OPINION: Solyndra And Subsidies
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 9:30AMThe scandal over Solyndra Energy is forcing people to pay attention to years of false claims about so-called green jobs. The government giveaways just to that one now-bankrupt company exceed half-a-billion dollars, but another 40-billion has been guaranteed to other companies, and there’s still billions more to come.
The officials running the federal program brag that the subsidies are four times higher than annual private investment in solar energy. That means companies get four dollars from taxpayers for every one dollar from the private sector.
When investors see solar energy as a bad risk, why should taxpayers take the loss?
Some businesses get tax breaks, but that only lets them keep their own money after they earn it. Subsidies give them money they never earned—and it’s time that they be stopped.
From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.
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