Obama To Businesses: 'You Didn't Build That!'

As President Obama Wastes Billions On Political Payoffs Like Solyndra, He Tells Entrepreneurs They Can’t Make It On Their Own
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President Obama, To Business Owners And Entrepreneurs: “You Didn’t Build That … Somebody Else Made That Happen”:

President Obama, At A Campaign Rally On Friday Night: “If You’ve Got A Business, You Didn’t Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen.” OBAMA: “Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks in Roanoke, VA, 7/13/12)

But The Disastrous Solyndra Loan That Cost Taxpayers Over Half A Billion Dollars? The Obama Administration “Made That Happen”:

President Obama, While Visiting Solyndra: “Through The Recovery Act, This Company Received A Loan To Expand Its Operation.”OBAMA: “And we can see the positive impacts right here at Solyndra. Less than a year ago, we were standing on what was an empty lot. But through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks in Fremont, CA, 5/26/10)

Protecting Campaign Donors Before Protecting Taxpayers? The Obama Administration “Made That Happen”:

The Administration Restructured The Solyndra Loan “In Such A Way That Private Investors – Including A Fundraiser For President Barack Obama – Moved Ahead Of Taxpayers For Repayment…” “The Obama administration restructured a half-billion dollar federal loan to a troubled solar energy company in such a way that private investors – including a fundraiser for President Barack Obama – moved ahead of taxpayers for repayment in case of a default, government records show. … Under terms of the February loan restructuring, two private investors – Argonaut Ventures I LLC and Madrone Partners LP – stand to be repaid before the U.S. government if the solar company is liquidated.” (Matthew Daly, “Obama Admin Reworked Solyndra Loan To Favor Donor,” The Associated Press, 9/16/11)

Putting A Major Campaign Fundraiser In Charge Of The Program Responsible For Solyndra? The Obama Administration “Made That Happen”:

Obama’s Green Energy Loan Program Was Run By A Top Campaign Fundraiser… “[T]he department’s loan and grant programs are run by partisans who were responsible for raising money during the Obama campaign from the same people who later came to seek government loans and grants. Steve Spinner, who served on the Obama campaign’s National Finance Committee and was a bundler himself, was the campaign’s ‘liaison to Silicon Valley.’ … After the 2008 campaign, Spinner joined the Department of Energy as the ‘chief strategic operations officer’ for the loan programs.” (Peter Schweizer, “Obama Campaign Backers And Bundlers Rewarded With Green Grants And Loans,” Newsweek, 11/12/11)

… Who Claimed That Vice President Biden’s Office And Other White House Officials Were “Breathing Down [His] Neck” To Get The Solyndra Loan Approved. “‘How hard is this? What is he waiting for?’ wrote Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and energy investor who raised at least $500,000 for the candidate before being appointed to a key job helping oversee the energy loan guarantee program. ‘I have OVP [the Office of the Vice President] and WH [the White House] breathing down my neck on this.’” (Matthew Mosk, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside,” ABC News, 10/7/11)

President Obama And Vice President Biden Held Up The Solyndra Investment As A Model For The Stimulus Bill – And For The Economy As A Whole:

President Obama, In May 2010: “The True Engine Of Economic Growth Will Always Be Companies Like Solyndra…” (President Barack Obama, Remarks in Fremont, CA, 5/26/10)

Vice President Biden, In September 2009: “This Announcement Today Is … Exactly What The Recovery Act Is All About.” “Vice President Joe Biden, appearing via satellite from Washington D.C., today announced the Department of Energy has finalized a $535 million loan guarantee for Solyndra, Inc. … ‘This announcement today is part of the unprecedented investment this Administration is making in renewable energy and exactly what the Recovery Act is all about,’ said Vice President Biden.” (The White House, Press Release, 9/4/09)

But As Growth Slows And Record-Level Unemployment Persists, It Is Clear That President Obama Doesn’t Have A Clue How To Fix The Economy:

“U.S. Job Growth Barely Picked Up In June, The Latest Sign That Economic Growth Has Slowed.” “U.S. job growth barely picked up in June, the latest sign that economic growth has slowed. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 80,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The politically important unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, was unchanged at 8.2%.” (Jeffrey Sparshott and Eric Morath, “Jobs Data Indicate Slowing Growth,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/6/12)

“The Weakest Job-Adding Quarter In Two Years…” HARWOOD: “Just 80,000 jobs added in the month of June, Michelle. 8.2% unemployment rate, unchanged, 12.7 million unemployed people, also unchanged. That makes the second quarter the weakest job-adding quarter in two years, an average of 75,000 jobs added in the second quarter of this year.” (CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” 7/6/12)

America’s First Quarter GDP Was A “Tepid” 1.9%, Which Is “Too Weak To Lower The Unemployment Rate.”  “Applications for unemployment benefits stayed above a level last week that is generally considered too high to lower the unemployment rate. And the annual growth rate for the U.S. economy in the January-March quarter was unchanged at a tepid 1.9 percent. … Growth of around 1.9 percent typically generates roughly 90,000 jobs a month. That's considered too weak to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “Tepid Economic Growth Weighs On US Job Market,” The Associated Press, 6/28/12)