Remember Solyndra? Those Loans Are Now Making Money For The U.S. Government

"Do Republicans Do Anything But Piss, Moan, Whine, Bitch?

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/11/do-republicans-only-piss-moan-whine.html

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Lost in the hubbub following President Obama's climate agreement with China was a smaller bit of surprising environmental news Wednesday: the Department of Energy's loan program is expected to make money for taxpayers.

Most people are familiar with the program because of Solyndra, a solar-panel manufacturer that went bankrupt in 2011 after borrowing $528 million from the federal government. Solyndra was one of a few bad bets the feds made -- Fisker Automotive, which built electric cars, went under last year.

You can't avoid defaults when you lend money, though, and on balance, the loans are being repaid. A report released in the next several days will give the department's first estimates of how the program is performing financially: the loans and guarantees will earn at least $5 billion over 20 years or so, according to a Bloomberg article citing a single anonymous source.

It is hard to know what kind of rate of return that number represents without more exact figures, and it's also important to note that the report contains projections based on the history of the program so far. The companies the government has backed could do worse than predicted. Then again, they might do even better.

In any case, the report won't end the debate over Solyndra. Conservatives are likely to argue that even if the program is earning money for taxpayers, the government should have lowered taxes and let citizens invest the money themselves. Some conservatives might even suggest a tax on carbon dioxide would be a more straightforward way of encouraging research into clean energy.

In short, you can still take issue with the whole idea of the loans if you like, but you can't claim that the program has been mismanaged or call it a failure or a boondoggle anymore.