Regular readers might recall that some time back, I posted a lengthy piece (What, me worry? For some Republicans, it’s business as usual.) about how many Republicans, fresh off a stinging electoral defeat, didn’t understand why. It was (and still is) my contention that their big spending ways were a major cause. I wrote
Missteps. Corruption. Ineptness. All are commonly associated with any sort of unchallenged ruling entity, government or otherwise. The problem for the Republicans is that they threw away their main check that had kept such behaviors at bay: tight fiscal practices. When money is tight, there’s less to throw around and get in trouble with. At the point it becomes over-abundent, decadence rears its ugly head.
One example I used of Republicans throwing taxdollars around foolishly was the Federal Railroad Administration’s proposal to guarantee the largest government-backed loan ever to a private company (dwarfing even that of the infamous Chrysler bailout) being promoted by Sen. John Thune (R-SD). I cited a story from Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that reported
According to BearingPoint (a strategic consulting firm), the loan would require an annual payment of $246 million on top of the $15 million from another loan. Even if the rail upgrade increases DM&E’s current annual revenue of $200 million, the deal presents a poor credit risk to taxpayers, who will be forced to foot the bill if the company defaults. A senior manager at BearingPoint stated, “This loan finances a project with many financial uncertainties, ultimately calling into question whether or not DM&E can repay the loan.”.
The DM&E loan is being compared to the $1.5 billion Chrysler bailout in 1980. However, at least that expenditure was the subject of intense public and congressional debate; the DM&E loan is quietly moving through Congress thanks to behind-the-scenes lobbying and legislative maneuvers.
Guess what? It seems enough of a fuss was kicked up by the November revelations, that it obviously caused somebody within the government system to give this deal some deep, honest consideration:
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman today denied a $2.3 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan application from the Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern (DM&E) railroad concluding it posed an unacceptably high risk to federal taxpayers.
Can you believe this? Somebody in government is actually looking out for the taxpayers for a change. I don’t know what Mr. Boardman’s politics are, or how he operates his particular enterprise, but he sure gets a huge “KUDOS!” from this taxpayer for how he handled this particular issue. Click here to visit “A Bluestem Prairie” for the full scoop…