NLPC Hits Ford Financial Stature Due to Sponsorship
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It would be great to sponsor events or good causes when you can. But if you happen to be a member of companies seeking bailouts and then find yourself spending heavily on promotional support, expect all hell to break loose after a couple of hours. Ford is a familiar figure in the much celebrated “Big Three” auto industry bailout issue and now it finds itself being criticized for perhaps spending financial support in a questionable manner.
In a Complaint filed today with TARP Inspector General Neil M. Barofsky, National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) President Peter Flaherty wrote,
“Ford’s major donation to Al Sharpton’s group at this critical time calls into question CEO Alan Mulally’s commitment to what he called ’shared sacrifice’ at Congressional hearings in December.”
In a letter today to Steven Rattner, who directs President Obama’s auto industry task force, Flaherty wrote,
“Ford’s financial support for Sharpton places into doubt the judgment of Ford executives. I can think of no expenditure further removed from the core mission of saving the company and the American auto industry than bankrolling Sharpton. It is your responsibility to ensure that no more capital is wasted on controversial political causes, no matter how supportive they are of the administration you represent.”
Ford was a sponsor of the National Action Network 2009 National Convention (NAN) that took place April 1-4, 2009 in New York City. NAN was founded by Al Sharpton and the convention is his major fundraising event of the year.
NAN did not disclose the exact amount of Ford’s gift, but a “sponsor” designation for last year’s event cost $50,000. Ford has recently closed 17 plants in North America and has laid off over 50,000 employees. Last year, the company lost $14.6 billion.
Other corporate sponsors of last week’s event included American Honda, Anheuser Busch, Colgate-Palmolive, Comcast, Entergy, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Macy’s, PepsiCo, Pfizer and Wal-Mart.
Bailout recipients GM, Chrysler and Citigroup were sponsors of the same event in 2008, but were not identified as sponsors for 2009.
(Source) Press
