Democrats’ Stimulus Failing Middle-Class Families, Enriching Democrats’ Pals
Utah Democrat’s First Stimulus Failed to Create the Jobs Promised, But Still Enriches Party Donors and Friends Ahead of the Second Attempt
Washington — In the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy fiasco which now has taxpayers on the hook for over half a billion dollars, evidence continues to pour in that Jim Matheson’s failed $800 billion stimulus is helping out the Democrats’ friends and donors a lot more than middle-class families in Utah. Since a guaranteed loan fund created by Matheson’s stimulus ran out on Friday, Obama Administration officials rushed to dole out the remaining money as fast as possible – $4.7 billion in taxpayer money benefitting Democrat donors and friends – ignoring the lessons that should have been learned from the Solyndra fiasco. The failure of Matheson’s first stimulus certainly does not inspire confidence now that his Democrat leaders are traveling the country promoting Round Two.
“Jim Matheson’s wasteful $800 billion stimulus clearly failed to create the jobs promised while benefitting companies like Solyndra and the Democrat donors and allies who are profiting from them,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “We’ve seen how Matheson’s first stimulus worked out, and his constituents in Utah will remember that the sequel is always worse than the original as President Obama and his Congressional Democrat allies push for a second round.”
Despite the embarrassment from the Solyndra bankruptcy, which already has taxpayers on the hook for the $535 million loan, the Obama Administration rushed through nearly five billion dollars in loans guaranteed by taxpayer money to new solar ventures in the finals days of the program:
“The program’s congressionally approved funding expired at midnight Friday as the federal fiscal year ended. The effort to commit money before the books closed came at a delicate time for the Energy Department, which for weeks has battled allegations that it erred by rushing to extend a guarantee to Solyndra.”
(Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, “Solar projects get funding as deadline approaches,” The Washington Post, 9/30/11)The benefit to taxpayers in the wake of the Solyndra scandal remains dubious at best, but powerful Democrat donors and friends have already profited from the billions spent:
“One of them was Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and energy investor who raised at least $500,000 for the candidate. He became one of Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s key loan program advisors while his wife’s law firm represented a number of companies that had applied for loans.”
(Matthew Mosk and Ronnie Greene, “Obama Fundraisers Tied to Green Firms That Got Federal Cash,” ABC News, 3/29/11)For instance, one of the companies that received $737 million in taxpayer-guaranteed loans last week has Ronald Pelosi listed as a major investor. He is House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law:
Other top fundraisers for Team Obama are also heavily invested in these projects:
As the scandals continue to mount and the economy continues to struggle, Jim Matheson needs to explain why he spent nearly a trillion dollars on his failed stimulus plan. Matheson promised his constituents in Utah the first stimulus would create jobs – not help the Democrats’ campaign donors and friends – and now his Democrat leaders want to do it all over again.