Did You Know...

**Written by Doug Powers

Proposed new rule: Government officials who “invest” taxpayer money in speculative ventures must include $100 of their own cash per million taxpayer dollars. It’s an approach that would be similar to airline mechanics who ride on the planes they’ve maintained — and you’ll notice that airliners crash far less frequently than government backed “green energy” start-ups.

From Business Week:

Employees fired by Solyndra LLC, the solar-panel maker that failed after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee, were certified for U.S. aid under a program for workers hurt by overseas competition.

The Labor Department decided to award trade-adjustment assistance on Nov. 18, according to a posting today on the agency’s website. Solyndra ceased operations on Aug. 31 amid cheaper imports from China.

According to Investors Business, all of Solyndra’s 1,100 employees are eligible for “job retraining and income assistance” packages averaging $13,000 per person, which would tack on another $14.3 million to Solyndra’s previous $535 million price tag — a “loan” that will never be recovered.

The administration asking Solyndra to keep layoffs quiet until after the 2010 election doesn’t really imply that “overseas competition” was the main concern during Solyndra’s rapid fall. But maybe they were referring to the elections in China.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe