Yesterday the Daily Caller reported that Solyndra, Inc. received a $535 million loan guarantee from stimulus money to finance the first phase of building the company’s new facility for manufacturing photovoltaic solar panels.  President Obama and Vice-President Biden praised the company for its plan to create 1,000 jobs.  Unfortunately the jobs never materailized. 

On November 3rd, the company announced that it was postponing expanding its manufacturing facility and no longer planned to hire the 1,000 workers.  In addition, the company planned to shut down one of its older plants and lay off 135 workers.  Since the company was founded in 2005, it has never shown a profit (according to the Securities and Exchange Commission).  In June 2010 the Wall Street Journal reported that Solyndra, Inc., was a major contributor to the Obama presidential campaign.  I am sure that is simply a coincidence.

“According to a Feb. 17 letter signed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, Florida Republican, to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the Fremont, Calif.-based solar panel manufacturer should never have received a $535 million loan guarantee from the stimulus.*”

*Correction: The sentence originally stated the money was squandered.

Hopefully, someone is Congress will take a serious look at how stimulus money was spent.  It is becoming very obvious that political connectiveness was the requirement–it had nothing to do with creating jobs.