So the headline talks about political perception and Kay Hagan while the picture shows a solar panel farm and I know you are thinking: What's this all about? Well, bear with me, because this is just another of the many stories about the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 which was pushed through to supposedly rapidly turn around America and get people back to work again. The only problem is that after all of the expense we have nothing to show for it and our national government is much closer to financial disaster.
So how does Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, a "newbie" at the time of the act's becoming law fit in to the picture? That, friends, is where we are going with this.
When the aforementioned act, let's just call it the Bailout Act for simplicity, it was supposed to be a way of putting people back to work and it was suggested that it would make America prosperous again. We certainly didn't expect it to be used to fund those interests of politicians and business leaders that supported Obama and with whom favors were extended. Sadly, that's where this program quickly headed and Senator Kay Hagan, a newly arrived Senator had several family members who quickly received largesse.
A company called Green State Power was founded in 2008 and Hagan's son, Tilden, became CEO in 2009. The Bailout awarded Green State Power $521,000 in stimulus funds for installing solar panels in North Carolina. Later, Plastic Revolutions of Reidsville received a $478,000 grant for installing solar on its roof with a tax credit of $137,000. And Chip Hagan, Kay's husband, was on the Board of Directors. Two other projects listed on the Green State Power website as customers, Mountain Heritage and Signature Place, received stimulus funds according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, for $378,000 and $143,000 respectively.
So Kay Hagan assumes her Senate seat and miraculously a company with a newly appointed CEO who happens to be her young son strikes paydirt right out of the box with a product that has clearly been manipulated by Obama's personal whims around the country. Is it a coincidence? Well, it could be but I doubt it since the solar industry in recent years has been beset with huge financial problems and defaults, all ending up on the public dime.
I don't bring this up to suggest any legal action against the Senator or her family. I merely think it's important because so much of politics results in elected officials leaving office wealthy after having entered as people of modest means. And while I have advocated term limits for that very reason, we see a perception in the case of Senator Hagan that sometimes the influence of money can muddy the waters right from the outset. I don't believe our nation was established for this purpose.
Kay Hagan has been a strong supporter of Obama and all that he has done. She had of late tried to separate herself from her relationship to the President and try to paint herself as an independent legislator but actions speak louder than words. And if there is even the slightest indication of members of her family being rewarded for her commitment to the Administration, then she certainly should be voted out of office. It should just be a matter of principle.
Now that's not to say that I am a big fan of Tillis, quite the contrary, I would have preferred someone much more conservative. But I do know that if America doesn't force Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader slot in the Senate, absolute chaos to the nation is coming sooner than later. So I would recommend that my Carolina friends vote for Thom Tillis in November, then work hard to sway his voting to a more conservative standard. That's the best course for North Carolina as well as America and it's a step, albeit a small one, in changing direction.
So how does Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, a "newbie" at the time of the act's becoming law fit in to the picture? That, friends, is where we are going with this.
When the aforementioned act, let's just call it the Bailout Act for simplicity, it was supposed to be a way of putting people back to work and it was suggested that it would make America prosperous again. We certainly didn't expect it to be used to fund those interests of politicians and business leaders that supported Obama and with whom favors were extended. Sadly, that's where this program quickly headed and Senator Kay Hagan, a newly arrived Senator had several family members who quickly received largesse.
A company called Green State Power was founded in 2008 and Hagan's son, Tilden, became CEO in 2009. The Bailout awarded Green State Power $521,000 in stimulus funds for installing solar panels in North Carolina. Later, Plastic Revolutions of Reidsville received a $478,000 grant for installing solar on its roof with a tax credit of $137,000. And Chip Hagan, Kay's husband, was on the Board of Directors. Two other projects listed on the Green State Power website as customers, Mountain Heritage and Signature Place, received stimulus funds according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, for $378,000 and $143,000 respectively.
So Kay Hagan assumes her Senate seat and miraculously a company with a newly appointed CEO who happens to be her young son strikes paydirt right out of the box with a product that has clearly been manipulated by Obama's personal whims around the country. Is it a coincidence? Well, it could be but I doubt it since the solar industry in recent years has been beset with huge financial problems and defaults, all ending up on the public dime.
I don't bring this up to suggest any legal action against the Senator or her family. I merely think it's important because so much of politics results in elected officials leaving office wealthy after having entered as people of modest means. And while I have advocated term limits for that very reason, we see a perception in the case of Senator Hagan that sometimes the influence of money can muddy the waters right from the outset. I don't believe our nation was established for this purpose.
Kay Hagan has been a strong supporter of Obama and all that he has done. She had of late tried to separate herself from her relationship to the President and try to paint herself as an independent legislator but actions speak louder than words. And if there is even the slightest indication of members of her family being rewarded for her commitment to the Administration, then she certainly should be voted out of office. It should just be a matter of principle.
Now that's not to say that I am a big fan of Tillis, quite the contrary, I would have preferred someone much more conservative. But I do know that if America doesn't force Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader slot in the Senate, absolute chaos to the nation is coming sooner than later. So I would recommend that my Carolina friends vote for Thom Tillis in November, then work hard to sway his voting to a more conservative standard. That's the best course for North Carolina as well as America and it's a step, albeit a small one, in changing direction.
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