The Devil is not in the details. God is.

The “devil is in the details” is an old adage I often hear espoused by many. I disagree. I believe God is in the details because that’s where the truth is.

Here’s an example. You may have all read a recent press release where Obama announced that he awarded more than $2 billion in grants from his stimulus package money to firms to build alternative energy solar installations.

. The Obama press release reads the Energy Department is awarding nearly $2 billion from federal stimulus funds to build solar energy plants in the USA. Abengoa Solar is one of the recipients. In return for the funds, the company has agreed to build what the administration says will be one of the largest solar plants in the world in Arizona. Owned by Abengoa of course and financed by the backs of the american taxpayer. It will be capable of providing clean energy to 70,000 homes.” Wonderful until you look into the details.

The Obama press release said that as a result of this award, there would be more than 1,600 jobs created in Phoenix. Wonderful, that’s terrific, I’m all for that! But I was curious to see who Abengoa was. So I explored and looked into the details. Sure enough, there was the truth. Abengoa is a company with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. It is listed on the Madrid stock exchange. It receives or does only a very small amount of its business in the United States. Until now of course. Not only are we sending the jobs offshore, we are sending the profits from this contract, taxpayer money offshore too. This is Obama’s idea of “Buy America.”

In other words, the administration who touts the Buy America Act, Keep Jobs in America, Buy from American Companies, awards $800 million to a company with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. They’re not even listed on the American stock exchange. Now certainly there will be some jobs created in Phoenix, but why couldn’t the same award have gone to an American solar energy corporation where not only would the same number of jobs be created, but we’d be keeping the profits and the technology here. Remember, the $800 million grant, well some of that money goes back to Spain, maybe a lot of it, certainly all the profits do. And on top of that, if there’s any technology developed, that goes back to Spain too. On top of that, it builds up a Spanish company rather than building up an American company.

BTW, the $800 million grant for 70,000 homes is the initial capital cost of more than $11,000 per home. And the operating cost must be paid by the taxpayer too. The economics do not make sense either, but that is the subject of another blog. The cost of this energy is outrageously expensive. If it made economic sense, Abengoa would build the plant for the profits. As it is, Abengoa is building the plant in Arizona with taxes paid by taxpayers in Alaska as well as other states. Go figure. The math and the politics do not add up. If you want the answer, look for a spanish speaking lobbyist with a home in Madrid, a hotel room in the Watergate and an office on Pennsylvania avenue.

For me, this is absolutely contradictory to what the administration is trying to do and is an example, not the prime example mind you, of how lose lost manufacturing and technology jobs to foreign corporations. I can only wish any American company good luck when they go to Spain to try and get an $800 million grant from the Spanish Government– it doesn’t happen believe me.

But it happens here and it makes hypocrites out of our government. It should tell you, the consumers, the citizens of this wonderful country, to always look beyond the press release and look into the details. That’s where the truth lies. It’s never in the headlines. It would be a real accelerator to our economy if the Obama Administration would walk what they talk, teach what they preach, and do what’s good for me and you. It’s not that complicated to rebuild this country.

Don’t be seduced by the spin on federal announcements of stimulus awards. Those 1,600 jobs that this Spanish company would create in Phoenix would be created by the same award to an American company, if not more. But that’s the spin that the Obama Administration puts on grants and awards like this. I would like to see, narrow minded that I am, my taxes go to awards to American corporations. How about you?