Start the Conservative Class War Now
I'm with Ross Douthat and Matt Continetti, and to the items that they mention I would add one more casus belli: Tesla Motors, the manufacturer of electric sports cars. Three things every American ought to know about Tesla:
1. Tesla was founded by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, who made hundreds of millions of dollars selling PayPal and Zip2.
2. The price of a Tesla car? One hundred and nine thousand dollars. Purchasers so far have included George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
3. When Tesla went public last month, the company raised more than $200 million. Elon Musk himself sold shares worth $24 million. By the end of the day, Tesla's stock price had risen more than 40 percent, placing a value on Musk's remaining holdings of more than $600 million.
Tesla Motors. A company founded by a rich person to sell cars to rich people. Oh, wait. There's one other thing Americans ought to know about the company:
4. Last year, the Obama administration lent Tesla Motors $465 million. But don't worry. The loan--that is to say, the taxpayers' money; our money--is due to be repaid by 2022. In the meantime, we are evidently to console ourselves with the thought that we're subsidizing the likes of Mssrs. Musk, Clooney, and Pitt.
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May '10
Re: Start the Conservative Class War Now
I think that this pretty much says it all about the toxic business and economic environment created by this administration & cohorts. I used to think that the strength of the US economy lay in its resiliance from and resistance to the government. Almost overnight we have become a third world country where the Govt. choses which laws will be enforced, who is going to win and who will be made to lose. Telsa can serve as the poster child for the new era....................much to our shame. I have spent a million years in third world countries and can not yet get my mind around how & how quickly we have sunk to that level. It seems impossible but yet it has happened.
May '10
Re: Start the Conservative Class War Now
I stopped by the Tesla booth at the Detroit Auto Show last year. At that time they only had the six-figure Roadster up for display. Apparently the loan is going towards development of the Model S, which will come in at about $50,000. And in case you thought the subsidy ended at the loan, it'll qualify for a $7500 tax credit. Because, you know, you go green, then you get green back - BAM! - sustainability.
When I worked at an ethanol plant, which I was told was the most profitable section of the facility, I asked a guy in-the-know if we'd make a profit absent government subsidies. He told me, some years yes, some years no. It all comes down to the Simpsons where Homer attempts to climb Murderhorn mountain on his own, only to be carried up it at night by Sherpas. Except that Homer was unaware he wasn't doing it on his own, and fires them when he finds out. If only subsidized businesses had the decency of Homer Simpson.
May '10
Re: Start the Conservative Class War Now
Unfortunately, as we all know, there is a bipartisan push in favor of "corporate welfare", and it is extremely difficult to keep track of and deal with in a manner timely enough to kill something before it is in place. And after it's in place, it is virtually impossible to undo. There are too many Appropriation bills, many of which have strings that are not published in the Committee Reports but with wink-wink-nod-nod instructions for the bureaucracy regarding who is to "win".
Eternal vigilance and all that, of course. But it would certainly be nice if we could shame Congress (I know, these people have no shame) into actually doing what Obama promised during the campaign- that is, post all legislation for 72 hours before votes- so that there might be some opportunity to weigh in. Right now, staffers slip the special deals into the bills in the conference committee to avoid scrutiny.
Can anyone ask Keith Hennessey how, knowing all of Trent Lott's tricks to avoid the light of day on earmarks, he would design a "no corporate welfare" rule and the campaign to get it passed and then impossible to ignore/repeal?
May '10
Re: Start the Conservative Class War Now
The more interesting competition with regard to Tesla will be between their current coddled status and the Chevy Volt. Who wants to bet Tesla suddenly becomes less magnificently worthy of subsidies when Government Motors has an alternative available?
Competition prevails! Er, sort of, though "courting government favoritism" is hardly the type of competing we need...
May '10
Re: Start the Conservative Class War Now
Full disclosure. My last exposure to Ayn Rand was the Fountainhead at age 13. But someone shared this with me recently and it seemed appropriate to pass along here:
"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion -- when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing -- when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors -- when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you... See More ... against them, but protect them against you -- when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice -- you may know that your society is doomed." -- author and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982)