Posted on 02/08/2009 7:12:12 PM PST by Delacon
A key argument in favor of the stimulus package is that it contains several measures that are not only good for the environment but will create new jobs and boost the economy. From the people who make wind turbines and solar panels to those who install insulation in buildings or design electric cars, the predicted number of so-called green collar jobs to be created [1] stretches into the hundreds of thousands. But reality says otherwise. In fact, everywhere that these green measures have been tried, unemployment has increased, not decreased. The same will happen across the U.S. if the stimulus package is enacted.
Take California, the state hyped by the proponents of green collar jobs as a model for the rest of the nation. This is a state that has already moved aggressively on several things in the stimulus package – tough energy efficiency measures to drive down consumption, alternative energy requirements, and legislation to fight global warming.
Governor Schwarzenegger and other green stimulus proponents have hyped these provisions as green in both the environmental and economic sense and thus a win-win for the state. However, notwithstanding questions about the supposed environmental benefits, it has become clear in recent months that California’s economy is nothing less than a basket case. The green stimulus measures are a contributor to the malaise.
Unemployment in California is now at 9.3 percent, well above the 7.6 percent for the nation as a whole. (It should be noted that the 7.6 percent national average is for January 2009 while state unemployment numbers for January haven’t been released. Thus, California’s 9.3 percent unemployment could likely be higher.) That’s correct - the state that has done more than any other to create green collar jobs has higher overall unemployment than most – only Rhode Island, South Carolina and Michigan rank higher. California is also near bankruptcy (if not there already), and many businesses are leaving for less hostile locations. And at a time that President Obama announced a task force headed by Vice President Biden to deal with the burgeoning problems facing the middle class, California is seeing its middle class to flee in substantial numbers. Some model.
Like California, western Europe has also been touted as a model for Washington to copy. These nations have already imposed renewable energy and global warming measures beyond those in place here. Many are touted as “leaders” because they have a larger percentage of wind energy than the U.S. But like California, [2] they also have unemployment significantly higher than the U.S. average.
The reasons are simple. For one thing, the green measures adopted in California and Europe, like those in the stimulus package, require substantial taxpayer dollars to work. But taxing this money out of the private economy costs jobs elsewhere. Perhaps more importantly, all of these measures raise the cost of energy which also reduces jobs.
Consider government support for wind energy, something that California and Europe has aggressively implemented and that Washington would like to extend and expand via the stimulus bill. Granted, from the limited perspective of the wind energy industry, the generous tax credits - so generous that the wind industry’s big worry right now is that its tax credits exceed profits - create jobs in the manufacturing, installation, and operation of the wind turbines. But the substantial tax dollars needed to prop up this industry cost jobs elsewhere. At the same time, the expensive electricity generated by wind (its high cost is the main reason wind needs big handouts to compete with coal or natural gas or nuclear) also kills jobs.
In sum, increased government expenditures and higher energy costs make for a policy that’s a net job killer, and that is what we will get from the stimulus bill and its green agenda.
ping
Yep. But the green jobs are completely dependent on Uncle Sam whereas other jobs lost will be Bush’s fault. We are at the 51% government dependency tipping point.
What I’d like to know is how much are ‘RAT politicians going to make off all this money going to the windmill and solar panel companies! We need a damned investigation and some hearings.
The greens destroy jobs and the economy as a result.I know because my state of Wyoming is a target, they haul in wolves to get rid of ranchers. The ranchers are losing huge amounts of livestock to these animals and we are forced to protect them. Greens want an end to ranchers leasing land for grazing because in their opinion they do not pay “enough”. The same enviros think your and you and I should subsidize their recreation and they should have exclusive use of public lands for free.
They want wind energy until they decide it is interfering with the land they want off limits, then they file lawsuits, they brag they have prevented new coal fired electric plants for years and they will keep them from being built. Oh yes they want us to stop drilling for gas and oil and use electric cars.....even though they do not want more electric produced. Go figure.
The fantasy land for the greens will be coming to quick end in the near future.
Most likely when they are living in the dark lighting their farts to keep warm along with the rest of us.
We are fast becoming the Mexico of Energy production. High government subsidies of certain energy industries are no different in the long run than outright state ownership of the industry.
Green is a pipe dream fantasy.
BROWN is already reality and it’s about making money.
Mike Rowe has some very interesting thoughts on the matter...
Global Cooling and the Madness of Davos Can you access this printer friendly link?
We can't post articles from OpEdNews. The author bio claims, "a passion for paleoconservative ideals,..." It's a liberal website. I had to register to get the printer friendly version.
“Xin loi minh oi”
? :)
btt
It’s Vietnamese that supposed to translate to, “I’m sorry sweetheart.”
What about my question on the printer friendly link?
Green is malinvestment. It’s worse than Greenspan’s low interest rates because at least with that people were free to buy or invest as they saw fit. With green, we are forced to buy overpriced, politically correct electrons. They are no different from the incorrect ones, just a lot more expensive.
“What about my question on the printer friendly link?”
For those who don’t understand what Neverdem is asking, he is asking me why I don’t link to the printer friendly version of the articles I post instead of the main article with all of is html, java, and other bells and whistles that can clog up some readers’ older computers. ND, I gave your suggestion some serious consideration, in fact I even did it your way for awhile. But then I decided that the articles I link to have advertisers who pay the sites and authors that only show up in the regular links. So for allowing me the privilege to post their thoughtful prose, I think its the least I can do. Yes it can take a while for the articles to load on older computers but they do eventually load. Sounds crass but my suggestion is for those people to get a new computer. Its what I do every few years.
Congratulations, you you made two assumptions, and both are wrong. First, I just asked could you access the printer friendly link, not your posting habits and the reason or reasons for it.
I gave your suggestion some serious consideration, in fact I even did it your way for awhile. But then I decided that the articles I link to have advertisers who pay the sites and authors that only show up in the regular links. So for allowing me the privilege to post their thoughtful prose, I think its the least I can do. Yes it can take a while for the articles to load on older computers but they do eventually load. Sounds crass but my suggestion is for those people to get a new computer. Its what I do every few years.
Second, download time is far more dependent on broadband access than how new your computer is, IMHO. Many parts of the country are still restricted to dialup service.
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