Plan B Forum

http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2012/08/20/wh ... odern-art/

(an excerpt from some blog)

One of the great mysteries of the 2011 Solyndra bankruptcy was: What happened to all that money? After the United States government “loaned” Solyndra $535 million, the money quickly vanished; the bankruptcy court later found that the company had essentially no cash on hand. They had spent it all on equipment and inventory.

Surely, then, the inventory could be sold and liquidated, to recover some of the ill-spent cash — right? Well, not really. Auctions of the material at the shuttered Solyndra factory produced very little revenue, as the highly specialized machinery and proprietary photovoltaic components spurred little interest among the auction vultures, since the parts could be used only for one specific purpose: to make Solyndra’s unique tubular solar panels.

The fate of Solyndra’s millions of unused glass tubes is still unknown (many of them were likely destroyed — we’ll get to that part of the story in a moment), but luckily a pair of Bay Area artists somehow managed to get their hands on some of the surviving Solyndra tubes and put them to good use…not to produce electricity, but as art.

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How many solar panel manufacturers lost money that year?

All of them.

The ones in China all continue to thrive on Chinese government subsidies. While morons like you rape our own industry in your own country. Good for you, bucko.

You know what's wrong with America? You are.


yrs,
rubato

Another personal attack from an individual unable to intelligenly make their point.

Yes, many companies go out of business everyday, but not leaving the taxpayer on the hook for half a billion.

Problems with the US's solar industry are all your fault Dales, hang your head in shame man!!

Dales you bastard! Why do you hate America?

Gob wrote: Problems with the US's solar industry are all your fault Dales, hang your head in shame man!!

I'll go stand in the corner and spank myself.

Sean wrote:Dales you bastard! Why do you hate America?

What has America ever done for me?

The problem is that government ought not to be selecting winners and losers.

When the marketplace decides that the value of solar panels is greater than the cost then such companies will be viable.

And this is probably an area where import duties could be appropriate - if anyone had the balls to try it.

Take a look at the debacle of 38 Studies, a video game company (or whatever they're called now) owned by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling -- Mr. Anti Big Government himself. 38 Studios moved from MA to RI in 2010 based on a $75 million loan guarantee. 18 months later (or less), after Schilling begged for more handouts, the company is bankrupt, cash-strapped Rhodies are on the hook for the guarantee + (over $100MM now). And relocated employees (1) weren't paid and are now unemployed, and (2) the company never sold their homes as promised (or transferred title), and some are on the hook for their old homes, now in foreclosure. A total mess.

It definitely makes one think about who does decide on "winners and losers" and how does that get done in a way that makes sense. Clearly RI was blinded by the lure of Schilling's celebrity --- and never stopped to think about all of the other equity investors who STAYED AWAY from the company (for multiple reasons, such as Schilling's lack of management experience, the company spent based on a celebrity-type budget, and the company grew too quickly).

I am reminded of the time when a friend of mine was applying for an SBA loan. One of the requirements was that you be turned down by at least three commercial lenders.

I thought to myself, "This is nuts!" If the people whose business it is is to lend money to creditworthy businesses unanimously find that you are not worthy, why should the Government make (or guarantee) that loan? It is crazy.

Here in Pittsburgh right now, there is an unfortunate situation in the largest "black" neighborhood, the Hill District.

There is no super market, and hasn't been one for at least thirty years. The residents have to take a cab or a bus or a jitney to a supermarket in some other neighborhood, when they want to stock up on groceries.

The unspoken problem is that any grocer can anticipate that the store will be crushed by shoplifting and vandalism. This is what happened before, and the demographics of the neighborhood are the same.

The City has pleaded with various grocers to set up shop in the Hill District, and there have been numerous "false starts," as grocery chains initially indicate some willingness, but the closer they look into it the more reluctant they become. Now there are various groups looking for grants from different foundations and whatnot, so that a store can be built to attract a commercial grocer. I'm not sure exactly what the arrangement would be; perhaps they would build the store to a grocer's specifications, then rent it to them for an advantageous amount over a period of years.

But regardless, there is a lot of public money that will be spent (and already has been spent), on a venture that is certain to fail. Not as much as in the more publicized instances, but taxpayer money wasted, nonetheless.

Jitney?

dales wrote:Jitney?

It's an archaic, northeast term (at least I think its one of those regional-speak words). Jitney is a run down bus or taxi, or the bus that runs all the young car-less NYC residents out to the Hamptons for the weekend in the summer.

Guinevere wrote:

dales wrote:Jitney?

It's an archaic, northeast term (at least I think its one of those regional-speak words). Jitney is a run down bus or taxi, or the bus that runs all the young car-less NYC residents out to the Hamptons for the weekend in the summer.

Ah yes, the infamous Hamptons Jitney making it's many daily runs from the Hamptons to Manhattan and back again. Sixty seat, A/C cooled, restroom equiped tour busses with 5 people in them on tuesday thru thursday then jam packed on friday and monday. They used to be green, black and white with Hamptons Jitney painted on the side, now they are wrapped in whatever advertiser is the highest bidder. I'll probably pass 5 or 6, stuck in the go nowhere HOV lane, on my way home tonight
Friday afternoon traffic in the HOV lane is slower than the regular lanes and even side streets.

~Meh, Solyndra was why I lost my last job...


We were manufacturing parts for them; when they suddenly when bankrupt - and poof not enough orders to justify the workforce...


hello, lay offs.