Democrats are working very hard pushing the 'green' meme and fighting tirelessly to divert money to China for wind turbines - which if made here instead could help put Americans back to work.
Here in New York, we have a wonderful company, Steuben Glass, which manufactures fine crystal and glassware - locally. When our "Senator from New York" became Obama's Secretary of State, she decided that the State Department needed some new glasses to serve drinks to foreign dignitaries (or whatever). Did she remember the people of New York who gave that carpetbagger a chance by voting her into the Senate twice (knowing full well that she was just using the seat as a stepping stone for higher office & that she'd not likely finish out her term)? No, she did not, here's what she actually did instead, via the NY Post:
By GEOFF EARLE Post Correspondent
March 15, 2010
WASHINGTON --- Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department is spending $5.4 million to buy fine crystal stemware for American embassies -- but it won't give the US economy much of a boost.
The contract was given to a tiny Washington, DC, interior designer, which in turn subcontracted the crystal work to a Swedish firm -- snubbing such US companies as the famous manufacturer in Clinton's own back yard, Steuben Crystal of upstate Corning.
The firm didn't even get a chance to bid on the contract, which will outfit embassies and ambassadors' residences with fancy crystal for ritzy functions.
Ironically, under the no-bid contract, some of the crystal is to be custom-crafted to include the seal of the United States, although Swedes will do all of the manufacturing.
Contracting rules require any American firms that subcontract work to use a domestic firm or get a waiver.
The firm that got the contract, Systems Design Inc., is a small interior-design firm in tony Georgetown. The company, which is eligible for minority small-business contracts, does not appear to have done any similar work.
After getting the contract in September, the firm subcontracted to Swedish glassmaker Orrefors/Kosta Boda USA.
Department spokesman Darby Holladay said Systems Design couldn't find a domestic producer who could meet the 100 percent lead-free requirement, although a Steuben spokesman said it does manufacture lead-free crystal.
But wait, there's more! As if the above wasn't bad enough, look at what we got in return for this shady investment - again, via the NY Post:
By GEOFF EARLE
April 20, 2010
WASHINGTON -- A no-bid contract for custom crystal stemware for Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department left taxpayers on the hook for $800,000 -- yet the feds didn't get a single glass -- an agency whistleblower has told The Post.
The glass contract -- obtained by The Post -- and other internal government billing documents are filled with overhead costs, including $117,000 for a "project manager," $63,000 for a "software engineer" and $44,000 for "warehouse housing."
But the documents show no purchase or delivery of a single sherry glass, whiskey tumbler, martini glass or brandy snifter, all of which are listed among fancy stemware to be procured for US embassies and ambassadors' residences overseas.
Systems Design Inc., the politically connected interior-design firm that got the contract totaling $5.4 million without competition, had no experience making glassware.
The firm's outsourcing of the contract to Sweden infuriated lawmakers, who wondered why New York's Steuben Glass got stiffed.
Not to be outdone by his former rival & current underling, good ole Barry spent $22 MILLION dollars to train high tech workers in Sri Lanka! Jobs that, again, I'm sure many AMERICANS would have loved an opportunity to be trained for and to get. There was a lot of coverage of this in the right-blogosphere, and virtually none in the MSM (try not to look so surprised), here's what Ed Morrissey had to say about it at Hot Air:
Obama WH spends $22 million to train workers …
August 4, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
As I noted earlier, Democrats plan to punish businesses that locate higher-paying manufacturing jobs overseas with higher taxes. What will they do with a White House that will spend $22 million to train programmers in Java — and English — in Asia? The program from USAID will train 3,000 programmers to compete for business in the high-tech sector:
Despite President Obama’s pledge to retain more hi-tech jobs in the U.S., a federal agency run by a hand-picked Obama appointee has launched a $22 million program to train workers, including 3,000 specialists in IT and related functions, in South Asia.
Following their training, the tech workers will be placed with outsourcing vendors in the region that provide offshore IT and business services to American companies looking to take advantage of the Asian subcontinent’s low labor costs.
Information Week notes that the effort complicates the White House effort to sound the protectionist bell on economics:
But it’s the outsourcing program that’s sure to draw the most fire from critics. While Obama acknowledged that occupations such as garment making don’t add much value to the U.S. economy, he argued relentlessly during his presidential run that lawmakers needed to do more to keep hi-tech jobs in IT, biological sciences, and green energy in the country.
He also accused the Bush administration of creating tax loopholes that made it easier for U.S. companies to place work offshore in low-cost countries.
As recently as Monday, Obama, speaking at a Democratic fundraiser in Atlanta, boasted about his efforts to reduce offshoring. The President said he’s implemented “a plan that’s focused on making our middle class more secure and our country more competitive in the long run — so that the jobs and industries of the future aren’t all going to China and India, but are being created right here in the United States of America.”
So did the White House oppose outsourcing before they supported it? That sounds even more Kerry-esque than reviving “Benedict Arnold CEOs” to attack people reacting rationally to the destructive tax and regulatory policies pursued by the US government.
We compete in a global marketplace, and outsourcing will happen when American labor gets too expensive. That natural process hardly needs assistance from tax funds taken in part from American corporations to train the competition. There may be good reason to provide aid to Sri Lanka and help them develop their economy, but one cannot make that argument at the same time that they also castigate businesses for doing the same damned thing.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Fraud: MI solar company gets $42 million to manufacture solar panels in India, creates only 17 jobs
Seventeen jobs. SEVENTEEN! That's all we have to show for Granholm throwing $42 million for GlobalWatt to move to Michigan. For background, here's a report from September by Kathy Hoekstra of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy: (video at theblogprof’s post)
The Center's Kathy Hoekstra and Mike LaFaive discovered claims made by GlobalWatt on its application for state tax credits were misleading or simply not true (making false claims on such an application is a felony). Those tax credits were contingent upon GlobalWatt following through on promises of job creation.
Job promises that never materialized: TV5 Investigates: High-Tech Jobs, Help Wanted?
For the past year, you’ve been hearing a lot about solar technology and how it can bring new life to this area traditionally known for making vehicles.
Jobs were promised and hopes were high -- but now that hope is turning into holdups and frustration from the top.
Can this once bright future already be dimming for our region?
Jobs were promised and hopes were high -- but now that hope is turning into holdups and frustration from the top.
Can this once bright future already be dimming for our region?
(again, video at theblogprof’s post)
Only 17 people are currently employed by GlobalWatt. Let's see - $42 million divided by 17 people equals out to be about $2.5 million per person, which will pay for itself in about 10,000 years. Maybe. And the panels that they are selling are made in India:
Chris Philbrick is a former consultant with Globalwatt. He says while employed by GlobalWatt, he visited Hindhivac (HHV), a company in India, to build a business relationship. Philbrick says GlobalWatt ordered 12 solar panels from HHV, five of which are the items depicted on eBay.
GlobalWatt admits in an e-mail via eBay, "These are Made in India. But they are using very high content of US made material. The cells are from Suniva, from Georgia."
Philbrick explains that these panels may even have GlobalWatt labels on them, "This is perfectly legal and may be part of the business plan, but there isn't as much money to be made in selling solar panels on behalf of another company."
GlobalWatt admits in an e-mail via eBay, "These are Made in India. But they are using very high content of US made material. The cells are from Suniva, from Georgia."
Philbrick explains that these panels may even have GlobalWatt labels on them, "This is perfectly legal and may be part of the business plan, but there isn't as much money to be made in selling solar panels on behalf of another company."
And this is going to improve Michigan's economy... how???
As predicted, my friend Ute is not amused. Here's what she had to say about it:
GlobalWatt got $42 million dollars from the government and they use Suniva cells. And it just so happens that Suniva’s chief marketing officer, Bryan Ashley, has been appointed to the U.S. government’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency... Advisory Committee in November. I smell something very fishy there.
Suniva CMO Bryan Ashley appointed to U.S. government advisory committee
I asked Ute, “Can the Solar Manufacturers here in the Hudson Valley manufacture the products that these frauds outsourced to India for?”
Her reply:
Sure they can, and we make models that they can't.
She had more to say about it as well, which she also posted over at theblogprof’s post:
This makes me ill! I work for a small company that manufactures solarpanels here in NY state. We have been fighting for a grant for years, but I guess we are too small to even be considered. This burns me to no end, because most of us haven't gotten any raises and often times the owner pays our payroll out of his own pocket.
We do things the old fashion way in many ways still, like building by hand instead of machines for when we have special orders for glass/glass modules. We are the only company that makes these custom modules.
We do things the old fashion way in many ways still, like building by hand instead of machines for when we have special orders for glass/glass modules. We are the only company that makes these custom modules.
A customer wants a specific design and we do everything we can to make it happen. No other company does this, because it's not very lucrative due to so many things could be going wrong and a lot of money could be lost.
We also make a product called Sunslates, which are small panels already mounted on roofing tiles, we own the patent for that and nobody else makes it.
The fact that we make panels that nobody else makes, should earn us a grant, but nope, we are too small and not modern enough I guess. How are we suppose to upgrade if the money we need for that goes to fraudulent people like this???
Our company focuses on quality over quantity, which I guess also makes it harder to fight over grants compare to guys like these. The company in Kingston got a big grant btw, one that we were hoping for but at least they are employing local people.
And on another note, I read that GlobalWatt uses cells made by Suniva and all I can say to this is ROFLMAO! These cells are some of the worst I ever worked with. We have tried them and rejected them, because their quality is so horrific. Cells are all fragile, but these break if you just look at them wrong. I can't see how they could make decent solarpanels using those cells, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's not another lie.
There are cell companies in Taiwan that have much better quality cells and cheaper, so it wouldn't surprise me if they would get the cells from them, since they are obviously a lot closer. A lot of material can be gotten cheaper from the east, so I don't believe for a second they are getting materials from here.
Man, this really burns my buttons!!!
I was curious and checked out the e-bay add from GlobalWatt. What a joke! They only accept payment through paypal??? A multimillion dollar company and they can't even take checks or credit cards? ROFLMAO
I also noticed that the cells they used had double bus bars and Suniva, like so many other larger cell companies switched to triple bus bars awhile ago. So unless they have the machines and the technology to switch their machines to fit triple bus bar cells, they will be getting their cells from smaller unknown companies from the east somewhere. This whole company stinks to high heaven and the article I just found really makes it reek.
I also noticed that the cells they used had double bus bars and Suniva, like so many other larger cell companies switched to triple bus bars awhile ago. So unless they have the machines and the technology to switch their machines to fit triple bus bar cells, they will be getting their cells from smaller unknown companies from the east somewhere. This whole company stinks to high heaven and the article I just found really makes it reek.
The CMO of Suniva works for the government, how convenient.
I have a hard time believing that the above scandals are isolated incidents. Considering how pretty much every single action the Obama administration has taken (and lack of action when important things needed to be done right away, like protecting our State secrets for instance) appears to have been done to further harm our country, it stands to reason that sending out more of our money to create jobs for non-Americans overseas while we are all suffering here at home and desperately in need of that kind of help for ourselves, is yet another deliberate and malicious act against We the People designed to further break our nation and set us up for the “fundamental transformation” that Barry and the rest of the CRAPTASTICs have in mind for us.
This post is linked at 1389 Blog Counter-jihad! Thank you, 1389!
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13 comments:
Obama, IMHO, has told the truth exactly one (1) time : he intends to fundamentally transform the USA ! He has repeatedly promised not to do X,Y and Z (because Bush did it) and then almost immediately proceeded to do precisely X, Y and Z ! The only differences being that he is spending more $$ and killing more American jobs in the process !
My hearfelt empathy for your friend/acquaintance Ute and her husband`s co. as well as the Steuben Glass co. for losing out on opportunities they were more than able to accept ! My prayers for both !
The company I work for has so much potential, if only we could get a grant to get the equipment and materials we need to upgrade the business. Making solar panels is intricate work and a lot of people don't know much about it, which is why they get so easily fooled.
People have no idea how much goes into making solar panels, especialy the kinds we make.
Let me give everybody a quick rundown, so you understand just how expensive it can get. As mentioned before, we make a product called Sunslates, which are little panels mounted on roofing tiles. In order for us to sell them in the US, they have to be UL or ETL (the cheaper equivalent to UL) approved so people can get their tax credits. ETL testing costs $20,000 for one module type.
We have different materials that go into the modules and if just one of those materials changes, different vendors for instance, we have to go through the whole approval process again.
Cells are very expensive, ranging anywhere from $5-$15 PER cell. The glass isn't cheap either nor is the wiring or the other materials.
Now we have been using the same cell company for years but they, like so many cell companies, have decided to switch to 3 busbar cells. If you look at an older cell, you can tell there are two lines going down it, those are busbars. We have a machine that strings the cells into strings that we then place on the glass and manually solder into a circuit.
Our stringing machine can only handle 2 busbar cells and therefor we were forced to look for a different vendor, which meant ETL testing costs and development and research costs to find good quality cells.
Sure, we could buy an upgraded machine, but they run close to $1 million and we don't have the money, because greedy fradulent companies like Globalwatt are taking them away from us!
The modules these creeps supposedly make, we been making for years and much better then they have. We make stuff they could only dream off. We build building integrated solarpanels. They actualy become part of the building itself and some of our glass on glass modules are actualy a work of art.
Take a look at our website http://www.atlantisenergy.com
and tell me, with some of the stuff we make, we don't deserve a grant before these fraudulent scumbags.
I don't know if anybody from Austin, Texas will be reading this, but those beautiful blue solar Sunflowers, were made by us.
The Kankakee Community College has our modules in one of their building. The Whitehall Ferry building in NYC, that was us as well.
These are all projects ALL solar companies shy away from, yet they get grants for making their stuff overseas WTF?????
As the owner so eloquently put it once, we make the Rolls Royce of solar panels.
We could do much more, if Obama get his head out of his ass and actualy worry about businesses in OUR country and forget about other countries.
Riptide, I made a quick scan of your w/s (will look more closely later) and I agree, you make attractive products...I like the way you can make a working piece of equipment blend in to the surroundings - that`s art ! As a student of mechanical and architectural design in hs and tech schools, and a commercial artist now, you`ve won me over ! Too bad that`s worth only good will !
I hope your Christmas can still be Merry !
Thank You SignPainterGuy :)
we are a very small company, 17 people at the moment and that includes management. A lot of these products are completely hand made, as our cell stringer has its limits. Our owner is an older oriental gentleman who is too honorable to cheat to get a piece of the grant pie and I am proud to work for an honest man. Unfortunately when you deal with the government, honesty gets you nowhere.
riptide,
I would love to work for someone else, and for a boss as honorable as your co`s owner ! I cannot imagine how much work and $ I`ve missed because I refuse to compromise my values !
Hang in there !
Well! I am not surprised.
This administration's agenda is NOT HELPING the American people. Rather, the agenda is all about globalization. **snerk**
BTW, Zilla, you are blogrolled.
Thank you, AOW!
Riptide, the company which squandered that $42 million grant on outsourcing to India for inferior products that could have been better made at your company only has 17 people, so the gov't can't claim that your co. is too small for a grant, you're just too good and too AMERICAN.
The laws might be different in MI, but here NYSERDA gives grants under the pretense that by a certain time a certain number of employees are staffed. So this fraudulent company might have to pay the grant back.
But knowing what I know about the CMO of Suniva, I highly doubt it.
Yeah, if they're buddies of Barry, they won't face any repercussions whatsoever for their scam & swindle. Laws don't apply to CRAPTASTICs & their cronies.
ah yes were all global citizens..NOT!
ZillaMJ,
Thank you so much for your kind words and defense of Steuben Glass. We really appreciate your support buying from American companies and hope that more Americans will follow in your footsteps.
You're very welcome! I'm sorry I didn't see your post here sooner, I recently changed the commenting system here and didn't know I had a new comment to this post.
You have a wonderful company and I wish you many more years of success.
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