Government backed loans, loans, and grants

Ron Johnson wants us to understand that the help his business got was a loan. He also wants us to understand that this was not the Government picking winners and losers. Well, I for one don't understand the difference. Pacur was given a low interest government backed loan from a bank. This is different from a business loan from a bank in that if they defaulted the bank would be able to get some of the money from the government. A grant is a direct bailout, the government picking winners and losers. The way Mr. Johnson tells it anyone could have gotten this kind of deal. Except that isn't true. Only companies that are already established or led by the connected (Mr. Johnson was connected through his father in law) can get these deals. Give me $2 million dollars and I'll open a business.

So, we can say that he got government help but yet he has no problem criticizing Sen. Feingold for voting to give GM loans and grants to stay in business. This vote preserved a large American company that employed 10s of thousands of Americans. You can argue that these Americans were overpaid. He doesn't go there though. He just believes that we should have let them go.

There you have it the differences between funding sources and how Ron Johnson is playing with the facts. And I'll take a low interest loan to open a business.

P.S. Maybe Ron Johnson would be willing to release the salary structure at his company. Does he pay the so called living wage?

Wisconsin Senate Race

Try as he might Ron Johnson cannot escape being a businessman in America Today. It all flows from his implication that he went into business with his brother in law with nothing and through hard work and sacrifice built it into this large package manufacturing corporation. Well, it turns out that he had a little more help than most business owners along the way. First the start-up money came from his father in law (who is very wealthy), not going to begrudge a gift but I wouldn't be talking up my early struggle. Then is turns out he received some government assistance (which he abhors) through government backed loans. Now he says it was a loan and was paid back. He also says that no tax payer money was on the line. So no it is not like GM, AIG, the banks. Really, so Ron you're telling me that some bank gave a small business a low interest loan because they believed in what you were doing and knew that your company would help the economy. If I had only known sooner, I could be my own boss now. No, Ron the way this works is some government entity tells the bank that we will guarantee any losses that you may incur making this loan. In this case it was both State and Local money. It is great that he paid it back, but to quote one of the Tea Party faithful where is my share? The reality is that all of us paid to get his business going, he fails to recognize this fact. He also fails to talk about what exactly his business does. They manufacture packaging for the medical field. Isn't it interesting that someone who makes a living off of high tech medicine got into the Senate race against Russ Feingold because he opposes Obama care? If I were in his shoes I would be ecstatic about health care reform because there is not any form of cost containment so he is free to keep increasing prices.