It’s been a year since the Ex-Im Bank lost its ability to extend deals bigger than $10 million. It is an anniversary well worth celebrating.
Last year, in the midnight hours of June 30, the Ex-Im Bank’s charter expired. It was unfortunately reauthorized five months later. However, there were lasting victories. Since then, the Bank has only been able to only operate at roughly 16 percent of its capacity. That’s because its board of directors does not have enough members to authorize deals above $10 million.
That’s a great news for those of us who believe that large companies shouldn’t be getting a government-granted leg-up or seeing their profits boosted at the expense of everyone else. One reason we have come this far is Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. He has bravely refused to move forward the nomination of President Obama’s pick to the Ex-Im Board. He has been supported along the way by several other members, in particular Senator Mike Lee.
The New York Times, not surprisingly, doesn’t agree. In a column full of talking points from the pro-Ex-Im lobby, the Times laments the situation at the Bank. But it never mentions that a vast majority (90 percent) of Boeing planes — Boeing is the main beneficiary of the Bank— are sold without the backing of Ex-Im, nor does the piece talk about how just ten companies benefit from 65 percent of the Bank’s activities, including General Electric. It doesn’t mention that Ex-Im is in the “big business” business— just ask small businesses. It doesn’t mention that over 98 percent of U.S. exports take place without any backing from Ex-Im. It doesn’t mention that most states shoulder the risk of the Ex-Im Bank mostly for the benefit of the state of Washington. It doesn’t mention that the top foreign beneficiaries of Ex-Im are large companies with plenty of access to capital. It doesn’t mention all the people and companies that are hurt by the unfair competition created by Ex-Im.
It also doesn’t mention how GE was doing a growing amount of business abroad and hiring a growing number of employees in foreign countries long before the Bank shut down its big business activities. It failed to mention that GE has been taking subsidies from foreign credit agencies for years and that it has nothing to do with the Ex-Im situation. It also failed to acknowledge that most of the claims made in the piece — such as the one about GE moving its activities to France because of Ex-Im – were debunked over and over again. GE’s temper tantrums were nothing more than political bullying last year, and they still are nothing more than political bullying this time around too.
It isn’t often that special interests are defeated. But today we can celebrate because in the case of Ex-Im we have defeated the many large and powerful special interests and the politicians who serve them for a whole year. The sky isn’t falling. Boeing and GE, as well as all the top Ex-Im beneficiaries, are doing just fine. U.S. exporters are still exporting. But one of many crony programs is been seriously incapacitated. Today is a day to celebrate.
Ex-Im Bank: One Year Anniversary of Bank’s Crippling