The Solyndra Impact

November 3, 2011 No Comments

Nicholas Vance

College of Arts and Science

Class of 2014

 

As the media focus primarily remains on the Republican candidates and their shortcomings, the man who sits in the Oval Office may have his own share of scandal this week. When President Obama was rallying support for his stimulus bill back in 2009, investing in sources of renewable energy was one a main talking point for him.  After Congress passed the stimulus to the protest of many Americans, the administration directed billions of dollars to companies who were working towards smarter, cleaner, and safer sources of energy. Solyndra, a solar panel company based out of California, was one of the recipients and has become a source of attack against the Obama administration after Solyndra went bankrupt, despite receiving half a billion dollars in stimulus funds.

Speaking across the nation, President Obama touted Solyndra as an example of the effective use of stimulus funds.  The millions of Americans who are struggling to pay their own bills, much less the bills of a company in which they have no personal stake, see the Solyndra funds as a waste of their own tax money. A new ad by the conservative Americans for Prosperity claims that the White House was aware of the company’s shortcomings, and instead of cutting the failing company off, changed the terms of the loan they had received from stimulus funds.

In an election where the focus is on the economy, the failing of Solyndra could harm the hopes of President Obama’s reelection for several reasons. Both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street have shown how Americans of all political beliefs are unhappy with the way their money is being spent. As Republicans are hammering away at Democrats, calling them careless and arrogant, Democrats are left calling the Republicans heartless. However, we are currently in a heartless economy. The stimulus plans that have been passed by both Republicans and Democrats have failed by many measures, and most Americans do not think the stimulus plan was worth its costs. So now on one side of the aisle we have the Republicans who want to reel in spending, and the Democrats on the other side who think we should spend more.

The harsh news is that the economy is not back on the right track. Unemployment is still above nine percent.  Americans have heard the argument from the left for almost three years now about how increasing government spending will get people back to work, and there has only been slight improvement. The electorate will only listen to this argument if they being to see more clear results. Although Democrats are generally thinking positively about their chances in the upcoming elections, Republicans have a knack for firing up voters regarding how the government wastes money – a government which has recently been led by the liberal left.

Solyndra creates a problem on several levels for Obama. Primarily, it seems like a waste of taxpayer funds in retrospect. But also, claims have surfaced that Solyndra received these funds after people tied to the company heavily donated to Democrats. This Chicago-style backdoor politicking still remains an issue for many voters. A man who was supposed to come in and shake up Washington has only reinforced the usual methods of business. Americans are looking for a solution to their current woes, and padding a company’s wallet that has filled your own coffers essentially just looks bad.

For Obama to move past this rendezvous, he must accept accountability. He must admit his faults and harness the essence of the conservative argument. The quarrel is not necessarily over the amount of money spent but its effectiveness. If the bailout had lowered unemployment below eight percent, then Solyndra would probably not be as big of a potential predicament for the Obama administration. The government needs to spend money, but it needs to spend it in the correct manner so Americans do not end up resenting their own elected officials.

 

http://americansforprosperity.org/green-energy-scam

http://www.marcgunther.com/2011/09/22/what-can-we-learn-from-solyndras-failure/

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