Ignorance, Arrogance and Government Meddling

Ignorance and arrogance: two characteristics that do not mix well. As a combination, it’s right up there with Saturday Night Specials and unlimited $1 beer night. You just know that something will go horribly wrong. And there can be added factors to make it even worse.

Add one attractive woman of questionable moral character and her large, highly jealous husband to a room full of men with Saturday Night Specials on unlimited $1 dollar beer night and it’s a certain tragedy and likely inspiration for at least three good country songs. Take the ignorance and arrogance combination and throw in political power and the presidency and you have tragedy on a completely different scale and perhaps a generation lost to stifling poverty and depression, though there will be a lot more country songs. Guess which scenario you get to vote on in 2012?

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Retired
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While I could list all of the scandals that occurred when government meddles in business, that’s not what this is about. It does not matter which party is in power, when politicians get involved in business and let businessmen get involved in politics, there will be a huge bill to pay. Hey, I’m looking at you, fellow taxpayer, because we will pay that massive tab.

When Angelo Mozilo got caught up in the subprime mortgage scandal, he had to pay a fine of $47.5 million and his company Countrywide Credit paid another $20 million. We got him, didn’t we? Forty-seven million five hundred-thousand dollars! Poor Angelo had to retire with his paltry estimated $550 million in wealth. He could have still bought Solyndra! And don’t we just wish he had.

Chu on This

Poor US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, the Nobel Prize winner is characterized as a brilliant academic but his lax management style makes him too incompetent for even the hapless Obama Administration. Sadly, the Obama Administration is, indeed, so hapless that they haven't yet accepted the fact that Chu is not an able or even competent administrator.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu
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I'm being kind in that assessment, because if Chu isn't incompetent then it means that he participated, with or without specific knowledge, in routing taxpayer money to benefit the billionaire buddy of our current President. Of course, there is still the alternative that both things are true. It's also telling that Solyndra was the very first loan Chu approved.

Chu says that he accepts responsibility for the Solyndra debacle, but that's not quite accurate is it? Accepting responsibility doesn't stop at making excuses for why you made the wrong decision despite evidence to the contrary. It means making amends. If Secretary Chu wants to be responsible, then he should actually be responsible. We'll even allow him to finance the $535 million dollars as long as he pays it back to the taxpayers. That would be taking full responsibility.