Gov. Strickland profits from ‘green’ patronage in Ohio
Strickland was subsidizing businesses with the tax dollars and the electricity bills of his constituents, and the subsidized CEOs were supporting Strickland’s re-election. It was another glimpse of the odd new world of “green jobs” in which Democrats outflank Republicans on the “pro-business” line and openly give handouts to campaign contributors. Everything is hunky-dory because it’s green.
By: Timothy P. Carney at Washington Examiner
EXCERPTS:
When Strickland stepped behind the podium, wearing a green tie, he was flanked by CEOs from leading solar and wind companies.
Kasich said of the bill, “It will drive up utility bills because we don’t have [the renewable sources] ready and have to buy it somewhere else. I don’t like that and you can’t mandate invention.”
Despite the green coloring and the job-creation rhetoric, it’s still corporate welfare, and borderline patronage. With these subsidies, Strickland won over the CEOs who stood with him Wednesday, as well as other big businesses. Nuclear-heavy Duke Energy has given $7,395 to Strickland’s re-election. Honeywell, a major manufacturer that installs solar panels, has chipped in $11,395, topping the list of Strickland’s corporate donors.
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