Where Did the Stimulus Money Go?

Here are a couple of paragraphs from the current issue of "Metal Casting, Design & Purchasing" magazine, a foundry trade publication.

..."the Investigative Reporting Workshop found several cases of wind farm developers in the U.S. receiving turbines, blades and other components imported from Europe and Asia the same (2009) year. The report also discovered that of the $2.2 billion of stimulus grants awarded to renewable energy companies, $1.7 billion went to foreign wind power companies and $500 million went to domestic companies. (Reference to Table which gives statistics.)

Furman argued the stimulus grant helped companies like his--a Spanish firm with a North American division--stay afloat during 2009 and encouraged them to invest in American ventures.

'We would have had a lot of turbines to store and people to lay off,' he said. 'When the grant program occurred, we changed our plans for the next couple of years and reallocated capital to the U.S. We are installing more capacity in the U.S. for the next few years.'"

The article goes on to say that American jobs were lost for some time but they are hoping for a turn around coming up. I'll try to add a bit to this and put it in perspective, but sometimes it's hard to put much faith in the strategies used by those who want all kinds of subsidies and then we find they weren't used as advertised.

With only 41,000 private jobs gained this month and the loss of jobs when the census is completed and all the folks who used to make a living from southern coastal waters who will probably be paid minimum wage to help in the clean up, it's hard to be optimistic for a great summer, right?

Maybe we'll get an unexpected gift somehow--
Go to the Rose Parade Sunday for a lift--
God bless...........