Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 01/18/2011 4:08:06 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
A determined House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is demanding answers from Gov. Deval Patrick and a top Republican is calling for an independent probe into how the state dropped nearly $60 million in a bad bet on a green energy firm that critics say took the taxpayer money and ran.
Evergreen Solar Inc. scored one of the biggest state investments into a private firm in history — only to announce last week it would ax 800 Bay State workers, shutter its state-subsidized factory in Devens and ship operations to China.
“I want to sit down and talk to the governor. ... What exactly happened? ... It wasn’t all that long ago (that Evergreen) knew exactly what type of fiscal position they were in, and where they were going,” DeLeo said. “For us to make an investment like that as a commonwealth is very disconcerting to me.”
In an interview with the Herald last week, Patrick showed little regret over the investment, saying, “I think we did what we could have and should have.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Bradley Jones demanded an independent probe into how the firm won a windfall in state grants, loans and tax breaks — and he called for Patrick to review his disastrous wager “to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
“There should be some investigation into what was presented (by Evergreen), what commitments were made and what the evaluation was that led to this type of commitment,” Jones said. “This was a lot of eggs in one basket.”
Heavily courted by Patrick and billed as a “symbol” of the state’s new green economy, Evergreen landed a deal in 2007 that included $58 million in state grants, tax credits, loans and free use of state land in exchange for creating hundreds of jobs. Evergreen now maintains that it owes the state a paltry $4 million refund. State officials said yesterday that the firm never claimed $7.5 million in tax credits.
DeLeo said he supports tax incentives to create jobs, but those deals should have strings attached.
“To make an investment like that, I always request that we have clawback provisions so that most of that money can be coming back after their failure to meet their commitments,” DeLeo said.
Also yesterday, red-faced state officials admitted they learned about the massive Devens layoffs not from Evergreen, but from state police who were called by company honchos to provide security at the factory as they announced the news to irate employees.
“Evergreen Solar did not even have the decency to call Mass Development first,” said state Sen. James Eldridge (D-Acton), whose district includes the Devens factory. “They called the state police to hire them for a detail as they were laying off employees.”
Evergreen spokesman Chris Lawson insisted the company contacted multiple agencies in advance of the public announcement.
“Evergreen Solar contacted Mass Development and other state agencies via personal calls and e-mails,” he said.
The firm blamed falling solar panel prices for its decision to move its Devens factory to China.
The Herald reported last week that Evergeen could actually make a profit off the Devens plant by renting it.
My reaction, too.
Agreed. I wonder how long it will take the American people to catch on to the fact that “Green” equals Fraud!
DeLeo’s probably pissed because he didn’t get a piece of the action.
In the meantime, the Federal Govt and some states(like CA) are paying rebates and tax credits to people who purchase solar. No doubt to stimulate the Chinese economy. Stupid on two counts..uneconomic electricity and govt money going to help purchases from China.
In the meantime..US and CA are both broke and borrowing more money from China to do it.
At this point we are supposed to be civil to these idiots?
So I guess it is true, the new green is red.
Well, seriously, how did anyone expect any business to thrive in a high-tax state like MA? You would think that the government would be acutely aware of that...
I’m so sure that you are right!
I’m currently re-writing my Business plan and my Marketing strategy and “Green” will not be a part of either ...
TT
Well the Boston Herald got it right. Will any of the MSM pick it up or link the problems as we are? Probably not. Will the majority of sheeple who follow the MSM ever hear about this? Probably not.
Green means profit for China (again!), GE & some international wallstreet investors..it means death for just about every one else big and small. While we argue amongst ourselves crooks are taking us for all we have.
Madoff sits in jail while the rest of these criminals run wild and the majority of Americans cant wait for American idol this week while China pays a visit to the community organizer and chief and lays down the rules as Americas landlord. Our circle is getting smaller
lol!!!!
60 million to employ 800 workers? Such a deal! Why not just hand each ‘worker’ a check for $750,000?
Ask Van Jones, I bet he knows.
Point being: Suckers then, suckers now.
“Point being: Suckers then, suckers now”
Back in the early 1990s Mass gave a Japanese company named KAO all kinds of tax credits, no fee building permits, employee traing credits, etc, etc to build a $100M plant (5.25 floppy disks, then 3.5” disks, then CDs) in Plymouth. They went to buy several smaller high tech businesses & their patents, closed the plant less than 10 years later & took all the technolgy with it.
“LOL”
Indeed, my very first thought as well! And why is this so funny to all of us here? Well, because ALL “green” technologies companies pumped up by taxpayer money are going to implode sooner or later, very last one of them.
By definition, what they do is not economical, and the second the taxpayer money spigot shuts off, why then no more company.
We can only hope that none of these become permanent entitlements like ethanol, because the only point of funding any so-called “green” technology was to build a new, permanent entitlement class 100% dependent upon continued government handouts for their continued existence, thereby building a new constituency to shovel millions of dollars into “donations” for buying various Congressional members. In other words, “green” energy was and is nothing more than a good old fashioned vote buying scam.
Therefore, it matters not one whit to the politicians whether they accomplish anything useful. Just look at ethanol. Subsidization of ethanol has been disastrous for world food prices, including our own food prices which are going through the roof, has increased the net CO2 given off due to the CO2 given off during fermentation, and done nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil as it takes the same amount of oil to produce ethanol as if you just used that oil directly to start with. Right now, the Obammunists are trying to promote the destruction of our internal combustion engines by increasing the concentration of ethanol in our fuels, which they naturally feel is a good thing for many different reasons. And yet, we’ll probably never see the elimination of ethanol subsidies in our lifetime.
“. And yet, we’ll probably never see the elimination of ethanol subsidies in our lifetime.”
Not so sure about this...
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