Democrats’ Furlough Economy

June 1, 2012

As the Economy Remains Weak, Stimulus Loan Recipients Who Benefited from Dems’ Crony Capitalism Are Laying Off Workers and May Be Outsourcing Jobs

New economic indicators show the economy remains weak, with struggling manufacturers, a housing market that continues to sink and jobless Americans with little hope in sight.
Adding to the disappointing news was the announcement that First Solar, a beneficiary of the stimulus loan program that also funded now-bankrupt Solyndra, is furloughing employees after already laying off thousands—just the latest evidence of the failures of Democrats’ crony capitalism.
Yet Democrats continue to insist the failed stimulus was money well spent, despite a new Congressional Budget Office stimulus cost estimate released this week that pegs the stimulus price tag at $4.1 million for every alleged stimulus job.

New economic indicators show the economy remains weak, with struggling manufacturers, a housing market that continues to sink and jobless Americans with little hope in sight:

“ECONOMIC GROWTH REVISED DOWNWARD FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2012”: “The Commerce Department said the economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.9 percent from January to March, slower than the initial estimate of 2.2 percent, as consumer spending slowed, businesses pulled back on adding inventory and the trade deficit widened despite an increase in exports.” (Vicki Needham, “Economic Growth Revised Downward for First Quarter of 2012,” The Hill, 5/31/2012)

“CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER SIGNALS ECONOMY ON EDGE OF RECESSION”: “A closely-watched index gauging U.S. factory output fell to a near 2 1/2-year low in May, indicating the economy might be heading back toward a recession. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reported Thursday that its business barometer fell 3.5 points to 52.7 in May, the third straight monthly drop and lowest reading since September 2009.” (Howard Packowitz, “Chicago Business Barometer Signals Economy on Edge of Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/2012)

CHICAGO BUSINESS: “OUR FIRST WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS SINCE THE CARTER YEARS”: (“MNI Chicago Report,” Deutsch Borse AG and the Institute for Supply Management, 5/31/2012)

WASHINGTON POST: “JOB RECOVERY IS SCANT FOR AMERICANS IN PRIME WORKING YEARS”: (Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

FEWER AMERICANS 25-54 WORKING THAN AT ANY TIME IN 23 YEARS BEFORE RECESSION: “The proportion of Americans in their prime working years who have jobs is smaller than it has been at any time in the 23 years before the recession, according to federal statistics, reflecting the profound and lasting effects that the downturn has had on the nation’s economic prospects.” (Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

“MISSING WORKERS” AMONG PRIME WORKING POPULATION: “By this measure, the jobs situation has improved little in recent years. The percentage of workers between the ages of 25 and 54 who have jobs now stands at 75.7 percent, just a percentage point over what it was at the downturn’s worst, according to federal statistics. Before the recession the proportion hovered at 80 percent. It reflects ‘missing workers’ who have stopped looking for work and aren’t included in the unemployment rate.” (Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

MAY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FELL TO FOUR MONTH LOW: (Timothy Homan, “Consumer Confidence Among U.S. Consumers Fell in May to Four-Month Low,” Bloomberg, 5/29/2012)

HOME PRICES FELL YET AGAIN: “U.S. home prices fell in March, ending the first quarter at the lowest levels since the housing crisis began in mid-2006, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home-price indexes. During the first quarter, home prices reached new lows, falling 2% sequentially and 1.9% year-to-year. Prices are down roughly 35% from their peak in the second quarter of 2006.” (“S&P Case-Shiller: Home Prices Fell in March,” Dow Jones Newswires, 5/29/2012)

Adding to the disappointing news was the announcement that First Solar, a beneficiary of the stimulus loan program that also funded now-bankrupt Solyndra, is furloughing employees after already laying off thousands—just the latest evidence of the failures of Democrats’ crony capitalism:

OBAMA OFFICIAL: BECAUSE OF INVESTMENTS IN NOW-BANKRUPT COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA, “THE COUNTRY IS PROSPERING”: (Charlie Spiering, “Obama Camp: Country ‘Prospering’ on Green Jobs,” The Washington Examiner, 5/30/2012)

FIRST SOLAR ANNOUNCES FURLOUGHS JUST AFTER TELLING CONGRESS THEY WERE “FINANCIALLY STRONG”: “A politically connected, taxpayer-funded solar firm announced a massive round of furloughs on Friday, just weeks after its chairman told Congress his company was ‘financially strong.’ First Solar, an Arizona-based solar panel manufacturer that received more than $3 billion in federal loan guarantees under President Obama, has furloughed half of the 240-person workforce at its Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One (AVSR1) power plant near Los Angeles.” (Andrew Stiles, “First Solar Furlough,” Washington Free Beacon, 5/30/2012)

FIRST SOLAR RECEIVED $3.53 BILLION IN STIMULUS LOAN GUARANTEES: (Patrick O’Grady, “Department of Energy Defends Loan Guarantees to First Solar, Abengoa,” Phoenix Business Journal, 3/21/2012)

FIRST SOLAR MISSED ANALYST EXPECTATIONS BY 27% IN LAST EARNINGS REPORT: “Ahearn’s remarks ran contrary to First Solar’s earnings report earlier this month, when the company posted a 12 percent decline in revenue during the first three months of 2012 and missed analyst expectations by $182 million, or 27 percent.” (Andrew Stiles, “First Solar Furlough,” Washington Free Beacon, 5/30/2012)

AND IN APRIL, FIRST SOLAR ANNOUNCED IT WAS LAYING OFF 2,000 EMPLOYEES, 30% OF ITS WORKFORCE: (Andrew Stiles, “First Solar Furlough,” Washington Free Beacon, 5/30/2012)

DID STIMULUS OUTSOURCE JOBS? MOST OF FIRST SOLAR WORKERS ARE OVERSEAS: “Despite receiving billions in federal taxpayer-guaranteed loans, First Solar does not employ the majority of its workforce in the United States. ‘In sheer numbers, most of our full-time employees are outside the U.S,’ Ahearn told members of the Oversight committee.” (Andrew Stiles, “First Solar Furlough,” Washington Free Beacon, 5/30/2012)

FIRST SOLAR’S LOBBYIST VISITED WHITE HOUSE 16 TIMES TO MEET WITH OBAMA OFFICIALS: “Kathleen Weiss, the head lobbyist and vice president of First Solar, has visited the White House at least 16 times to meet with Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett and other senior administration officials.” (Andrew Stiles, “First Solar Furlough,” Washington Free Beacon, 5/30/2012)

A LONG PATTERN OF CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FINDS $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

Yet Democrats continue to insist the failed stimulus was money well spent, despite a new Congressional Budget Office stimulus cost estimate released this week that pegs the stimulus price tag at $4.1 million for every alleged stimulus job:

BASED ON NEW CBO ESTIMATE, COST PER STIMULUS JOB WAS BETWEEN $540K AND $4.1 MILLION: “That means the current cost-per-job created is somewhere between $4.1 million and $540,000.” (James Pethokoukis, “CBO: Stimulus May Have Cost as Much as $4.1 Million a Job,” The American, 5/30/2012)

DEMS’ PROMISED THEIR FAILED STIMULUS WOULD BRING UNEMPLOYMENT BELOW 6% BY NOW: (Jim Pethokoukis, “The Awful April Jobs Report: Is the ‘Real’ Unemployment Rate 11.1%?”, The American, 5/4/2012)

BUT LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 8.1%: (Christopher Rugaber, “Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.1 Percent as U.S. Adds 115,000 Jobs in April,” Associated Press, 5/4/2012)

12.5 MILLION JOBLESS WORKERS: (“Labor Force Statistics From Current Population Survey,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 5/31/2012)

“UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS DROPPING FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS”—AMERICANS QUIT THE LABOR FORCE IN DESPERATION: (Laurent Belsie, “Unemployment Rate Hits Three-Year Low. Hooray? No, Boo!,” The Christian Science Monitor, 5/4/2012)