Supposedly to fund batteries for hybrid vehicles.
Nearly half of the $2.4 billion in federal grant money awarded Wednesday to stimulate the U.S. economy and boost the production of hybrid and electric vehicles went to six companies with ties to places as far away as Russia, China, South Korea and France.
President Obama announced the grants during a visit to Indiana and said the funds would create domestic jobs and instigate more “green” manufacturing in the United States. But because so few American companies have the necessary technology, much of the money will initially go toward manufacturing electric vehicle batteries overseas.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/06/stimulus-to-aid-foreign-battery-builders/
Nothing like spending American taxpayer money on foreign countries, instead of funneling money into our own resources and encouraging production here at home. Belligerent nations like Russia and China are getting millions, with no guarantee they’ll use the funds for the intended purpose.
During the campaign, he slammed Bush for “sending jobs overseas”. Now, he’s “spreading the wealth” to overseas companies.
It’s bad enough that corporations picked up and left the country because the UNION thugs priced their own workers out of a job. Now we have a socialist dirtbag who wants to out-and-out finance overseas operations instead of giving incentives for business here.
And before you think battery-powered cars are such a good idea, give this some thought: Right now we have the convienience of gas-powered cars. You can go to a filling station 24/7 to obtain the fuel you need. Batteries have to be charged. Try plugging your car into a electrical socket at your house, which your home wiring probably can’t handle unless you get an upgrade, and wait for hours to get a full charge. Good luck in an emergency.
With millions of cars charging up overnight, the average city power grid will be overwhelmed. Along with electric bills, the cost of generating power will skyrocket, because the eco-assholes are frightened of building economical and safe nuclear power plants.
The only “green” advantage to this is the one coming from your wallet.