The Herald and the Globe both have coverage of the decision by Evergreen Solar to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. The Herald reports, "The list of top creditors in today's bankruptcy filing lists a $1.5 million debt to MassDevelopment, the quasi-public state economic development agency."
Earlier coverage of Evergreen's decision to close the Massachusetts plant built with taxpayer subsidies and to move its operations to China is here.
Failure is part of capitalism, and there is nothing wrong with taking risks or with using the bankruptcy code to try to reorganize. But the whole episode is a reminder that when government tries to choose promising sectors in which to invest (Green jobs!), the risks are borne not by individuals who freely choose to invest their own money, but by taxpayers whose money is put at risk by politicians or bureaucrats at a "quasi-public state economic development agency."
The news of Evergreen's bankruptcy coincides with the release of a new Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters finding that 71% say private sector companies and investors are better than government officials when it comes to determining the long-term benefits and potential of new technologies, and 64% of voters think it is at least somewhat likely that if a private company which cannot find investors gets funding from the government, that money will be wasted. One might object that neither of these conditions apply to Evergreen Solar — it is a private company and it did have some non-government investors — but one might also say there are similar issues at play.