Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Forty-four Keeps Promises--to Nuclear Industry

Always passing "GO"
While adding massively ($900B) to the US deficit by giving the party of the rich a two year extension of their tax holiday*, Obamacon is seeking to keep his promises to the nuclear power industry by giving it $9 billion more in loan guarantees. The funding is buried in the "continuing resolution" needed to keep the federal government operating. This is the administration's fourth attempt to give away more taxpayer money to an industry that cannot make nuclear energy economic without federal subsidies. The Department of Energy has not even exhausted its current fund at the Federal Financing Bank ($10.2B remains available) because potential nuclear power plant builders cannot make the huge capital requirements payoff in the current economic climate. This money would go to giant international corporations like Electricité de France, Westinghouse (owned by Toshiba) and General Electric. Congress apparently has not gotten the message that the American public is fed up with corporate welfare while ordinary Americans go without. Tell your representatives no dirty nuke loans: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4923

*the ultra-wealthy also get an estate tax break just for deserts: the federal estate tax is capped at 35% down from 55% and there is a $5 million exemption meaning less than a tenth of 1% of estates in the US will pay federal inheritance taxes. Sweet.