Is Obama the Venture Capitalist of Doom?

CBS News counted 12 clean energy companies that are having trouble after collectively being approved for more than $6.5 billion in federal assistance. Five have filed for bankruptcy: The junk bond-rated Beacon, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, AES' subsidiary Eastern Energy and Solyndra.

Others are also struggling with potential problems. Nevada Geothermal -- a home state project personally endorsed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- warns of multiple potential defaults in new SEC filings reviewed by CBS News. It was already having trouble paying the bills when it received $98.5 million in Energy Department loan guarantees. _CBS News

It is a matter of judgment. The marketplace will test your judgment like nothing else can do. If you have never been tested in the fires of competitive business venture, you will be at a loss when trying to select potential winners and losers. And if you are paying with hard-earned tax dollars in the middle of an extended recession -- sooner or later the spotlight is going to hit you in the eyes like a dart.

The Obama administration’s track record with taxpayer-funded, green-tech subsidies is severely flawed, and according to new documents obtained by CBS News, its failures were all too predictable. The Energy Department's $535-million loan guarantee to Solyndra is, at least publicly, its most illustrious investment blunder, as the company went bankrupt last year leaving taxpayers with a hefty bill and putting more than 1,000 employees out of work.

All in all, 12 green energy companies are in financial disorder after collectively receiving more than $6.5 billion in government assistance, five of which have already filed for bankruptcy, including Solyndra, Beacon Power, SpectraWatt, Evergreen Solar, and AES’ subsidiary Eastern Energy. According to CBS News, these green-tech ventures were junk-bond-rated companies with red flags planted all over them.

...Other green-tech investments the Obama administration has championed are currently facing severe financial challenges. Nevada Geothermal, which develops "clean" electrical power from high temperature geothermal resources, displays warnings of multiple defaults in new SEC filings reviewed by CBS News. In fact, the company was already struggling to pay its bills when it harvested $98.5 million in federal loan guarantees.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), one of the Obama administration’s most trusted congressional assets, was instrumental in securing the Energy Department’s financing for Nevada Geothermal. "Mr. Reid has taken the nascent geothermal industry under his wing," the New York Times reported last October, "pressuring the Department of Interior to move more quickly on applications to build clean energy projects on federally owned land and urging other member of Congress to expand federal tax incentives to help build geothermal plants, benefits that Nevada Geothermal has taken advantage of."

The Times pointed out that Nevada Geothermal’s financial misfortunes are all too reminiscent of Solyndra’s collapse, and that such trends have debunked the myth that government can effectively prop up enterprises which private investors avoid altogether _NewAmerican