Not As Shovel-Ready As We Expected: Dems’ Stimulus Paid for Pro-Obama Ads

August 23, 2012

Democrats Want Tax Hikes for More New Spending After Wasting “Stimulus” Dollars on Ads with Left-Wing Talkers Olbermann and Maddow

A new report indicates that Democrats wasted taxpayer dollars from their failed stimulus on TV ads that touted Obama’s “green” initiatives during left-wing cable news shows.
This is just the latest example of egregious waste under a failed stimulus that has also spent billions on now-bankrupt politically connected companies like Solyndra.
Despite ongoing revelations regarding the failure of their last spending spree, Democrats continue to demand job-destroying new tax hikes to pay for more.

A new report indicates that Democrats wasted taxpayer dollars from their failed stimulus on TV ads that touted Obama’s “green” initiatives during left-wing cable news shows:

“LABOR DEPARTMENT SPENT STIMULUS FUNDS FOR ADS DURING OLBERMANN, MADDOW SHOWS”:(Jim McElhatton, “Labor Department Spent Stimulus Funds for Ads During Olbermann, Maddow Shows,” The Washington Times, 8/21/2012)

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS PAID OUT TO “RUN MORE THAN 100 ADS TOUTING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S ‘GREEN TRAINING’ JOB EFFORTS”: (Jim McElhatton, “Labor Department Spent Stimulus Funds for Ads During Olbermann, Maddow Shows,” The Washington Times, 8/21/2012)

ADS AIRED FOR TWO MONTHS: “The firm ultimately negotiated ad buys for ‘two approved spots’ airing 14 times per week for two months on ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann’ and ‘The Rachel Maddow Show,’ according to a project report, which listed the number zero under a section of the report asking how many jobs had been created through the stimulus contract.” (Jim McElhatton, “Labor Department Spent Stimulus Funds for Ads During Olbermann, Maddow Shows,” The Washington Times, 8/21/2012)

ZERO JOBS WERE CREATED: (Jim McElhatton, “Labor Department Spent Stimulus Funds for Ads During Olbermann, Maddow Shows,” The Washington Times, 8/21/2012)

OBAMA LAST YEAR: “SHOVEL READY WAS NOT AS… UH… SHOVEL-READY AS WE EXPECTED”: “Obama smiled and interjected, ‘Shovel-ready was not as … uh .. shovel-ready as we expected.’ The Council, led by GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, erupted in laughter.” (“Obama Jokes at Jobs Council: “Shovel-Ready Was Not as Shovel-Ready as We Expected,” Fox News, 6/13/2011)

This is just the latest example of egregious waste under a failed stimulus that has also spent billions on now-bankrupt politically connected companies like Solyndra:

PRICE TAG FOR FAILED STIMULUS: $831 BILLION: (“CBO’s Estimates of ARRA’s Economic Impact,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/22/2012)

$535 MILLION LOST ON NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA:(Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield, “Solyndra $535 Million Loan Guarantee Mostly Lost to Taxpayers, Chu Tells Lawmakers,” Bloomberg, 11/17/2011)

1,100 EMPLOYEES WERE LAID OFF WHEN SOLYNDRA WENT BANKRUPT:(“Fremont-Based Solyndra Goes Bankrupt: 1,100 Workers Laid Off,” CBS San Francisco, 8/31/2011)

STIMULUS CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FOUND $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

SOLYNDRA FACTORY WAS COMPARED TO “THE TAJ MAHAL” BY STAFF: “‘The new building is like the Taj Mahal,’ John Pierce, a facilities manager at Solyndra, told the paper.” (Sajid Farooq, “Solyndra Factory Had Disney-Singing Robots, Spas,” NBC Bay Area, 9/29/2011)

“SOLYNDRA FACTORY HAD DISNEY-SINGING ROBOTS, SPAS”: “Former employees told the San Francisco Chronicle that the $733 million, 300,000-square-foot factory built in 2009 had spa-like showers, robots that whistled Disney tunes and glass-walled conference rooms.” (Sajid Farooq, “Solyndra Factory Had Disney-Singing Robots, Spas,” NBC Bay Area, 9/29/2011)

SOLYNDRA CAUGHT ON TAPE DESTROYING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF ASSETS AFTER BANKRUPTCY: “After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts. At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.” (“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying Brand New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012)

OBAMA’S DOE “TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN GLARINGLY APPARENT,” LENT $14.5 BILLION OVER 27 PROJECTS: ”By the expiration of § 1705 program in September 2011, the DOE had approved 27 projects totaling more than $14.5 billion in guaranteed loans. Inexplicably, DOE management has turned a blind eye to the risks that have been glaringly apparent since the inception of the program.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

DESPITE A RECORD OF FAILURE: “REPORT: ENERGY LOANS COULD COST $3B” FROM “HIGH-RISK” GREEN PROGRAMS: (“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,”Associated Press, 2/10/2012)

Despite ongoing revelations regarding the failure of their last spending spree, Democrats continue to demand job-destroying new tax hikes to pay for more:

LA TIMES: “FOR OBAMA, IT’S RIGHT BACK TO TAXES AFTER JOBS REPORT”:(Michael A. Memoli, “For Obama, It’s Right Back to Taxes After Jobs Report,” Los Angeles Times, 8/3/2012)

89% OF DEMOCRATS VOTED AGAINST PREVENTING TAX HIKES (Roll Call 545, Clerk of the U.S. House, 8/1/2012)

710,000 JOBS COULD BE DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS’ TAX HIKE PLAN: (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012, Appendix C)

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION: 940,000 SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET HIT BY DEMOCRATS’ LATEST TAX HIKE: “Congress’s Joint Tax Committee—not a conservative outfit—estimates that in 2013 about 940,000 taxpayers will have enough business income to meet Mr. Obama’s tax increase threshold.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

MORE THAN HALF OF NET BUSINESS INCOME WILL BE HIT BY HIGHER TAX RATES UNDER OBAMA PROPOSAL: “And of the roughly $1.3 trillion in net business income, about 53% will get hit with the higher tax rates. This is because millions of businesses report their income as sole proprietors and subchapter S corporations that file under the individual tax code.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

1.8% DROP IN WAGES: “Real after-tax wages would fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers’ living standards relative to what would have occurred otherwise.” (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012)

OBAMA’S NEW TAX HIKE WOULD HAVE SOME SMALL BUSINESSES PAYING HIGHER TAX RATES THAN GENERAL ELECTRIC AND J.P. MORGAN: “So Mr. Obama wants these businesses to pay higher tax rates than the giant likes of General Electric or J.P. Morgan. Does that qualify as ‘tax fairness’?” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

Not As Shovel-Ready As We Expected: Dems’ Stimulus Paid for Pro-Obama Ads http://ow.ly/db1Ty #iwantrepeal