Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Circle of (Government) Life

This is... just perfect:
Ex-employees of the failed solar panel company Solyndra have applied for aid under the federal government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the Labor Department has confirmed.

If approved, the employees of what was once touted as a leading exemplar of the White House’s green jobs program will be eligible for more federal funds to enable them to be retrained for other jobs.

It would be an ironic coda to the saga of Solyndra, which manufactured solar panels and received $527 million in loan guarantees from the Energy Department and praise from President Obama during visits to the firm’s California headquarters.

Now those green workers will be seeking the government’s help to find work again and not necessarily in the conservation jobs sector. A source at the department confirmed the request for assistance was received on Sept. 2, just two days after the company filed bankruptcy, placing all 1,100 employees out of work....

The company’s failure was based in part on competition from China, which has been able to produce the panels at a far lower cost than U.S. manufacturers. The request was made by a representative of the 1,100 ex-employees and covers all of them. The department estimates the aid will cost $13,000 per worker for the coming year.

The TAA program offers help to domestic workers who have lost their jobs due to the trade practices of foreign countries. The assistance includes job retraining, allowances for job searching, health benefits and up to 130 weeks of income support.
So to recap: massive government subsidies created 1,100 "green jobs" that never would've existed but for those massive government subsidies.  And when those fake jobs disappeared because the subsidized employer-company inevitably couldn't compete in the market, the dislocated workers blamed China (instead of what's easily one of the worst business plans ever drafted) in order to receive... wait for it... more government subsidies.

Behold, the Circle of Government Life.

(h/t Mark Perry)

2 comments:

Eileen said...

Brilliant analysis, bloody brilliant. And no-one in the MSM will talk about it, debate it, challenge it. We are well and truly on the road to serfdom. Word verification to sign in: CROOK!!!

Anonymous said...

My position at a large financial institution was outsourced "Globally" (India/Mexico) - do I qualify for this? How do I prove it to reap the benefits and extend my unemployment to start a new career?