Another Obama Bankruptcy

Things usually don't go well after Obama touts something in his SOTU addresses. In 2010 he touted Solyndra and we now know where that ended up. It ended up leaving the US tax payer on the hook for a cool half a billion plus dollars. He has to keep the environmentalist happy and grinning you see. Just nix the Keystone pipeline and pursue things that aren't economically feasible is the Obama way. Our dependence of foreign oil is but a minor speed bump as he wags his tongue endlessly about pouring more of our tax dollars down the hole.

Ever heard of EnerDel? Actually you did during the latest iteration of a very boring SOTU address which was heavy on the campaign fluff and light on the substance. Ener1 is an Indiana based company which manufactures, or tries to anyway, these high speed batteries that Obama is banking our bucks on. Whatever happened to the marketplace determining who the winners and losers are? So he flashes his fantasy world at the nation and I suppose you know what happened shortly thereafter, yesterday in fact. Ener1 filed for bankruptcy in federal court.

So what is the link? It seems that the company received a $118.5 million Energy Department grant, not a loan guarantee which was the case with Solyndra, in the now infamous (lets waste almost a trillion dollars) stimulus bill which he has said has been so successful. That wasn't "government money," that was our money that again went down the green energy hole. Ener1 manufactures lithiun-ion batteries used in electric vehicles - think the Chevy Volt. The Volt has been a bit of a bust for Government Motors.

They are asking that the court allow an infusion of $81 million in private equity now to help it stay afloat. I'm surprised that they didn't didn't crawl on their knees back to Obama for more of our money. The initial $118.5 million should have come from private sources in the first place rather than out of the government purse. But what do I know being the capitalist that I am? Here's the spin an Energy Department spokesman put on this fiasco, “While it’s unfortunate that Ener1, the parent company, has entered a restructuring process, the new infusion of $80 million in private capital demonstrates that the technology has merit." Oh really? And there's a sucker born every minute these days too.

Here was Obama's spin on the pipe dream during the SOTU address, “In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries." Sure and did you know that pigs fly too? We'll run out of money, which we already have, before either of those things happen the way this is going. At the time of the grant here's how the spin was spun, "EnerDel said the grant would help the company double its production capacity and create 1,700 jobs." Well obviously that didn't happen. So what else is new?

My spin on all of this is that the federal government needs to get out of the business of trying to pick the winners and losers in the marketplace, particularly this marketplace. These Bozos can't even pass a budget much less run a business. I'm tired of watching the tax payer's hard earned dollars being used at the craps tables. I'm sure that Obama will get pummeled, and a well deserved pummeling it will be, over this latest fiasco. Such is the case with Solyndra and there are more companies lined up with one foot in the grave and one on the banana peel who received either grants or loan guarantees from the Stimupork Bill. Political paybacks always cost us dearly in the end. Just bend over and say "AHHHH" US tax payers.

Pay attention now folks to this advice. Remember the other company he touted? That would be Masterlock. My advice is that if you have any stake in that company - SELL! After all, Obama did beam when he yammered on about the high productivity of its unionized work force. I betcha dollars to donuts that China can make a lock just as efficient without the union label.

As Always,

The Frog Prince