John Deere in the Headlights --Why is the Company Lobbying for Cap-and-Trade?

Fast start in 2010!

The Free Enterprise Project launched the year by generating news about the Obama Administration diverting CIA resources to work on climate change.

The CIA reinitiated a program ended by President Bush in 2001 where the agency uses its sophisticated spy satellites to monitor changes in polar ice.
Our press release resulted in a number of news reports:

Read Investor's Business Daily editorial: Spying on Icebergs? and Watch Deneen Borelli on Fox News: Fox & Friends 

Our press release publicizing that Climategate scientist Michael Mann of Penn State got a $540,000 research grant from President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package generated significant media attention.

Read the Wall Street Journal editorial (subscription required): Michael Mann's Climate Stimulus...

The Mann Grant

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an editorial calling on Penn State to return the stimulus money grant to Professor Michael Mann back to the government.

"Granting more than half a million federal stimulus dollars to a professor whose Climategate role prompted a Penn State University investigation is politically motivated misuse of public money at its worst."

Fox Business News has also reported on Mann’s grant. Watch my interview with Stuart Varney.

High Energy Prices Hurts Alcoa

Yesterday, Alcoa led off the earnings season with disappointing results. Higher energy costs played a key role in reducing the company’s profits. “One thing I thought they had done well was turn the corner operationally, but now energy costs are getting away from them and they are buying metal on the open market,” said an investment company representative.

Higher energy prices have a significant negative impact on Alcoa because aluminum production demands huge amounts of power. Finding cheap and an abundant supply of energy explains why Alcoa recently announced a joint venture with Ma’aden – a Saudi Arabian Mining Company.

The joint venture with Saudi Arabia also exposes the motivation underlying Alcoa’s support of cap-and-trade legislation. The company can profit from the free carbon credits in the U.S. while moving jobs to countries such as Saudi Arabia that don’t tax energy.

Farm Bureau Opposes Cap-and-Trade

Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, delivered a powerful speech against cap-and-trade legislation at the trade group’s annual conference in Seattle, WA. Stallman called for farmers to challenge “misguided, activist-driven regulation.”

The New York Times reported, “Stallman said that the bill would "slash" farmers' ability to produce more food for a growing worldwide population. He estimated the bill would shift as many as 59 million acres of food production into forestry -- equal to setting aside every acre of land used for crop and food production in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee."

With its 6-million members, the Farm Bureau could play a major role in convincing agricultural state Senators, such as Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), to vote against cap-and-trade legislation.

The War Against Fossil Fuels

The good news: After a long delay, the EPA voiced support for a permit that will allow Patriot Coal to expand a coal mine in West Virginia. Final approval resides with the Army Corps of Engineers which is in charge of issuing permits under the Clean Air Act. Without the permit, the company would have to stop mining sometime this year.

The bad news: It’s reported that Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar (see photo) is going to announce oil and natural-gas companies will face additional regulatory barriers before they will be given permission to develop natural resources on federal lands.

The key to economic growth and job growth is a cheap and abundant supply of energy. The Obama Administration's war on fossil fuels is harming both job creation and energy independence.

Senate Democrats to W.H.: Drop cap and trade

Here is some good news for the New Year! According to Politico, Senate Democrats are calling for President Obama to drop cap-and-trade as a legislative priority for 2010.

“Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year.”

Hopefully, Obama will take advice from his own party and drop cap-and-trade from his political agenda.

Obama's Job Killing EPA

CONSOL Energy announced it will be eliminating almost 500 jobs in West Virginia because of environmental activism.

CONSOL Energy CEO said in a statement, "It is challenging enough to operate our coal and gas assets in the current economic downturn without having to contend with a constant stream of activism in rehashing and reinterpreting permit applications that have already been approved or in the inequitable oversight of our operations.”

According to the Washington Times, the EPA is also contributing to the problem for the mining industry, “The Environmental Protection Agency is already holding 79 surface mining permits in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. And, agency went even further in October, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia.”

Perhaps the best thing Obama can do to create jobs and stimulate the economy is to reign in his overzealous EPA.

Holdren Grilled Over E-Mail Controversy

During a Congressional hearing yesterday, Dr. John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the controversy over the emails from a climate research group does not change the scientific consensus about man’s role in causing global warming.

Holdren said, "This particular case, the data set in question and the way it was interpreted and presented by these particular scientists, constitutes a small part of the data and analysis."

It’s disturbing that Holdren is minimizing the importance of scientists being caught manipulating data on climate change. Given the economic impact of legislation based on addressing global warming, Holdren should not be so quick to dismiss the serious issues surrounding the integrity of scientists that have played a key role in the United Nations IPCC reports on climate change.

UK climate scientist to temporarily step down

The AP is reporting that the head of the climate research group that is ground zero for the climategate controversy is temporally leaving his post as the university launches an investigation into claims he manipulated climate change data.

“The university says Phil Jones will relinquish his position until the completion of an independent review into allegations that he worked to alter the way in which global temperature data was presented” says the AP.

Corporations lobbying for cap-and-trade legislation should also postpone their push for legislation until the concerns of data manipulation are resolved.

CNBC Whacks Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens on Cap-and-Trade

This morning CNBC’s Squawk Box used our press release to challenge CEO Jim Owens' support of cap-and-trade.

Owens was caught off guard and he gave an incoherent response.

Despite the risks cap-and-trade poses to our economy, which he clearly understands, Owens remains a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership – a lobbying group that is actively supporting cap-and-trade legislation.

GE Lobbying Victory

Today’s Wall Street Journal page one story on GE shows how companies are benefiting from Obama’s big government programs. According to the story, Immelt executed a full court press to grab as much stimulus money as possible, and it appears his effort was a success.

“Last month, for example, President Barack Obama announced $3.4 billion in government-stimulus grants for power-grid projects. About one-third of the recipients are GE customers. GE expects them to use a good chunk of that money to buy its equipment,” says the story.

Given the amount of government money the company is getting, it seems we can now add GE to the list of companies that Obama is bailing out.

Largest Tax Increase In World History

Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus' commentary on climate change summarizes the best arguments against global warming regulations. He describes cap-and-trade as a method of government intervention masquerading as an economic market solution.

Importantly, he also notes that at the upcoming Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change that “the anti-establishment people have in the meantime become insiders and will be sitting in the main hall. This is a shift with far-reaching consequences.”

Inmates running the U.N climate change asylum is definitely a cause for concern but at least the Boxer-Kerry cap-and-trade bill seems to be stalled in the Senate.

A front page story in today’s New York Times details how Al Gore’s global warming advocacy is also lining his pockets with cash. Gore’s venture capital company, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, will benefit from its investment in Silver Spring Networks – a company that develops technologies to increase the efficiency of the electricity grid.

“The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants. Of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts. Kleiner Perkins and its partners, including Mr. Gore, could recoup their investment many times over in coming years,” said the Times.

The source of the Department of Energy grants was from “American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” – President Obama’s economic stimulus plan.

This investment is only a tip of the Gore’s green investment iceberg. Gore will be rewarded handsomely if cap-and-trade becomes law.

It seems the only thing stimulating about Obama’s economic stimulus plan is Gore’s wallet.

Read our press release: Obama "Bailing Out" Al Gore and Utilities

Scrap the Cap

As Senate hearings on a climate change bill begin this week, National Review published a well-timed editorial that discusses the numerous failings of the cap-and-trade scheme.

The editorial says, “The Heritage Foundation estimates that the Waxman-Markey bill would cost the average family of four almost $3,000 per year in higher energy costs. What do we get in return? Even the bill’s most enthusiastic supporters admit that it would not have a significant impact on global temperatures unless countries like China and India pass their own carbon caps. Neither country has shown any enthusiasm for emulating our proposed folly.”

Given the fragile state of our economy and the complexity of the bill, the Senate should immediately cease any consideration of cap-and-trade legislation.

Divide and Conquer

The Obama Administration is leading the attack against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as part of its strategy to advance cap-and-trade and health care reform.

The Administration recognizes that corporate America holds the key to Obama's public policy agenda and it is making a full scale assault to make sure CEOs know the president's goals.

According to Politico, "The White House and congressional Democrats are working to marginalize the Chamber of Commerce - the powerful business lobby opposed to many of President Barack Obama's first-year priorities - by going around the group and dealing directly with the CEOs of major U.S. corporations."

Some companies are now cheerleading Obama's energy policy. A number of companies are paying for full page ads calling for the Senate to pass cap-and-trade.

To learn more about corporate promotion of cap-and-trade read my Fox News commentary, "Nike, Starbucks and Others Team Up with the Left to Sell Cap-and-Trade."

Eliot Spitzer has joined the Chamber bashing chorus. Read our press release, "Eliot Spitzer Attack against U.S. Chamber of Commerce is Left-Wing Politics at its Worst."

Lobbying Pays Off for Duke

It seems like Duke Energy’s lobbying effort is paying public policy dividends.

According to news reports, the company “spent $3.5 million in the first half of this year, federal reports show, nearly tripling what it spent for all of 1999. The $6.6million it spent in 2008 roughly doubled its annual lobbying expenses of the three previous years.”

Judging by the results Duke Energy money was well spent. The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill gave the company free carbon pollution credits “for 15 to 20 years for free.”

Given our record budget deficit, it's amazing that Congress wants to subsidize big business.

Apple Falls from US Chamber Tree

The climate change drama continues at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Yesterday Apple decided to drop its membership in the trade group because of differences over climate change policy. Apple decision follows power companies Exelon, PG&E and PMN Resources who are also leaving the trade group.

The Chamber finally decided to fight back. According to news reports, Chamber head Tom Donahue wrote Apple CEO Steve Jobs saying, “It is unfortunate that your company didn’t take the time to understand the Chamber’s position on climate and forfeited the opportunity to advance a 21st century approach to climate change.”

Apple seems to be ignoring the economic impact of cap-and-trade. Higher energy prices and job losses will not benefit sales in Apple’s premium priced products.

Just Do It

Nike just did it – well kind of…

The company has announced it has resigned from a board position with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of differences over climate change policy. Nike will, however, remain a member of the trade group.

Nike said in a press statement, “As we've stated, we fundamentally disagree with the US Chamber of Commerce on the issue of climate change and their [sic] recent action challenging the EPA is inconsistent with our view that climate change is an issue in need of urgent action.”

Nike also defended its decision to keep its membership with the trade group, “We will continue our membership to advocate for climate change legislation inside the committee structure and believe that we can better influence policy by being part of the conversation. Moving forward we will continue to evaluate our membership.”

Time will tell if Nike’s King Solomon approach will work.

The Possibility of Carbon-Trading Fraud

The risks of the carbon trading market are drawing attention from both sides of the Congressional aisle.

The NY Times reports on the bipartisan concern surrounding the complexities and financial risks of “trade” part of the cap-and-trade system.

"I'm very concerned that any 'cap and tax' scheme is simply going to benefit the same Wall Street elite who got us in this financial mess we're in today,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

Republican concerns were joined by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

Despite these fears, Wall Street, looking for a new source of revenue, is pushing hard for cap-and-trade legislation.

A Business House Divided

Exelon is the latest company to end its membership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over climate change.

Exelon, a major utility, joined other electricity providers such as PG&E and PMN Resources Inc. in splitting from the trade group because of the Chambers’ staunch opposition to cap-and-trade legislation. The utilities are vocal supporters of cap-and-trade.

Pressure is mounting for other Chamber members that disagree with the trade group’s climate change policy. Nike is now being pressured by a shareholder group to leave the Chamber, reports Bloomberg.

“Boston-based Green Century Capital Management Inc. and other investors will urge Nike to terminate its membership in the chamber in a letter being sent to the company today, said Emily Stone, a shareholder advocate for Green Century.”

Read Green Century’s Letter Here

Gambling on Carbon

Evidence from Europe indicates that trading carbon dioxide credits can be as risky as mortgage backed securities. After a court in Europe sided with Poland and Estonia by finding that these countries could challenge the carbon emissions limits set by the European Commission the price of carbon credits dropped by 5 percent.

The judgment threatens the entire carbon trading system in Europe because a number of countries have filed similar challenges. 

Michael Lawton of Deutsche Welle reported:

“The EU court must also decide on similar cases involving Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic, effectively calling into question the way the entire system is run and potentially undermining the price of emissions permits across Europe.”

Carbon allowance prices will likely crash if the other counties are successful in challenging the emission limits. The last thing the U.S. economy needs is another risky Wall Street trading scheme.

Corporations Lobby UN on Global Warming

The call for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is moving to the international arena. Timed to influence participants at the United Nations meeting to prevent global warming, approximately 500 companies, including GE, Starbucks, Nike and BP sent the “Copenhagen Communique” to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

The letter demands government mandate reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of 50-85% by 2050 to limit global warming to 2 degrees C.

By sending the letter the business community hopes to solidify support for a global treaty on climate change at the UN meeting in Copenhagen in December.

It’s ironic that companies such as GE, that can’t control their own business, think they can control the global climate.

Firms Start to See Climate Change as Barrier to Profit

Juliet Epstein’s Washington Post story, “Firms Start to See Climate Change as Barrier to Profit” offers a one-sided view of the business impact over climate change.

The story highlights a few corporations that are concerned that changes in the environment could negatively impact their business while largely ignoring the economic consequences of global warming regulations.

Importantly, companies such as Starbucks and Levi Strauss, who are featured in the story, are trying to advance global warming legislation in Congress.

Customers of these companies should take note and question whether buying Starbucks coffee or Levi's jeans makes sensemakes sense.

Rush to Legislate

A study by The National Commission on Energy Policy on the Waxman-Markey bill found “that international offsets will not be available in sufficient quantities in the early years of a cap and trade program to effectively control costs to the US economy.”

Offsets play a key role in managing the cost of the cap-and-trade program. Bloomberg reports that “The Environmental Protection Agency’s analysis of the House cap-and-trade bill highlighted offsets as a major cost- cutting measure.”

Without sufficient offsets, Waxman-Markey would drive up energy costs and exacerbate the negative economic impact of the bill.

The study highlights the problem of the “rush to legislate” Congress – act now and worry about the consequences later.

Duke Energy Ducks Questions on Cap-and-Trade

Representatives of Duke Energy defended the company’s position to support cap-and-trade at a meeting with the Terre Haute Rotary Club. Company officials said they preferred legislation because it would be less costly than EPA regulating carbon dioxide emissions.

Importantly, the club members challenged the environmental benefits of the legislation and asked about electricity price increases.

It seems the Duke Energy officials ducked both questions. They refused to say how much electricity prices would increase and the company decided to “set the science aside” and only deal with the politics of the issue.

It’s great to see company officials being challenged by their well -informed customers. Maybe next time, company officials will answer their questions.

Actions Have Consequences

Falling poll numbers for Obama and passionate feedback from constituents about the size and scope of government at town hall meetings across the country is having an impact on the president’s big government agenda.

The ambitious climate change bill may be a casualty of the political momentum shift. Politico is reporting that the climate change bill is losing steam in the Senate.

“The raucous debate over health care could thwart the Senate’s enactment of sweeping energy and climate legislation this year, say Democratic aides, energy lobbyists and environmentalists.” says Politico.com.

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, recently announced that she will miss her early September deadline to produce the climate change bill.

It seems “We the People” are having an impact.

Insights on the Whole Foods Controversy

Whole Foods is under attack because its CEO John Mackey dared to challenge Obama’s health care prescription for America in a Wall Street Journal commentary.

The assault on Whole Foods is instrumental because it exposes the many facets of the left-wing corporate strategy that has been used in the past to silence or co-opt businesses on key public policy issues ranging from social security reform to global warming legislation.

The attack includes boycotts at store locations, left-wing blogs are firing away at Mackey, union groups are organizing additional protests and a pension fund advocacy group is using shareholder activism to intimidate Whole Foods’ board of directors.

We have seen this movie before and it ends badly for both shareholders and liberty.

White House projects bigger deficits, bigger debt

President Obama’s announcement that he is reappointing Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve Chairman seems to be timed to distract Americans from the Administration’s projections for the exploding federal deficit.

According to the AP, the White House now estimates “a cumulative $ 9 trillion deficit from 2010-2019, $2 trillion more than the administration estimated in May. Moreover, the figures show the public debt doubling by 2019 and reaching three-quarters the size of the entire national economy.”

Also, Christina Romer, Obama’s economic adviser, “predicted unemployment could reach 10 percent this year and begin a slow decline next year.”

Despite the massive growth in our deficit, Obama remains strident in pushing for a cap-and-trade policy that will slow economic growth, increase job losses and reduce tax revenues and a national health care plan that will only add to our mounting debt. What is he thinking?

Waxman-Markey Would Hurt U.S. Domestic Refineries

A new study finds the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill would “lead to significant gains in non-U.S. refinery capacity, investment and employment at the expense of the U.S. refining sector.”

These outcomes would occur because the bill would increase production costs on domestic refiners and drive investment overseas. Accordingly, the U.S would need to import refined products such as gasoline to meet its energy needs.

The NY Times reports, “In 2030, the United States could rely on imports to meet as much as 19.4 percent of its demand for refined fuels, compared with a forecasted 9.6 percent without the measures.”

The study illustrates yet another reason to oppose cap-and-trade legislation. The last thing we need is to increase our dependency on foreign imports to meet our energy needs.

Buying Influence

When a company depends on the government for its survival it needs to make sure elected officials are well informed about key business issues. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that GE’s lobbying budget increased in the second quarter of 2009.

AP reports, “General Electric Co. boosted its second-quarter lobbying spending by 34 percent over last year as it petitioned Congress and government agencies on issues ranging from economic stimulus and financial sector reform to the transition to digital television.”

The $7.2 million GE spent on lobbying in the second quarter is more than its lobbying expense from same period last year and during the first quarter in 2009, about $5.4 million and $4.5 million, respectively.

Unfortunately, for liberty-minded citizens, GE is bringing big government to life.

Boehner Challenges PhRMA's Appeasement Strategy

It seems corporate appeasement strategies is not limited to companies seeking global warming regulations.

PhRMA, the drug company trade association, is participating in a coalition with labor unions and doctors to promote health care reform. In an effort to sway public opinion the coalition is funding “a $ 12 million television advertising campaign directed at 12 states.”

It has also been reported that PhRMA struck a deal where the White House agreed to limit drug industry financial exposure in exchange for support of Obama’s health care reform policy.

The good news is that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is directly challenging PhRMA’s big government strategy. 

The Hill reports on a letter Boehner sent to Billy Tauzin, the head of the trade group. “The House GOP leader takes Tauzin and PhRMA to task for striking a deal with Senate Democrats and the White House under which the group agreed to take an $80 billion hit on behalf of President Barack Obama’s campaign for healthcare reform.”

It’s good to see that Boehner is taking on corporations that are pursuing big government programs. Big business needs to recognize that appeasement is a failed strategy.

U.S. Senators Say Climate Change Measure Should Be Set Aside

It seems President Obama’s declining popularity is diminishing the prospects of passing a cap-and-trade bill. 

Bloomberg is reporting that four Senate Democrats favor reducing the size of climate change legislation by dropping the cap-and-trade provisions and instead move forward with a less ambitious bill that would mandate the use of renewable energy.

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AK) said, “The problem of doing both of them together is that it becomes too big of a lift,” and she added, “I see the cap-and-trade being a real problem.”

Senators Nelson (D-NE), Conrad (D-ND) and Byron (D-ND) backed Lincoln’s proposal.

Losing Democratic support for cap-and-trade is an important political development.

Cap-and-Trade Costing America

A study by just released by the National Association of Manufactures and the American Council for Capital Formation found the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation would increase consumers' costs and reduce economic growth. The study also reported that Waxman-Markey “could cost the U.S. economy between 1.8 million and 2.4 million jobs over the next two decades.” (see photo of Represenative Waxman)

In addition to estimating the national economic impact, the study conducted an analysis for 15 states that could be most affected by the cap-and-trade bill. Ohio, for example, could “lose anywhere from 80,000 to more than 108,000 jobs by 2030 if a cap-and-trade energy bill passed earlier this summer by the U.S. House of Representatives were to become law…”

Separately, a Wall Street Journal editorial, “More Cap-and-Trade War,” discussed a letter from Senate Democrats to President Obama that calls for the inclusion of a carbon tariff provision in any legislation that reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The Senators think a carbon tariff is needed to protect manufacturing jobs that might be lost to countries that don’t tax energy.

Let’s hope the recognition that cap-and-trade is bad for the economy and our manufacturing base is enough to let the bill die in the Senate.

National Clean Energy Summit 2.0

Citizen outrage over government overreach is not just limited to Obama’s health care policy.

Protesters concerned about cap-and-trade legislation greeted attendees including Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) (see photo) at the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund in Las Vegas.

Speakers at the summit included former Vice President Al Gore, T. Boone Pickens, and Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL described the event and the protest:

“At the summit, speakers including former Vice President Al Gore and current Energy Secretary Steven Chu defended the position that shifting America's energy to non-carbon-producing sources is critical to the long-term health of the economy.”

“Because the event was an energy summit, many protesters focused on the proposed cap-and-trade program that would regulate carbon emissions. Reid, who is Senate majority leader, has great influence over the outcome of pending cap-and-trade legislation.”

GE’s Invisible Hand

Not only does G.E. wield its influence directly through its massive lobbying budget but it also uses job creation as means to sway Congress. For instance, while the GE settlement with the SEC was in the news, the company announced expansion of two facilities; one in Schenectady, N.Y., and the other in Louisville, Ky.

In announcing the new facilities GE CEO Jeff Immelt said, the “new operations are part of his campaign to get corporate America to strengthen and expand manufacturing in the United States.”

In June, GE said it would open a research and development operation in economically hard hit Michigan. The new $100 million facility in Wayne County, close to Detroit, would employ over 1,000 scientists.

With extremely high unemployment, Immelt’s facility expansions likely buys silence from Congressmen in three states who might otherwise have concerns about GE’s business practices.

If Immelt really cared about U.S. manufacturing he would not be one of the biggest cheerleaders for cap-and-trade regulations which will devastate our national industrial base.

Inside GE, A Little Bit of Enron

Don’t miss Floyd Norris’s commentary, “Inside G.E., A Little Bit of Enron,” in today’s New York Times.

He describes the details of the accounting irregularities that resulted in the $ 50 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and draws some parallels to Enron.

Norris points out that the accounting games happened “… before G.E. was to announce its annual profits for 2002, Jeff Immelt’s first full year as chief executive. Had G.E. not fudged the accounting, it would have missed its profit forecast by $200 million. Not since 1994 had G.E. failed to make the numbers.”

Unfortunately, it seems G.E. not only operates two sets of books but the company is evaluated by two sets of standards. Being close to the President Obama has its benefits…

Comment by Tom Borelli

President Obama Must Dismiss GE CEO Jeff Immelt from the Economic Recovery Advisory Board

Washington, DC - Today, the Free Enterprise Project calls on President Obama to dismiss General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt from the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board because of the findings revealed in a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and GE.

The SEC said, "GE bent the accounting rules beyond the breaking point" and "GE misapplied the accounting rules to cast its financial results in a better light."

The SEC complaint cited four separate accounting violations one of which "allowed GE to avoid missing analysts' final consensus EPS expectations."

Importantly, all the accounting irregularities occurred while Jeff Immelt served as CEO.

"It's outrageous for President Obama to keep Immelt as an advisor when the SEC charged that GE engaged in a series of efforts to manipulate earnings to mislead investors. The pattern of corruption raised by the SEC is deeply concerning and during a time of economic crisis, the last thing America needs is a Bernie Madoff type CEO giving advice to the president," said Tom Borelli PhD, Director of the Free Enterprise Project.

GE agreed to pay $ 50 million to settle the fraudulent accounting charges without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.

"The deliberate manipulation of financial data to mislead shareholders about earnings, if true, is fraud and Immelt must be held accountable. Not only should Obama dismiss Immelt from his advisory capacity but GE's board of directors should immediately seek his resignation from the company," added Borelli. Read more.

Read the Bloomberg story, "GE Pays $ 50 million to Resolve SEC Accounting Probe"

Climate Bill Hearing

The New York Times previews an upcoming Senate hearing before the Environment and Public Works Committee on cap-and-trade scheduled for August 6 (see picture of Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee). 

Because of the diverse array of special interests trying to shape the legislation, the politics surrounding the bill are extremely complicated.

Hopefully, the size and complexity of the legislation will lead to its demise.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Falling Behind On Green Tech

GE CEO Jeff Immelt and John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers published an op-ed, “Falling Behind On Green Tech,” in the Washington Post calling for the government to cap carbon emissions in order to stimulate business investment in renewable energy technologies.

They fear regulatory uncertainty surrounding carbon emissions is harming U.S. competiveness on “green” energy technology.

The commentary, however, fails to mention the negative economic consequences that cap-and-trade will have on our economy.

With health care dominating the news, perhaps Immelt and Doerr felt the need to put cap-and-trade in the news cycle.

Comment by Tom Borelli

GE Rises After Frank Says It Should Keep Finance Unit

Yesterday, GE stock rose on news that Barney Frank (D-MA) said manufacturing companies with preexisting financial arms would be allowed to keep their business finance units.

GE was lobbying hard for this exemption because new banking rules would have forced the company to spin off GE Capital – its ailing financial division. 

Bloomberg described the company’s lobbying effort saying, “GE, the world’s biggest non-bank financial company, said July 28 during a Webcast meeting with analysts that it has been ‘very active’ in opposing any rules that might force it to split off its GE Capital finance unit, which has $557 billion in assets. GE is also the world’s biggest maker of power-plant turbines, locomotives, medical-imaging machines and jet engines.”

Exemption from new banking regulations demonstrates the effectiveness of "very active" GE lobbyists over the Democratic controlled Congress.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Why Does GE Capital Needs a Break?

GE Capital, the finance arm of General Electric, held an open house to defend its standing to shareholders.

The NY Times, however, speculates that the real motivation behind this effort is to defend the company from more stringent regulation, saying, “The Obama administration’s regulatory reform plans would place more constraints on financial firms that are big enough to represent a systemic risk. GE Capital is lobbying to exempt its $650 billion balance sheet from such stringent oversight.”

Since GE CEO Jeff Immelt is on Obama’s economic and the company is a big supporter of cap-and-trade legislation, chances are the company will obtain its desired loophole.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Soda Tax ?

While on the campaign trail last year Obama said:

"Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

Dr. Tom Frieden (see picture), the new head of the CDC, spoke in favor of a soda tax to combat obesity at the "Weight of the Nation" conference.

“If sugary drinks were taxed at $.01 per ounce, the U.S. could take in $100 billion to $200 billion over the next decade, Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, told public health workers and anti-obesity advocates…”

While Frieden said his idea was not part of the administration’s policy it’s possible that a tax on beverages could generate the revenue needed to support Obama’s health care plan.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Read my latest commentary that was published by Townhall.com:

Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens: Digging a Cap-and-Trade Hole for America

Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens’s last minute opposition to the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, announced just prior to the House of Representatives’ vote, was reminiscent of Senator John Kerry’s infamous statement “I voted for it before I voted against it.”

While Kerry’s embarrassing comment only hurt his presidential prospects, Owens’s promotion of global warming legislation has far-reaching consequences: the potential to cause irreparable harm to his company, customers, employees and our economy.

After years of supporting a national law to limit carbon dioxide emissions through participation in the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – a lobbying coalition pushing cap-and-trade legislation – Owens realized the final bill would harm his company.

According to Energy & Environment News, the day before the House vote, Owens wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), saying, “We cannot endorse this bill in its current form.”

Owens’s flip-flop serves as a case study of the ignorance and arrogance that plagues many CEOs. Too many chief executives exaggerate their political influence only to discover that the “seat at the table” rationale for supporting regulation greatly overstates their ability to steer it. 

Read more

GE Bringing Big Government to Life

It seems GE CEO Jeff Immelt is making the most of his observation, “And government is not going away. “We are going to have to deal in a government-structured world.”

Looking to maximize the goodies the Waxman-Markey bill gave GE, Reuters is reporting the company’s Senate lobbying effort is at full throttle:

“General Electric Co is lobbying senators for incentives in the climate bill for everything from nuclear power plants to appliances, company officials said on Thursday.”

And the story details how GE benefited from the House bill:

“The bill passed by the House of Representatives included incentives that would pay manufacturers of super-efficient appliances for every unit they sell until 2013.

For instance, GE would get about $75 for every super-efficient dishwasher, about $200 for every such refrigerator, and up to $300 for hot water heaters.”

Unfortunately, it appears GE’s lobbying department is the company’s biggest asset.

Comment by Tom Borelli

India Rejects Emission Restrictions

On her first trip to India, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discovered India does not share U.S. enthusiasm for restricting carbon emissions to address global warming concerns.

Responding to Clinton’s effort to have India commit to reducing emissions from fossil fuels, Jairam Rajesh, India’s environment minister said, “We are simply not in a position to take on legally binding emissions [reduction] targets.”

India clearly understands cutting back use of cheap forms of energy will hamper economic growth. Let’s hope the Senate shows the same judgment and rejects President Obama’s cap-and-trade policy.

Comment by Tom Borelli

You Can Sell the Stock
Corporate support was the driving force that helped push the Waxman-Markey global warming bill over the finish line in the House of Representatives.

Indeed, Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA), co-author of the cap-and-trade bill, recognized the importance of business backing when he said, “Their support is indispensable."

But the provisions in the bill turned out to be harmful to some of the companies that were lobbying for cap-and-trade.

Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens had a sudden change of heart and wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) opposing the bill just prior to the House vote.

Owens recently realized a U.S. cap-and-trade bill would put our manufacturing industries at a competitive disadvantage if China and India failed to reduce their use of fossil fuels.

During Caterpillar’s shareholder meeting in June, I warned Owens that by asking for regulation he risked initiating a regulatory avalanche that he could not control. When I asked him how shareholders could hold him accountable if the bill turned out to harm his company he said “you can sell the stock.”

Yes, in a perfect world we would not own shares of companies that participate in self-destructive strategies and CEOs would be held accountable when their decisions proved costly.

Unfortunately, we are facing circumstances in which CEOs actively pursue legislation that end up harming shareholder interests and the liberty of all Americans.

Today, CEOs are as much as a threat to liberty as our elected officials.

Comment by Tom Borelli

GE Retaliates Against The Hollywood Reporter

In an update to its story from last week, LA Weekly's Nicki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily is now reporting that a GE spokesperson did not deny allegations that the company pulled advertising from The Hollywood Reporter and its parent company Nielsen Business Media because of a story about the company’s annual meeting.

Here is the update:

“Gary Sheffer, GE's Executive Director of Corporate Communications, emailed me: ‘I just read your post on GE and NBCU. Jeff Immelt had no involvement in this matter whatsover. He did not call NBC Universal or anyone else about it. In fact, he had no knowledge of The Hollywood Reporter story in question.’ "

“The GE spokesman didn't deny the reprisals against Nielsen or THR, just Immelt's direct involvement in them. Yet Sheffer admits that he himself spoke directly to The Hollywood Reporter several times about the story. The spokesman refused to talk about NBCU vs Nielsen."

For more information on this topic read: GE’s Jeff Immelt Fights Back

This incident shows that GE is willing to use its advertising dollars as an instrument to influence media coverage of the company and it adds creditability to the claim that GE executives tried to silence criticism by its CNBC media unit of President Obama.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Obama Promotes NBC Program

The New York Times is reporting that President Obama promoted NBC’s new late night show hosted by Conan O’Brien though a skit he coordinated with news anchor Brian Williams.

“Mr. Obama was fully game and, referring to Mr. O’Brien’s succession this week of the former ‘Tonight’ host Jay Leno, joked, ‘This is something we discussed several times in the Oval Office, how to manage this transition between Leno and Conan. And I think he’s up to the task. But I just want him to know that there is not going to any bailout coming out from Washington if he screws it up.’”

Obama’s stunt is another arrogant display of the apparent
partnership between the president and GE CEO Jeff Immelt.

With GE’s NBC unit suffering, along with its parent company, it seems Obama is more than willing to lend a helping hand.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Kudlow Blasts Cap-and-Trade

CNBC’s Larry Kudlow blasted cap-and-trade on his program last week.

Even more impressive, he publicly disagreed with his boss, GE CEO Jeff Immelt, on this important policy matter.

Watch Kudlow’s commentary on YouTube

Global CEOs back greenhouse gas cuts, carbon caps

The global business community is calling for mandatory restrictions for emissions of carbon dioxide. 

AP is reporting that at the World Summit on Climate Change, business leaders “urged governments to order steep and mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases” and they favor “a cap-and-trade system instead of a tax” to compel a reduction in fossil fuel use.

Business leaders at the summit support cap-and-trade, even though they recognize that, “higher gas and other energy prices could be major factor at a time of a global financial crisis.”

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, a proponent of the global warming bill moving through Congress, said, "We're going to have to fundamentally redefine our business models in a low-carbon world."

Rogers failed to mention that, under the current cap-and-trade bill, his company is going to be given a good amount of carbon credits free of charge, which means taxpayers are going to be paying for Duke Energy to change its business model.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Showdown at ConocoPhillips

Last week we confronted ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva about his support of cap-and-trade legislation at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Houston, TX.

Corporate support of cap-and-trade is largely responsible for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which was introduced by Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). The bill is going to be marked up in the Energy and Commerce Committee this week.

We believe the policy goal of cap-and-trade, which is to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, is bad for ConocoPhillips - the third largest oil and natural gas company in the U.S. - and our economy.

I urge you to listen to the audio of our exchange with Mulva, because it provides insight into the appeasement mindset that plagues many of today's CEOs. In this case, hearing is believing... 

Listen to the opening exchange where I tell Mulva cap-and-trade is going to preferentially harm ConocoPhillips.

Listen to Deneen Borelli of Project 21 challenge Mulva to agree to a claw back provision of his compensation if cap-and-trade proves to be harmful to ConocoPhillips. In the second part of the audio I urge Mulva to stop appeasing his critics and to aggressively defend his business. 

Big Oil Is Big Loser in Global Warming Bill

It looks like the oil and gas industry is one of the biggest losers in the cap-and-trade lobbying fest.

According to Bloomberg, the latest version of the Waxman-Markey global warming bill will force the U.S. oil refining industry to purchase billions of dollars worth of carbon credits while other industries get free emission permits.

Charles Drevna, of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, said “…refineries and their fuels account for about one-third of emissions. That would make them the biggest source of emissions that have yet to secure any free permits in negotiations on the bill.”

Ironically, at the ConocoPhillips’ shareholder meeting on May 14th , I told CEO Jim Mulva that his support of cap-and-trade was bad for his company. ConocoPhillips is part of the United States Climate Action Partnership – a coalition lobbying for a national cap-and-trade law.

ConocoPhillips is the third largest oil company in the U.S.

The Houston Chronicle wrote about the shareholder meeting and my opposition to cap-and-trade:

“At the shareholder meeting, Thomas J. Borelli, managing partner of Action Fund Management in Potomac, Md., blasted Mulva for participating in a group that supports a cap-and-trade solution for reducing carbon emissions, rather than working harder to defend the industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy.”

Comment by Tom Borelli

Duke Energy Bolts NAM Over Cap-and-Trade

Duke Energy, the third largest utility in the U.S., is leaving the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) over policy differences regarding cap-and-trade. 

Bloomberg reports that Duke Energy decided not to renew membership in NAM, “partly because of differences over climate policy.”

Duke CEO Jim Rogers said, “We are not renewing our membership in the NAM because in tough times, we want to invest in associations that are pulling in the same direction we are.”

Duke is a founding member in the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – a coalition of corporations and environmental activists that are seeking a national law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. USCAP supports cap-and-trade legislation while NAM opposes it.

With 20 coal-fired power plants under its control that emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide cap-and-trade could prove costly to Duke. Yet despite this risk Rogers is pushing for legislation apparently in hopes of crafting it to benefit his company’s interests.

In a recent interview on 60 Minutes, Rogers said carbon emission regulations are “…inevitable in my judgment."

Unfortunately Rogers, like other CEOs, are embracing regulation instead of resisting government control.

Leaving NAM and supporting USCAP is a clear sign of this trend.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Johnson & Johnson Opposes the US Chamber on Cap and Trade

Johnson & Johnson – a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – is trying to silence the US Chamber of Commerce’s opposition of the global warming bill moving in Congress.

As reported in a story by Lisa Lerer in Politico.com, Johnson & Johnson sent a letter asking “the Chamber to refrain from making comments on climate change unless they ‘reflect the full range of views, especially those of Chamber members advocating for congressional action.’”

The story adds that other companies might also try to influence the Chamber by threatening to deny the trade association’s funding “Lobbyists at business coalitions that support federal climate change legislation say other companies are discussing the possibility of sending their own letters to the Chamber — or of threatening to withhold dues from the Chamber in protest.”

The fate of global warming legislation will be largely determined by the posture of the business community. Unfortunately, as this story illustrates, some corporations are taking aggressive steps to enhance the chance of a global warming bill becoming law.

The alignment of corporate and business interests represents a serious threat to liberty.


Comment by Tom Borelli

Berkshire's Munger: Cap & Trade Won't Work

Charlie Munger, the second in command behind Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway, says in an interview on CNBC that it’s "almost demented" to pass cap-and-trade given the state of our economy.

Since Berkshire Hathaway bought $3 billion of General Electric preferred stock Munger should express his views directly with GE CEO Jeff Immelt. GE is a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) that is actively lobbying for cap-and-trade.

Comment by Tom Borelli

GE Shareholders Take Note

Finally shareholder anger translated into action this week when Bank of America shareholders voted to strip Ken Lewis of his board of director position at the company’s annual meeting. Lewis was ousted because of a shareholder proposal to split the chairman and CEO positions received a majority vote.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “The vote marked the first time that a company in Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has been forced by shareholders to strip a CEO of chairman duties, according to RiskMetrics Group.”

Shareholders of GE should take note. Like Bank of America, GE shareholders have lost a significant amount of money due to Immelt’s failed leadership.

In addition to the financial risk, Immelt represents a serious threat to liberty and limited government. Not only is Immelt using the company’s vast lobbying resources to push for cap-and-trade legislation, GE’s media empire boldly promotes a left-wing bias.

Comment by Tom Borelli

The GE Smart Grid

Sign the Petition to GE


GE CEO Jeff Immelt continues to aggressively use the company’s media network to promote its products. In announcing its plan to develop a smart electricity grid in Miami, FL with Cisco Systems Inc. and FPL Group Inc.’s Florida Power & Light Co., Immelt was interviewed on NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. In the interviews Immelt delivered the company message points about the benefits of the new grid.

Importantly, The Swamp – a political blog of the Chicago Tribune – noted that GE and its partners will be looking for taxpayer dollars to subsidize the cost of the smart grid.

According to The Swamp, “GE will provide one million smart meters to kick off the project, which, if successful, will then be rolled out to the utility's 4.5 million customers in greater Miami. The initial cost for the project is estimated at $200 million while phase two is slated to cost another $500 million.”

The Swamp also comments that, “The companies are looking to $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funding to provide half of the project's funding.”

With GE being so dependent on government money for much needed revenue it’s no wonder that its media units are considered among President Obama’s biggest cheerleaders.

Victory at GE

Our active participation in General Electric’s annual shareholder meeting facilitated nationwide media coverage on shareholder outrage about the company’s performance and business strategies.

“Drama at GE Shareholders Meeting,” by The Hollywood Reporter, was the top story on the Drudge Report and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck discussed the meeting on their top-rated cable TV programs.

In addition, details of the shareholder meeting were discussed in a radio interview with Glenn Beck.

CEO Jeff Immelt was questioned by shareholders on a number of topics including; censorship at CNBC, political bias at MSNBC, trading with Iran, his support for cap-and-trade and the company’s awful stock performance.

We played a central role at the meeting by questioning Immelt on important issues and recording the question and answer segment of the meeting.

Most important, we surfaced the risk GE poses to liberty. Specifically, we are concerned that GE is using its news division to influence public opinion to favor President Obama and his cap-and-trade policy in the hopes of boosting sales for its renewable energy products such as wind turbines and the so-called smart electricity grid.

Read Drama at GE Shareholders Meeting

Watch Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly on GE’s shareholder meeting

Listen to our interview with Glenn Beck’s radio show

Finally, our petition to Immelt has over 2500 signatures.

Here is your opportunity to send a message to Immelt: sign our petition

GE Chief Immelt Defends Notre Dame’s Invite to Obama

Reminder to sign our petition to GE CEO Jeff Immelt

Read the Hollywood Reporter story Drama at GE Shareholders Meeting

Every day the symbiotic relationship between GE CEO Jeff Immelt and President Obama becomes more apparent. Obama needs good press and Immelt needs cap-and-trade legislation to boost sales of GE’s wind turbines.

GE Chief Immelt Defends Notre Dame’s Invite to Obama, an article in Bloomberg.com by Ryan Flinn, informs us that Immelt recently wrote a commentary, in The Observer, Notre Dame’s school newspaper, supporting the administration’s decision to invite the president to deliver the 2009 commencement address.

In his commentary Immelt said, “You cannot bring about positive change in so diverse a world without working cooperatively with those who are different, who may disagree with you, but whose perspectives should be welcomed.”

Immelt gave the commencement address at Notre Dame in 2007 and justified his taking a stand in this issue “because of the company’s relationship with the school. GE employs 400 Notre Dame graduates, including Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin.”

Immelt , by taking a position in the Notre Dame controversy, is lending credibility to the claim that he is using NBC’s media empire to protect Obama.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Drama at GE Shareholders Meeting

The Hollywood Reporter described the events at yesterday's GE shareholder meeting in its story Drama at GE Shareholder Meeting 

In addition, here is our first hand account from yesterday's meeting. Deneen is my wife.

Censorship and limited government was a theme at the General Electric (GE) shareholder meeting in Orlando, FL.

Deneen had the opportunity to ask the first question directed at GE CEO Jeff Immelt. She inquired whether he tried to silence anti-Obama criticism on CNBC as it was reported in the media. The New York Post reported that GE executives were concerned that CNBC was perceived as too critical of President Obama. Immelt responded that he does not interfere with the opinions of his networks even though he doesn't necessarily agree with them.

Deneen's concern is Immelt will do anything to preserve a favorable relationship with Obama in order to sell GE's green technologies. At some point in Deneen's dialogue with Immelt, Deneen's microphone was shut off.

I told Immelt he was not only a threat to shareholders but also to liberty and limited government. I reminded Immelt that the company's stock was underperforming the stock market before the economic crisis.

I advised Immelt that we have an online petition that encourages GE never to trade with enemies, to stop pursuing cap-and-trade legislation that would raise energy prices, and that he uses his media empire to advance his agenda.

I also told Immelt that "We surround you" and that it was time for a "GE Tea Party" to reign in this out of control corporation.

Comment by Tom Borelli

The GE Obama Partnership

“GE: A Great Bet On Big Government,” from The Business Insider, summarizes our concerns about General Electric’s government dependent business strategy. According to the article, GE CEO Jeff Immelt recently noted how the government stimulus plan was going to help its various business units including wind and the power grid.

GE’s lobbying for profits does not end with the stimulus plan. GE is now pushing for a government run green bank so the burden of financing green projects falls on taxpayers. And let’s not forget that GE is also lobbying for cap-and-trade legislation and that Immelt is on President Obama’s economic advisory board.

Of course, there is always a price when you make a deal with the “government devil” and in this case it might be free speech.

Last week The New York Post reported that Immelt was part of a high level meeting about CNBC regarding a “great concern that CNBC is now the anti-Obama network.” A key issue “was on-air CNBC editor Rick Santelli's rant two months ago about staging a ‘Chicago Tea Party’ to protest the president's bailout programs -- an idea that spawned tax protest tea parties in other big cities, infuriating the White House.”

In the spirit of the Tax Day Tea Parties, it’s time for all of us to take action regarding GE.

Please sign our on-line petition that puts Immelt on notice that “We Surround You.”

Click here to read and sign the petition.

Comment by Tom Borelli

CNBC SWEATS 'OBAMA-BASHING'

The New York Post is reporting our worst fears about GE CEO Jeff Immelt:

"THE top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC were recently ordered to a top-secret meeting with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker to discuss whether they've turned into the President Obama-bashing network, Page Six has learned."

In addition to driving GE’s stock down, Jeff Immelt is now squashing free speech. GE’s board of directors must to stand up and send Jeff to the unemployment line.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Obama Repeats Support for Cap-and-Trade

In today’s speech on the economy President Obama made it clear that he is not backing away from cap-and-trade legislation.

Obama said:

“But the only way to truly spark this transformation is through a gradual, market-based cap on carbon pollution, so that clean energy is the profitable kind of energy… But we can no longer delay putting a framework for a clean energy economy in place. If businesses and entrepreneurs know today that we are closing this carbon pollution loophole, they will start investing in clean energy now.”

Earlier media reports made it seem Obama was backing away from cap-and-trade.

With the left-wing holy grail of penalizing fossil fuel use in his grasp it’s highly unlikely that Obama will allow sound economics to interfere with his liberal agenda.
 

Comment by Tom Borelli

GM plans to lose money on its electric Chevy Volt

USA Today’s Open Road’s blog has commented on an Automotive News interview with GM's new CEO, Fritz Henderson, about the troubled automaker’s admission that it expects to lose money on the Chevy Volt – the company’s electric car.

In the interview, Henderson said, “The Volt is the case study. We have been very clear with the task force, particularly in Gen-1 technology, like the Volt, the cost is high. And that means, it doesn't necessarily pay the rent. It actually consumes rent when it's launched."

Henderson goes on to explain that first generation projects (Gen-1) like the Volt frequently don’t return a profit but GM hopes to make money from developments in the next stages of the technology.

Perhaps Henderson’s views are heavily influenced by the invisible hand of the Obama administration, which is aggressively supporting the notion of an electric car.

For GM (which is on the verge of bankruptcy) to knowingly sell a car that will lose money exposes the problems of Obama-style central planning of the auto industry.

Comment by Tom Borelli

In Areas Fueled by Coal, Climate Bill Sends Chill

Using Missouri as an example, an April 8 New York Times story by Felicity Barringer is highlighting the near-certainty that electricity prices will increase if cap-and-trade regulations are adopted. Like many mid-western states, Missouri residents benefit from low-cost coal-generated electricity.

The story estimates the impact of the recently-introduced Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, if adopted, would have on the local utility.

An executive with that utility told the Times that his costs could double if federal legislation effectively prices emissions at $30 a ton (the Times said estimates have varied from $20 to $115). The executive added that "those costs probably would be passed on to customers."

At this point the last thing our economy needs is higher utility prices. Unfortunately, President Obama and liberals are putting their left-wing politics before the needs of Americans. (photo from Creative Commons)

Comment by Tom Borelli

'Green' banks sprout from ruins of economic crisis

A story published in the New York Times describes the growth of green banks. E3bank recently received approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and if it gets the final ok from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and by the commonwealth it will be ready for business.

E3bank will incorporate the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to its lending practices in an effort to stimulate the green economy.

“Instead of following the industry standard -- basing loans on a borrower's ability to pay and the up-front costs of the building -- e3bank officers will be authorized to modify debt-to-income and loan-to-value proposals. Financial products would be tailored to account for the up-front costs of more expensive green projects but also factor in cost savings from lower energy consumption that would be netted over the course of the loan.”

By lowering lending standards for a social purpose the green banks are repeating the mistake made by the banking industry in pushing mortgages on low income households. Social purpose should not be the criteria for lending money – only the ability of the individual to repay the loan.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Obama Wants to Control the Banks

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Stuart Varney of the Fox Business Network claims the government is using TARP money to control the banks.

First, Varney says that the Bush administration forced a bank to take $1 billion of TARP money otherwise it would face a public audit that would have damaged the reputation of the company.

Then he alleges the same bank is now being prevented by the Obama administration from paying back TARP money. “The bank has also been threatened with ‘adverse’ consequences if its chairman persists.”

Varney’s account is based on a report by Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano who has firsthand knowledge of these events from an unnamed banker.

Varney believes the Obama administration wants to keep its hooks in the company so it can use the bank to advance its political agenda. “And since politics drives this administration, why can’t special loans be offered to favored constituents, favored industries, or even favored regions?”

It’s frightening to think that our government could be using such strong arm tactics to intimidate a company. Let’s hope the banking executive has the courage to go public with this information to shed light on these outrageous acts.

Comment by Tom Borelli

GE Lobbies for Green Bank

Fast Company is reporting that Congressman Chris Van Hollen introduced legislation to create a “Green Bank” – a government owned corporation that would lend money to facilitate investments in so called green technologies.

Not surprisingly, a lobbying group has sprung up supporting this legislative initiative. The new lobbying group, called “The Coalition for Green Bank,” includes some familiar members – GE, T. Boone Pickens and Morgan Stanley.

The last time the government got involved in banking we ended up with Fannie Mae and the housing bubble. Following that disaster, the last thing we need is taxpayers funding a green bubble.

Watch my interview on the Glenn Beck show

Read the legislation

Read about the lobbying coalition

Posted by Tom Borelli

Obama’s Treasury Secretary Geithner facilitated the economic crisis

An investigative story published in the Washington Post charges that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner played a significant role in creating the economic crisis.

While in charge of the New York Federal Reserve, Geithner facilitated the trading of credit derivatives – exotic financial instruments – that magnified the banking crisis and he failed to adequately regulate the banks under his control.

Specifically, Geithner was aware that the banks had not properly assessed the risks – including those posed by credit derivates – from an economic down-turn and did not take strong measures to address these issues.

“Records and interviews show that Geithner and his colleagues did not employ some of the harsher tools at their disposal to bring the banks into line. From 2006 through the start of the credit crisis in the summer of 2007, they brought no formal enforcement actions against any large institution for substandard risk-management practices."

Had Geithner exercised his regulatory power, it’s possible we could have averted significant portions of the current economic crisis. Nevertheless, Obama promoted Geithner to head the Treasury Department. Clearly, Geithner’s selection calls into question Obama’s judgment.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Obama’s green stimulus talk is a marketplace failure

President Obama’s zeal for a new green economy, however, is falling on deaf ears in the corporate boardroom.

According to Politico.com Obama is promoting the potential of green jobs to gather support for his $ 3.6 trillion budget.

Today BP announced it was eliminating 620 jobs in its solar power business including 140 positions from its facility in Fredrick Md.

A press release said the solar market is being hurt by the current economic conditions and an “over-supplied market, increased competition and rapidly falling prices.” The jobs cuts were part of an effort “to reduce the cost of solar power to that of conventional electricity."

BP’s action follows a decision by GE to last week to reduce staff at its solar energy unit located in Newark, DE.

The marketplace is clearly saying now is not the time to sell expensive renewable energy products. Unfortunately, President Obama is putting his environmental agenda ahead of economic reality.

Posted by Tom Borelli

Overriding concerns expressed by his own auto task force, the Obama administration is refusing to pull the plug on GM electric car Chevy Volt.

According to a story from Bloomberg:

“While the Chevy Volt holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short-term,” according to the March 30 report by President Barack Obama’s auto task force.

Despite these concerns it seems the president’s decision is being driven by the political goals of a fuel efficient electric car over market place reality.

While recently dismissed GM CEO Rick Wagoner failed to return profitability to the company, it appears Obama will fair no better.

Posted by Tom Borelli

Obama Fires GM CEO

According to media reports, the Obama administration forced GM CEO Rick Wagoner (see picture) to quit as a condition for the company to receive additional bailout money. GM’s board of directors will also be revamped.

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal describes the details of Wagoner’s dismissal:

"On Friday I was in Washington for a meeting with administration officials," Mr. Wagoner said in a statement released by GM. "In the course of that meeting, they requested that I 'step aside' as CEO of GM, and so I have."

The administration’s auto task force expressed disappointment in the restructuring plans submitted by both GM and Chrysler. Today President Obama is scheduled to discuss the auto task force view of the troubled auto companies’ future prospects.

The administration is planning on providing GM additional bailout funds for 60 days to allow the company’s new management team to detail an improved restructuring plan.

Chrysler is expected to be given government funds for an additional 30 days so the company can work on a merger with Fiat SpA, an Italian car maker.

Comment by Tom Borelli:

Wagoner’s firing and forced revamping of GM’s board of directors demonstrates President Obama will not hesitate to wield his power to micromanage decisions in the private sector. Now every CEO has to be over their shoulders looking for Big Brother to interfere with business decisions.

Central planning of any industrial sector is doomed to failure.

Banking Bailout Money in Lobbyists' Pockets: TARP Money Used to Push for a New "Green Bubble"

Washington, D.C. - Wall Street firms bailed out by the American taxpayer are now financing an extensive lobbying campaign to promote the costly federal regulation of greenhouse gases and putting the American public at risk of facing yet another costly economic "bubble," charges the National Center for Public Policy Research.

"Using TARP money to inflate another bubble is beyond outrageous," said Tom Borelli, Ph.D, director of the Free Enterprise Project of the National Center. "Not only are taxpayers being looted to subsidize Wall Street's latest risky scheme, but taxpayers will also bear the brunt of cap-and-trade through higher energy prices. Only in today's upside-down political world do two wrongs make a right."

A new report by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) finds that the over 2,000 lobbyists, including representatives of the financial industry, pressing for a "cap-and-trade" scheme. Such a scheme would place federal caps on carbon emissions, thereby leading to the creation of an artificial carbon emissions trading market that could reach an estimated $2 trillion in paper value.

Critics of cap-and-trade counter than these regulations would also unnaturally raise energy prices and reduce supply, which would counteract efforts to revive the economy. Chillingly, because the new carbon "market" would be wholly artificial, the legislation could create another economic bubble.

Read More...

Washington, DC - Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger scowled at and said "f--- you" to Tom Borelli, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project, at Tuesday's annual Disney shareholder meeting.

Iger's remark came after Borelli told Disney shareholders about Iger's refusal to sell the DVD or the distribution rights of the miniseries "The Path to 9/11."

Borelli had just ended his presentation and was attempting to shake Iger's hand on his way back to his seat. Iger, who was sitting in the audience at the time, also refused to uncross his arms and shake Borelli's hand. Borelli, who had received applause from fellow shareholders after his presentation, went back to the podium and precisely reported to his fellow shareholders what Iger had just said, to gasps from the assembled crowd. Borelli then sat back down.

Read More...

Washington, D.C. - Wall Street firms bailed out by the American taxpayer are now financing an extensive lobbying campaign to promote the costly federal regulation of greenhouse gases and putting the American public at risk of facing yet another costly economic "bubble," charges the National Center for Public Policy Research.

"Using TARP money to inflate another bubble is beyond outrageous," said Tom Borelli, Ph.D, director of the Free Enterprise Project of the National Center. "Not only are taxpayers being looted to subsidize Wall Street's latest risky scheme, but taxpayers will also bear the brunt of cap-and-trade through higher energy prices. Only in today's upside-down political world do two wrongs make a right."

A new report by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) finds that the over 2,000 lobbyists, including representatives of the financial industry, pressing for a "cap-and-trade" scheme. Such a scheme would place federal caps on carbon emissions, thereby leading to the creation of an artificial carbon emissions trading market that could reach an estimated $2 trillion in paper value.

Critics of cap-and-trade counter than these regulations would also unnaturally raise energy prices and reduce supply, which would counteract efforts to revive the economy. Chillingly, because the new carbon "market" would be wholly artificial, the legislation could create another economic bubble.

According to the CPI study, lobbyists for Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are involved, and, in total, "the finance industry has as large a lobbying force on climate as the alternative energy industry, with about 130 reps working the issue last year..."

JPMorgan Chase got $25 billion in...

By Tom Borelli

Last night’s Super Bowl was a surprisingly entertaining contest with Pittsburgh pulling out the win in the last minute with a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone.

Off the field I thought the funniest commercial was GE’s "Scarecrow" advertisement touting its smart technology for updating our power grid (see video). 

While watching the ad I could not help but think how the classic song’s lyrics applied to GE CEO Jeff Immelt – “If he only had a brain” GE’s stock would not be trading for about $ 11 a share!

According to the New York Times the addition of a second GE ad was a last minute substitution.

Also of interest, late last week GE’s NBC unit issued a press release touting how it had sold all the advertising space for the Super Bowl for a record $206 million in revenue.

But NBC failed to mention that a number of the ad slots were taken by NBC itself publicizing its own programs and its corporate parent GE pushing its ecomagination campaign.

Comment by Tom Borelli

Yesterday Caterpillar announced disappointing earnings and that it would cut about 20,000 workers - about 18% of its workforce because of poor sales.

Given Caterpillar’s horrible earnings report the company should abandon its support of economy killing global warming legislation.  But such a rational decision is beyond the capability of CEO Jim Owens.

Caterpillar is a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – a coalition of companies and environmental activist groups seeking to pass cap-and-trade legislation to address global warming.

On January 15th USCAP members testified at a Congressional hearing in support of its cap-and-trade plan.

Economic studies have consistently found cap-and-trade will raise energy prices, reduce economic growth and contribute to job losses.  Importantly, these regulations would preferentially harm the coal industry a key customer of Caterpillar equipment.

At the 2007 shareholder meeting, Owens confessed he had not conducted a cost-benefit analysis of emissions regulation on his business. 

Owens needs to pull his head out of the sand and recognize his support of cap-and-trade is bad for his company and the U.S. economy.

Here is a Bloomberg story on Caterpillar's earnings:

Caterpillar to Cut 20,000 Jobs as 2009 Profit Slumps

Comment by Tom Borelli:

Let’s add Exelon John Rowe (see picture) to the rankings of questionable CEOs. Exelon is one of the companies seeking to take advantage of possible cap-and-trade regulations to boost its profits.

As a leader in nuclear power, Rowe is banking on having excess carbon credits that Exelon can sell to companies burdened with high carbon dioxide emissions.

Rowe, however, is missing two key points.

First, cap-and-trade will result in slower economic growth and reduce the ability of his customers to pay their electricity bills. In fact, Exelon’s third quarter earnings were negatively impacted by an increase in unpaid bills.

Second, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, if Exelon acquires NRG – another utility – Rowe will also be obtaining NRG’s coal fired power plants. Increasing Exelon’s carbon emissions will jeopardize the company’s commitments to reduce its carbon footprint and also decrease its profit motive via cap-and-trade.

At some point Rowe will realize his global warming policy conflicts with generating profits.

Read the Chicago Tribune Article

Public Employee Pensions Endangered by State Officials Playing Global Warming Politics








Washington, DC - Already at-risk public employee pension funds are being placed at further risk by state officials who are lobbying for global warming regulation and by state officials who are ignoring the risks posed by such regulation, says a new report, "Pensions in Peril: Are State Officials Risking Public Employee Retirement Benefits by Playing Global Warming Politics?," by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The report found that:

1. Global warming regulation is a key portfolio risk for state and local pension funds.

2. A substantial minority of state and pension fund administrators (15 states and local governments managing about $1.21 in assets or 45% of all actuarial assets of state and local pension funds) are actively promoting regulation that is likely to adversely impact their portfolios and beneficiaries. These states and local governments include: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York City, New York state, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

The report is available at http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA575.html

Comment by Tom Borelli: 

A new documentary "Blocking the Path to 9/11" describes how leading Democrats and left-wing activists successfully launched an intimidation campaign against the Disney/ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11." (Watch the YouTube video trailer) 

The following story "Who was blocking 'The Path to 9/11'?" by Jeffrey Ressner of Politico describes the controversy.  

Over the past few years, perhaps no film controversy has inspired more outrage from conservatives than the Walt Disney Company’s handling of the ambitious 2006 miniseries “The Path to 9/11.” In the wake of Michael Moore’s 2004 anti-Bush documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” and the 2003 CBS biopic “The Reagans,” the Disney censorship fiasco has been a frequent bone of contention on right-wing blogs, AM talk radio and other media outlets. In addition to making cuts in its ABC-TV telefilm after complaints from political forces, the company also shelved plans for a subsequent DVD release.

The miniseries, a $40 million dramatization of events leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was set for its network debut when several members of President Bill Clinton’s administration, including former National Ssecurity Adviser Sandy Berger and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, insisted that several scenes were inaccurate or fictitious, and Clinton himself demanded the program be corrected or pulled. Five Democratic senators even sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger that appeared to threaten the company’s broadcast license over the issue. Edits were made, a...

Comment from Tom Borelli:

A news report from Reuters says GE is not going to sell its NBC Universal business unit. 

Some investors are calling for GE to sell the news and entertainment business because they don't see the synergy between GE's infrastructure business that sells wind turbines and jet engines and the news and movie industry.

These investors don't see the synergy because it is largely invisible.  CEO Jeff Immelt shrewdly uses his NBC network to promote GE's products. For example,  during the July 20th broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," Al Gore used almost the entire hour to blast oil and tout his idea to generate the country’s electricity needs from carbon free sources in 10 years. 

Carbon free energy would be a boon to GE's investment in wind power. 

Cloaking advertising as news illustrates the synergy but it's something GE can't publicly acknowledge.  

Here is the Reuters story: 
 
BEIJING (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has no plans to sell its NBC Universal media unit and is on track to double its China annual revenue to $10 billion by 2010, a top executive said on Monday.

Some investors have said they would like Chief Executive Jeff Immelt to consider selling NBC after the Olympics because it is growing more slowly than GE's infrastructure businesses.

But Beth Comstock, GE's chief marketing officer, told Reuters: "I think Jeff Immelt has been very clear ... saying to the media, to internal audiences and to investors that he sees NBC as a part of GE's future."

Read full story

Comment by Tom Borelli:


After years of poor leadership GE CEO Jeff Immelt (see picture) is having a fire sale of company assets including its Consumer & Industrial business.  Since Immelt took over the helm from Jack Welch in 2001 the stock is down about 30%.

In explaining the sale Immelt said "As we explored our options for Appliances, it became clear that the fastest, most efficient step we could take in completing the transformation of our Industrial portfolio would be to focus on a possible spin-off of the entire unit… This is consistent with the strategy we have been executing to transform the GE portfolio for long-term growth and makes sense for GE shareholders."

Immelt is also selling GE's credit card division.

The timing could not be worse for shareholders. In the midst of the economic turndown, these businesses are worth substantially less than if Immelt had recognized earlier that the conglomerate model he cherished was outdated.

Immelt might have anticipated the impact of the housing crisis on GE had he spent more time thinking about economics than lobbying for global warming regulations in Washington D.C.

The only green shareholders are seeing is in the GE logo…

Comment by Tom Borelli:

The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog has an excellent summary on the debate surrounding the Warner-Leiberman Climate Change Bill.  Check out the links - especially the link to the WSJ's editorial "Climate Reality Bites."

Here is part of the blog:

"It’s shaping up to be a Dickensian summer on the Hill. What seemed just a few months ago like the best of times to pass ambitious climate-change legislation has suddenly turned into the worst of times. Nobel-prize momentum has given way to hand-wringing over the economy.

That makes the difficult balancing act of crafting politically palatable but still effective climate laws even tougher. The big worry now? By trying to sugarcoat the Lieberman-Warner bill enough to garner a fillibuster-proof majority in the Senate, proponents of climate-legislation run the risk of making the new law a paper tiger." Read full article

GE is taking well deserved heat for selling infrastructure equipment to Iran.  Monday's front page story in the Washington Post describes the media family feud between MSNBC - a GE company - and Fox News. 

The real story is why isn't there more outrage about GE CEO Jeff Immelt (see picture). Under his leadership GE stock has declined and now he is trading with a state sponsor of terror.

Let's not forget that Immelt is lobbying real hard for cap-and-trade legislation to address global warming concerns.  Immelt is an enemy of the free-market and a friend of Iran. With these accomplishments Immelt is the leading candidate for the Benedict Arnold CEO Award for 2008!

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 19, 2008; Page A01

Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.

On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of an increasingly bitter feud between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary, NBC, one that has triggered back-channel discussions involving News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt.  Read more

Aaron Barnhart's blog TV Barn discusses Clinton in Exile a new book that among other things talks about how Clinton and his gang tried to block the broadcast of the ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11"

Here is part of the blog: 

"But the really eyebrow-raising story, and the one that may have legs if the primary battle between his wife and Barack Obama stretches into the summer, is how Team Clinton worked hard to kill off the "Path to 9/11" miniseries on ABC in 2006. Though even close advisors to the Clinton Administration have conceded shortcomings in their response to al-Qaeda — so well laid out in Lawrence Wright's magnificent account The Looming Tower — they all went into attack mode after some FOBs saw a preview of the first night of "Path to 9/11." Even though the script was from a veteran TV docudrama writer who had no real axe to grind, and had been reviewed carefully by 9/11 Commission icon Tom Kean, he was quickly demonized as a right-wing hack by Clintonites and their amen corner in the blogosphere. Read More

GE Bringing Terrorism to Life

GE is selling equipment to Iran and keeping the country's infrastructure intact.  In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, GE lists its customers as the “Government-owned electrical utilities and the Ministry of Oil.” 

CEO Jeff Immelt defends this business decision by stating ". . . to conduct business in certain countries is complex – we must take into account not only the views of the U.S. Government but all relevant stakeholders.”

Only on planet Immelt does U.S. interests take a backseat to Ahmadinejad's "stakeholder" status.  

The Wall Street Journal makes it clear that Iran is transporting weapons to Iraq. 

By supporting Iran, GE is bringing terrorism to life. 

U.S. Says New Find Shows
Iran Still Sends Arms to Iraq
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
April 25, 2008; Page A1

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military says it has found caches of newly made Iranian weapons in Iraq, leading senior officials to conclude Tehran is continuing to funnel armaments into Iraq despite its pledges to the contrary.
Read more

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger is blocking the sale of the DVD of the Path to 9/11 - the ABC miniseries based on the 9/11 Commission report.

Brit Hume of FoxNews covered the controversy in the Political Grapevine. 

Click to read more about Iger and The Path to 9/11.

An editorial in the New York Times blasts compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) because they contain mercury. 

After polluting the Hudson River with PCBs GE is now repeating the same mistake:  by selling CFLs the company is polluting millions of homes with mercury. 

GE's Ecomagination marketing strategy has blinded CEO Jeff Immelt to the business risks of riding the green wave.  

Here is the editorial:

That Newfangled Light Bulb

February 17, 2008

Across the world, consumers are being urged to stop buying outdated incandescent light bulbs and switch to new spiral fluorescent bulbs, which use about 25 percent of the energy and last 10 times longer. In Britain, there is a Ban the Bulb movement. China is encouraging the change. And the United States Congress has set new energy efficiency standards that will make Edison’s magical invention obsolete by the year 2014.

Now, the question is how to dispose of these compact fluorescent bulbs once they break or quit working.

Unlike traditional light bulbs, each of these spiral bulbs has a tiny bit of a dangerous toxin — around five milligrams of mercury. And although one dot of mercury might not seem so bad, almost 300 million compact fluorescents were sold in the United States last year. That is already a lot of mercury to throw in the trash, and the amounts will grow ever larger in coming years.  Read more 
  

The Wall Street Journal summarized the state of BP following the failed leadership of its former CEO John Browne. 

Turnaround Depends
On Reducing Its Risks,
Fixing U.S. Troubles

By MATTHEW DALTON
January 2, 2008

BP PLC is hoping to reach operational health in 2008, but questions remain about whether problems within U.S. operations could undermine its turnaround.

The oil giant's two largest U.S. refineries and its oil field at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska are expected to operate at capacity for most of the year for the first time since 2004.
But the main issue isn't whether the London-based company has fixed problems that several investigations said caused a deadly March 2005 explosion at its refinery in Texas City, Texas. The question is whether BP has diminished the risk of catastrophic events that all companies engaged in the exploration, production and processing of hydrocarbons face.

The refinery blast was the first and most serious in a string of disasters that included oil spills from BP's pipelines on Alaska's North Slope, costing billions of dollars in profit.  Read more

Watch Bill O’Reilly Slam GE

Our press release calling for President Obama to dismiss GE CEO Jeff Immelt from his advisory board because of an accounting scandal that resulted in the company reaching a $ 50 Million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission caught the attention of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.

During his talking points memo, O’Reilly describes the “cooking the books” issue at GE and encourages Obama to distance himself from Jeff Immelt. O’Reilly also mentions the Free Enterpriser Project during the segment.

Comment by Tom Borelli:

A story in the FT reports that Citi board member Bob Rubin has decided not to take a bonus. 

"A person close to Mr Rubin, a former US Treasury secretary, said he had told the board that, under the circumstances and at this stage of his career, he felt the funds that would have been used for his bonus could be better spent on other employees. Mr Rubin, who has earned more than $115m since joining Citi in 1999, also waived his bonus last year."

Don't be mislead, Rubin is not foregoing his bonus out of a concern for employees. He is giving it up before government officials take it away.  As part of the Citi bailout the government must approve the compensation of company executives. 

If he really cared about employees or shareholders Rubin would have been more involved in Citi's business decisions. 

CNBC is reporting that Rubin may leave Citi and that he may have violated the "good business judgement" responsibility of a board member. 

Read the FT story  

Comment by Tom Borelli:

My commentary posted on Townhall.com describes why we need to fear CEOs as much as left-wing politicians.  This is especially true when they work together to loot us of our money and liberty. (Picture GE CEO Jeff Immelt on left)

"Last week’s Senate debate over Lieberman-Warner – the America’s Climate Security Act – brought to national attention an under-recognized yet rising threat to liberty and limited government: corporate America. Several of the largest corporations worked with environmental special interest groups and left-wing politicians to pass so-called “cap-and-trade” legislation to address global warming concerns.

By pushing for the legislation, these companies hoped to get revenue in the form of government subsidies plus accolades from the media for taking measures to “save the planet.” Never mind the impact on the everyday citizen, who pays for it all with higher taxes and increased energy prices, a loss of liberty, a reduced standard of living and fewer consumer choices." Read more...

Comment by Tom Borelli:

Tim Carney has a fantastic commentary on Lieberman–Warner - the climate change bill - that was debated in the Senate this week. 

Carney exposes GE as “a regulatory robber baron” by pointing out that “General Electric has created a new business called GHG Services, which plans to pick up Enron’s CO2-dealing business, including winning free allowances through lobbying efforts.”

Read Carney’s commentary: Enron’s favorite bill gets its day in the sun

It’s GE and other rent seeking companies that are driving Lieberman-Warner. 

On planet Immelt (see photo with Al Gore) GE increases its profits by increasing the size of government so it can leverage its huge lobbying budget to its advantage.

While GE gets free carbon credits from the government, we get higher energy prices and reduced economic growth.

In our view, Immelt is a threat to liberty, limited government and national security. This week we called for the board of directors to dismiss Immelt because:

- GE's stock price is lower today than it was when Immelt became Chairman and CEO in 2001;

- GE continues to do business with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism;

- GE supports Lieberman-Warner

Read our press release: GE's Board of Directors should dismiss CEO Jeff Immelt 


Fox Business Channel interviewed us on our call for Immelt to go! Watch the video

Vote with your Wallet!!

Don't spend your hard earned dollars on products from companies that are engaging in political activity that will loot you of your liberty.

If a company is supporting a political agenda that may result in higher taxes, higher energy costs, and more government control, then send them a strong message by not buying their products. CEOs need to learn there will be a price to pay for opposing your values.

Here is a list of companies that are working with environmental and labor union activists to pass cap-and-trade legislation. If passed, cap-and-trade will raise energy prices and reduce your standard of living. 
 

Starbucks

Offense: Pressuring congress to pass "Cap-and-Trade" legislation

Effect: Higher energy prices for consumers.  Jobs in the US lost to cheap offshore labor. 

Options for Action:

Consider other options than purchasing from Starbucks.  This might be a hard thing to swallow (excuse the pun), but even visiting a competitor for half your purchases will make a difference.

Simply sign our letter and we will send it to Starbucks executives for you (easiest). 

Send Starbucks your message directly from their website.

Call Starbucks Headquarters at (206) 447-1575.

Nike

Offense: Pressuring congress to pass "Cap-and-Trade" legislation

Effect: Higher energy prices for consumers.  Jobs in the US lost to cheap offshore labor. 

Options for Action:

Simply sign our letter and we will send it to Nike executives for you (easiest). 

Send Nike your message directly from their website.

Call Nike Headquarters at (503) 671-6453.

Walt Disney

It sure looks like Walt Disney has become an extension of the Democratic Party. Under the "leadership" of liberal CEO Bob Iger the company is burying the DVD of the ABC TV miniseries "The Path to 9/11" because the Left complained the program was biased. Because of Iger's decision shareholders are being denied an opportunity to generate revenue and the public is being denied an opportunity to learn about the events that led up to the terrorist attack on Septermber 11, 2001.  

British Petroleum

Under the leadership of group chief executive Lord Browne, BP leveraged an in-vogue liberal movement called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in addressing the public’s unease with oil companies and their affect on the environment. BP sought to re-position itself as a “green” and “socially responsible” company by distancing itself from its petroleum roots and its competitors.

General Electric

We Applaud GE's Vision to Develop Efficient Products: Condemn Their Support of Excessive Greenhouse Gas Regulation.  General Electric is seeking federal regulation on global warming. With energy prices at an all time high, regulations seeking for carbon dioxide emission limits will drive energy prices even higher.  Additional energy price shocks will cause significant economic damage harming future earnings of both GE shareholders and businesses throughout the United States.

Goldman Sachs

We just love the money making machine of Goldman Sachs. Yet the Chilean land deal ocherstraed by former CEO Hank Paulson looted shareholders of a good source of revenue only to service his hobby. Making matters worse, the company has not disclosed important details surrounding the land donation including the fair-market value of the 680,000 acres of land.