Flashback: Small Business Administration Gets Busted Providing Loans to Big Businesses

Watchdog reports on the corrupt government agency known as the Small Business Administration:

While there weren’t any BMW dealerships or Rolex peddlers getting loans in the Magnolia State, there were plenty of big businesses cashing in. In the past five fiscal years, the SBA in Mississippi has issued 191 loans of $1 million or more.

For example, $5 million in loans went in 2011 to Arbuda Global Hotel LLC, which owns a Hampton Inn and Suites in Biloxi. More than $4 million was loaned to build a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Columbus in 2013 and more than $3.5 million was loaned to build a Hilton Garden Inn in 2011.

In 2011, Hobby Poultry was loaned more than $3 million, while Allen Poultry in Brandon got more than $2.4 million.

“This is the unit of government, at the federal level, that’s supposed to help mom and pop businesses on main street,” said Adam Andrzejewski, the founder of Openthebooks.com. “But quickly what we’ve found was $9.2 billion flowed to investment bankers. One hundred sixty million dollars flowed to exclusive, private country clubs and a quarter billion (dollars) flowed to subdivisions of the Fortunate 100. These are not small businesses. These are big businesses or businesses that serve the wealthy lifestyle.”

The federal government's "elastic" definition of small business. Just a reminder, the next time Hillary Clinton talks about creating an "infrastructure bank".