Thursday, May 8, 2014

The US electrical grid is in poor shape but we've got money to fund "electrify Africa" and crony capitalism

Overseas Private Investment Corporation gave a $20 million loan to Ukrainian Porsche dealership owned by Biden 'friend' and donor


Congress is set to vote today on renewing the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (the renewal is tucked into the "Electrify Africa Act"). OPIC uses taxpayer backing to finance and insure American companies when they set up operations overseas.
For instance, in 2012, OPIC approved a $20 million loan to help an American businessman build a luxury car dealership in Ukraine. Here's how OPIC described the project they were financing with taxpayer money:
The proceeds of the loan will be used to (i) expand Winner Import Ukraine’s automobile business, (ii) construct and operate “Winner Autocity”, which will have two new, state-of-the-art dealership facilities for Porsche and Land Rover/Jaguar automobiles, each of which will be “3S” (showroom, service and stock)
The car dealer, John Hynanksy, happens to be a good friend of Vice President Joe Biden and a donor to President Obama and Biden. When Biden spoke in Ukraine in 2009, he called out "my very good friend, John Hynanksy, a very prominent businessman." In that same speech, Biden said "Democracy and free markets work best when they deliver what people most want."
Sure enough, Jaguars and Porsches are probably what some people "most want." Now thanks to U.S. taxpayer backing, some Ukrainians have the

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