We make silicon wafers that go into solar panels. In 2008 we decided to build a plant in Massachusetts to be near our research and development facility. There was a groundswell of optimism that the U.S. was going to take the lead in the drive for alternative energy.
There were challenges from the start. Lehman Brothers was our banker and had almost a third of our outstanding shares as part of a financing transaction. That disappeared in Lehman's bankruptcy and cost us about $300 million. Then we went to the federal government to get help from the TARP funds, but they said no because we weren't a financial institution.
In December 2008 we were approached by a Chinese company, Jiawei, which was impressed with our wafer technology. The Chinese government agreed to support a loan that would cover two-thirds of our expansion in China. The subsidies we received from the government here covered less than 5 percent of the cost of our U.S. plant. We received $20 million and some future tax credits, but you can't pay taxes if you don't make money.
According to El-Hillow, the Chinese subsidize businesses that are geared to the future; we subsidize bankers. Is this "fair" trade? I don't think so.
Check out this map of the U.S. showing changes in unemployment rates by county from 2007 to 2009. It is frightening. There is a gap in numbers - it leaves out indices for 7-9% which might make it a bit less dire - but it shows what all our so-called representatives should be "focused like a laser beam" on - jobs, jobs, jobs.
Kudos to Congresswoman Kaptur (D-Ohio)!!! This is the first time I have seen someone hold this man's feet to the fire. Too bad it's so late in the game. I hope this administration and Congress plan some drastic corrections.
Is it any wonder that, according to Sam Pizzigati, associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C., income inequality has grown to an absurd level.
Two excellent new ads from the Obama campaign focus like a laser beam on the economy and how it is affecting the middleclass. IMO, this is exactly the right tact to take against McCain. It's the economy, McStupid!!!!
Here's ad playing in Indiana:
Another one that is one of the ad buys during the Olympic coverage is on the flip
The Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Barney Frank appeared at the JFK Library this evening. A huge turnout of folks came to the forum to hear what the Congressman had to say about the economy.
For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
In his New York Times column today "Big Table Fantasies", economist Paul Krugman gives the thumbs up to Edwards' perspective on how to go about making the massive changes necessary to put this country back on the right path.
"Over the last few days Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards have been conducting a long-range argument over health care that gets right to this issue. And I have to say that Mr. Obama comes off looking, well, naïve."
Krugman agrees with John Edwards' view that insurance and pharmaceutical corporations are not going to hand over their power without a BIG fight. Ironically, it is Edwards who he sees as the best agent for real change. He compares Edwards' stance to that of FDR who was a polarizing figure to many on the right but who succeeded in getting things done for the common good. The candidate who doesn't understand this is in for a big shock when the shooting starts.
This has always been my beef with Obama. It's what I call the Rodney King strategy. He thinks that "we" (meaning corporations and the rest of us) can all just get along. Not gonna happen.
