEVER.

    Great gig if you can get it, no?

  14. Pasadena Phil on October 1st, 2011 1:31 pm

    Chu was deeply involved in this but as last night's Friday night weekly WH document drop proves, this scandal goes right to the top. Chu is just the guy taking the fall for the TOTUS.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20114184-10…

    This will turn out to be the most expensive and incriminating photo-op of all time. The price of expediency over efficiency.

  15. swede on October 2nd, 2011 12:03 pm

    "Chu spokesman Damien La­Vera said in a statement that the secretary approved the restructuring agreement for Solyndra because it gave the company “the best possible chance to succeed in a very competitive marketplace and put the company in a better position to repay the loan.”

    Here are a few tips to succeed in a very competitive marketplace:

    1. Offer a product that someone actually wants.

    2. Price it competitively.

    3. Don't spend more than your income.

    Oh, never mind.

  16. Hyperfobea on October 3rd, 2011 9:13 am

    This kind of crap goes on in every administration to a greater or lesser extent and continues because there are no consequences. But try to imagine if fraud, money-laundering, abuse of power, and all else infecting our ostentatious overlords and their sycophantic rank and file was punishable by fines, imprisonment, or even execution … wouldn't that be a great deterrent?

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