In January, investigative reporter John Stossel, now with Fox Business, reported on an exceptionally cozy relationship between Serious Materials, an energy-efficient building materials company, and an Obama administration pushing what was dubbed "cash for caulkers" as part of its failing stimulus package. As Julia A. Seymour of the Business and Media Institute reports, Stossel showed video clips of a Serious Materials representative introducing President Obama and CEO Kevin Surace and thanking Vice President Biden for his "unwavering support."So unwavering has this support been that when a list of such companies receiving tax credits was released in January, only one window manufacturer, Serious Materials, was a recipient. This attracted the attention of Annette Meeks of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, a much-colder state that also has manufacturers of energy-efficient windows. Meeks asked: "How does it come about that repeatedly — at least six times last year — executives from one window manufacturer, one small California company, appeared with the president and vice president and no other company even gets a mention?" As it turns out, according to Meeks' colleague Jonathan Blake, the company's policy director is married to Cathy Zoi, the administration's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. In that position, Zoi has control of $16.8 billion in stimulus funds. Environmental guru and reporter Christopher Horner, writing for Pajamas Media, also notes that Zoi, formerly CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection (founded by, you guessed it, Al Gore) and her husband hold 120,000 shares in Serious Materials, as well as stock options. Zoi and her husband also have a substantial stake in a Swiss firm, Landis+Gyr, that makes the "smart meters" that are a central component of the administration's plans to reduce electricity consumption as part of a national "smart grid." Can anyone say "conflict of interest"?...more
Thursday, May 06, 2010
How Cronyism Is Infesting Cap-And-Trade
In January, investigative reporter John Stossel, now with Fox Business, reported on an exceptionally cozy relationship between Serious Materials, an energy-efficient building materials company, and an Obama administration pushing what was dubbed "cash for caulkers" as part of its failing stimulus package. As Julia A. Seymour of the Business and Media Institute reports, Stossel showed video clips of a Serious Materials representative introducing President Obama and CEO Kevin Surace and thanking Vice President Biden for his "unwavering support."So unwavering has this support been that when a list of such companies receiving tax credits was released in January, only one window manufacturer, Serious Materials, was a recipient. This attracted the attention of Annette Meeks of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, a much-colder state that also has manufacturers of energy-efficient windows. Meeks asked: "How does it come about that repeatedly — at least six times last year — executives from one window manufacturer, one small California company, appeared with the president and vice president and no other company even gets a mention?" As it turns out, according to Meeks' colleague Jonathan Blake, the company's policy director is married to Cathy Zoi, the administration's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. In that position, Zoi has control of $16.8 billion in stimulus funds. Environmental guru and reporter Christopher Horner, writing for Pajamas Media, also notes that Zoi, formerly CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection (founded by, you guessed it, Al Gore) and her husband hold 120,000 shares in Serious Materials, as well as stock options. Zoi and her husband also have a substantial stake in a Swiss firm, Landis+Gyr, that makes the "smart meters" that are a central component of the administration's plans to reduce electricity consumption as part of a national "smart grid." Can anyone say "conflict of interest"?...more
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2 comments:
I certainly do not endorse any non-market energy rationing ideas, no matter where they come from or how they work. All of these things are the products of a government that has grown far beyond its sustainable size and is desparate for revenue.
That being said, if our goal is to have the central planners ration energy, the most efficient model would be an across the board carbon tax, like they have in some countries in Europe. The sole purpose of this Cap & Tax idea is to get the Wall Street crowd in on the game. Once again, Big Business and Big Government march in lock-step, privatizing benefits and socializing the costs.
Stossel's report turned out to be full of holes. Terrible reporting by a guy that used to be good at ABC. The company has never received a dime of Gov money. The tax credit they qualify for was along with 183 other companies and 7 OTHER window companies, and they got the lowest amount, but only if they spend 3X that amount for equipment. And the list was chosen by outside people, not DOE people. And the VP visited a new plant long before Zoi worked for DOE. Stossel should have reported the rest of these facts. Failing to do so treats us readers like idiots. You should do some research before re-reporting nonsense that makes Americans LESS informed, only more MISINFORMED. Wonder why Stossel didn't mention any of these facts: http://blog.seriousmaterials.com/?p=007
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