Corporate Integrity Project

NLPC seeks to promote integrity in corporate governance, including honesty and fair play in relationships with shareholders, employees, business partners and customers. In doing so, NLPC places special emphasis on:

* Asserting that the social responsibility of the corporation is to defend and advance the interests of the people who own the company, the shareholders. True responsibility is fidelity to one’s own mission, not someone else’s, or someone else’s political agenda.

* Exposing the seeking of influence on public officials by corporations, which is the inevitable result of high levels of government spending and intervention in the marketplace.

* Combating practices that undermine the free enterprise system, including philanthropic giving to groups hostile to a free economy.

Obama’s Green Jobs Don’t Materialize

Posted on by NLPC Staff

NLPC Associate Fellow Paul Chesser was interviewed on Fox Business Network’s Willis Report on Thursday. Here’s a transcript:

Gerri Willis:  Joining me now, Paul Chesser, Associate Fellow at the National Legal and Policy Center. Hey Paul, welcome back to the show, always great to have you here.

Paul Chesser:  Great to be here.

Gerri Willis: Let me tell you, this is crazy, is it not? I want to just show folks with some of these companies that got loans from the Department of Energy – the jobs that were promised but never delivered. You look at A123 we just talked about this 2,200 jobs that were promised, never delivered. Dow Kokum 230, Ener1 1,450. The list goes on and on and in every case we’ve given the companies money, taxpayer money. Is this any surprise? Should I not be shocked?

Paul Chesser:  Well it is hundreds … Read More ➡

Chevy Volt May Sales Dismal – Ad Spending Ineffective

Posted on by Mark Modica

General Motors reported that Chevy Volt sales for May came in at a paltry 1,680. To put this in perspective, GM sold 29,579 Chevy Malibus during the month. The funny thing is, I do not recall seeing as many TV ads for the Malibu as I have for the Volt. While GM’s ad strategy (which has seen the company discontinuing advertising on Facebook and the Super Bowl) has received much attention, auto journalists and analysts do not seem to want to question the reason why GM is spending such a disproportionate amount of money advertising a vehicle that is losing money for the company and its shareholders.

GM did not think that spending $10 million annually on Facebook was leading to enough additional sales to justify the expense. Based on the amount of ads I see on the Volt, I would guess that the company is spending at least that … Read More ➡

Was GM’s Nepotistic Ad Spending More Effective than Facebook?

Posted on by Mark Modica

The Detroit Free Press reported on Friday that General Motors failed to initially disclose possible conflicts when it awarded a $600,000 contract to Mother New York, an ad agency with ties to GM’s Chief Financial Officer, Dan Ammann. Ammann’s wife, Pernilla Ammann, is a partner and Chief Operating Officer at the ad agency. In typical Government Motors’ fashion, Ammann dubiously denies having had knowledge of the deal. Before looking at what the money purchased, let’s look at the likelihood that Ammann really knew nothing.

Honestly, is it likely that a CFO at a major corporation would not know that his wife’s firm just received a $600,000 contract from his firm? How might the conversation between the two have gone at the time the windfall was received by Mrs. Ammann’s firm? Maybe something like this:

Mrs. Ammann: “Hi Honey, how was work today?”

Mr. Ammann: “Just fine Dear, still trying

… Read More ➡

‘Ludicrous’ EPA – NASCAR Partnership

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

NLPC Associate Fellow Mark Modica appeared Wednesday on Cavuto on Fox Business Network to discuss the new “partnership” between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Here’s a transcript:

Liz MacDonald:  Well, next up, the EPA, you know what, it is all about clean air. But now critics are saying it is full of hot air. That is because it is partnering with NASCAR to push green initiatives. That includes encouraging the tracks to recycle more, conserve water, sustainability. You get the picture. Mark Modica from the National Legal and Policy Center says you know what, this proves the EPA is clueless. Sir, what did you make of this when you heard this news?

Mark Modica: I just think it is ludicrous, Liz. It shows you how out of touch the administration is. I mean, NASCAR, these guys, I think … Read More ➡

Chevy Volt Pep Rally Masquerades as Electric Vehicle Safety Symposium

Posted on by Mark Modica

Chevy Volt chargerThe Department of Transportation and NHTSA have announced that a “technical symposium” will be held on May 18th “to discuss safety considerations for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.” In addition to NHTSA’s presentations, the Department of Energy, automotive manufacturers and battery makers will participate. Given the bias of the participants, the symposium sounds like it is going to be less informational and more infomercial.

The press release for the gathering states, “Electric vehicles show great promise as an innovative and fuel-efficient option for American drivers. Significant research and other activities related to the safety of these vehicles are ongoing by NHTSA, the Department of Energy (DOE), vehicle and battery manufacturers, standards organizations, and others.” I think that gives a hint as to where this is going. Add to this the fact that the Obama Administration agencies involved have all celebrated the rollout of the Chevy Volt and … Read More ➡

Taxpayers Subsidize Forbes ‘Green’ Billionaires’ Schemes

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Vinod Khosla

This story has been updated below.

The three top U.S. tycoons on Forbes’s “Green” billionaires list have received billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for their clean technology companies, after they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for political campaigns and lobbying.

Two of the moguls, Elon Musk and Vinod Khosla (in photo), are technology pioneers based in California with net worths of $2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. The third, Christy Walton, is the widow of the late John Walton who was an heir to the Walmart fortune. Forbes says she is “the world’s richest woman” is worth $24.8 billion.

Significant percentages of Musk’s and Khosla’s value are derived from “eco-friendly” holdings. Musk’s main green investments are in Tesla Motors, an electric automaker, and SolarCity. Among Khosla’s clean-tech assets are KiOR and Gevo, both biofuels companies, and Calera Corporation, a company that uses captured carbon … Read More ➡

Obama’s Gamble on GM Worse than JPM’s Trading Flub

Posted on by Mark Modica

When JPM Chase reported that it had lost $2 billion recently on risky derivative trades, the predictable call came from the Obama Administration to increase regulation on banks. The hypocrisy of the politically motivated proclamations becomes evident when you compare the JPM trades to Treasury’s continued gamble on its taxpayer funded stake in General Motors, which has suffered an approximate $5 billion loss in value over the past year.

US taxpayers unwillingly own 500 million shares or 32% of General Motors’ stock, courtesy of Team Obama. The Administration has had the ability to sell the stake for over a year now. Treasury’s performance as market timer for America is lagging the overall markets. For the past year, GM shares have declined about 30% compared to a flat S&P 500 index. The performance is far worse than JPM’s and Obama should take his own advice and stop gambling with taxpayer money.… Read More ➡

Ally Financial – Another Auto Bailout Bankruptcy

Posted on by Mark Modica

The Obama Administration has become quite the expert on bankruptcy filings. The Detroit Free Press reports that the third auto bailout partaker, Ally Financial, has filed bankruptcy for its mortgage subsidiary, ResCap. The government still owns 74% of Ally, and now has an 0 for 3 record on restructuring bailed out auto-related companies outside of bankruptcy.

Three years ago the Obama Administration, particularly the Auto Task Force, had a mission to restructure General Motors, Chrysler and GM’s lending arm, GMAC. The stated goal was to restructure the auto industry players outside of bankruptcy. This stated goal turned out to be a deception as plans were in place to orchestrate a bankruptcy procedure that would first see Chrysler go through a manipulated pilot process that went smoothly enough for GM to follow the same template.

GMAC, now Ally Financial, was the mostly-overlooked player in the game. GMAC made the poor decision … Read More ➡

Nissan Seeks Leaf Buyers from Among ‘Pragmatists’

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Nissan LeafNow that Nissan believes it has captured all the “early adopters” of its all-electric Leaf, its North American subsidiary plans to market the 73-mile-per-charge (they used to say it was 100 miles) vehicle to “pragmatists.”

These practical patrons, according to Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, will not be drawn from the limited ranks of environmental activism, but instead will consist of everyday Joes “who will see the dollars-and-sense benefits of driving one,” reports USA Today.

“There’s no reason, though the life cycle of Leaf, why we shouldn’t have a profitable car,” Palmer told the newspaper at the Electric Car Symposium in Los Angeles. “We needed economies of scale. I see no reason why it shouldn’t be profitable.”

The reason “scale” is needed is Nissan will soon have to justify the mass production of the poor-selling Leaf in the U.S., after it received a $1.45 billion loan guarantee from … Read More ➡

Non-Union Retirees Shafted in Auto Bailouts Told to Get Jobs

Posted on by Mark Modica

One of the most egregious abuses of the Obama Administration’s auto bailouts was the blatant favoritism evidenced in the treatment of Delphi (General Motors’ parts supplier) retirees. After the Delphi bankruptcy, UAW retirees had their pensions “topped off” by General Motors, apparently with taxpayer money accessed through TARP. While the UAW retirees maintained their pension benefits, non-union, salaried retirees of Delphi lost theirs. There was no logical reason for one group to have their pensions saved while another group lost theirs, just the facts that the distributions were inequitable and the only difference between the groups was that one belonged to a powerful ally of Team Obama and the other did not.

Evidence now surfaces of the Obama Administration rubbing salt in the wounds of the non-politically connected retirees. When the salaried retirees requested help from President Obama to restore their pension benefits, the Department of Labor’s Director of Recovery … Read More ➡