Short-term Employment

President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger at the construction site of Solyndra

What does 535 million buy you these days? About a thousand "long-term" jobs, for about twelve months - a whole year! That would be $535,000 spent per job created. And since these "long-term" jobs had expiration dates, that was 44.5 million spent per month. Sounds like a great investment of your money - right? The President thought so...here is part of the speech he gave at the construction site of Solyndra.

Fifteen years ago, the United States produced 40 percent of the world’s solar panels -- 40 percent. That was just 15 years ago. By 2008, our share had fallen to just over 5 percent. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared to cede American leadership in this industry, because I’m not prepared to cede America’s leadership in the global economy.
So that’s why we’ve placed a big emphasis on clean energy. It’s the right thing to do for our environment, it’s the right thing to do for our national security, but it’s also the right thing to do for our economy.
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.
Since the project broke ground last fall, more than 3,000 construction workers have been employed building this plant. Across the country, workers -- (applause) -- across the country, workers in 22 states are manufacturing the supplies for this project. Workers in a dozen states are building the advanced manufacturing equipment that will power this new facility. When it’s completed in a few months, Solyndra expects to hire a thousand workers to manufacture solar panels and sell them across America and around the world. (Applause.)
And this in turn will generate business for companies throughout our country who will create jobs supplying this factory with parts and materials. So there’s a ripple effect. It’s not just localized to this area.

Sounds good? The President usually sounds good - but the realities are often grossly different. Yes, they knew it would be short lived. Read the Credit Committee Recommendations here.