Ex Im Bank: What Do Welfare Queens Say?

The ExIm Bank has ordered the government-controlled media to fill its pages with sheer nonsense about its program:

INACTION by Congress on a little-known piece of legislation could put more than 100,000 Washington jobs at risk. That policy, the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, is key to the success of Washington businesses large and small that are part of our state’s robust international trade economy.

No it couldn't because the assertion that there are that many jobs tied to the ExIm bank finance is nonsense.

According to the U.S. International Trade Administration’s calculation, at least 137,000 Washington jobs were supported by the Ex-Im Bank last year alone. Of the 165 Washington employers that have used the bank to finance their exports in the last five years, more than 70 percent were small- and medium-sized businesses like the L’Ecole 41 winery in Walla Walla, Pacific Valley Foods in Bellevue and Wagstaff in Spokane.

Let's see...

137,000 divided by 165 = 830 employees on average.  This is nonsense, especially when that number 165 is over five years.  165 divided by five years is 33 per year.  There are only two figures that matter is when it comes to Washington state and ExIm bank, and that is Boeing's share of finance and Boeing's number of employees.  Of the other 164 over five years, how many did one deal?  How many are repeat?  Of the repeats, how many of their backed loans have been moved from the active column to the "asset" column where ExIM Bank parks its failures and taxpayer losses to be paid later, when all this can be blamed on Obama by the next administration.

The Ex-Im Bank plays a unique role in financing exports of U.S. goods to foreign customers by filling in the gaps offered by traditional financing and by partnering with private sector lenders. 

Right, when private sector lenders judge the participants a credit risk, they can pass the profits on to business and the losses on to taxpayers.  Where have we heard this before?

Many exporting businesses, especially small businesses, rely on the bank for export loans, loan guarantees and insurance.

We've already demonstrated above no more than 33 a year max.  Why say "many?"  The fact is most exporters do not.  And those who do not are punished when they have to compete with people who should not be in business for business overseas.

In reality, the Ex-Im Bank regularly generates a surplus of revenues, and earned U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion in interest payments last year that helped pay down other federal government obligations.

Nonsense, by moving nonperforming loans over to the asset column, they can look as good as Enron, the way Enron did it.  For a private bank to do this would mean jail time for directors. The reason we have the ExIm bank is for crony capitalism (tautology).

Our nation and our state needs the Ex-Im Bank to ensure that Washington employers remain internationally competitive.

Since almost none of USA trade is based on this, how is letting it expire an existential threat to the country?

The Ex-Im Bank is a model federal program: boosting exports, creating jobs and spurring the economy, all with no cost to U.S. taxpayers.

A model indeed: bails out failed companies, grows false economy, lies about the result, and harms another industry, USA airlines.  A model indeed. If it is such a success, why are we not expanding it?  Why not extend in essence vendor financing ability to casinos, candlemakers, bakeries, and shoemakers?

Of the 165 Washington employers that have used the bank to finance their exports in the last five years, more than 70 percent were small- and medium-sized businesses like the L’Ecole 41 winery in Walla Walla, Pacific Valley Foods in Bellevue and Wagstaff in Spokane.

Hmmm... other food and wine and material exporters can find market without taxpayer subsidies, so why do these?  Would it not benefit those who actually know how to turn a profit to let those who do not know how just fail?  Why should those who are profitable be obliged to transfer their profits to those who are not?  Perhaps Washington does not need 700 wineries, and the economy would improve if we eliminated the misallocation and malinvestment precipitated by the exim bank.

Here is a simple hard fact: in almost all export transactions, like 98%, they buyer overseas has arranged prepayment of the goods exported from the USA.   ExIm Bank specializes in subsidizing transactions that fail the smell test.

Failing companies crowd out the successful and marginally successful with their subsidized offers.  Most people have no idea about the Eximbank, and may have no idea why they lost the sale.  Overseas people seek ExImBank participants on the USA side up to scam the usa taxpayers.  Keeping secret what deals ExIMBank is financing denies honest business people the opportunity to see their government is undercutting them by financing political hacks.

Getting rid of ExIMBank will improve the economy.

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