Lest we forget. . . .
The green energy sales pitch is basic to President Obama’s re-election campaign. Environmentalists favor it.
The justification is more jobs. But here is reality: only about 16,000 new jobs have been created. That is $5.6 million per job.
This is not highlighted in his campaign literature.
The bankruptcy of Solyndra got a lot of unexpected negative publicity. But it was soon swept under the rug.
In 2008, he said: “We can invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy … to create 5 million new jobs, new energy jobs, all across [the] country, jobs that pay well, jobs that can’t be outsourced.”
The number of new jobs is not impressive.
Then there is the decline in wind energy jobs. One estimate is 10,000 jobs lost since 2009. Of course, without government subsidies and tax breaks, the industry would be unblowin’ in the wind.
There were supposed to be 200,000 new energy-related jobs from the $90 billion invested (squandered). That would have been $400,000 per job. Still too expensive, in my view.
If you want to see a 44-page piece of puffery from the White House on the benefits of this expenditure, click here.
The answer from the White House is the old favorite: “We need more time.”
Yes, and more money. Always more money.
“This is an industry on the rise,” Obama said at a wind turbine factory, calling on Congress to extend his tax credit for wind producers. “And as you know, it’s an industry that’s putting people to work.”
If a new technology shows promise, let private venture capital firms fund it. Let them put their money on the line. Why should taxpayers fund such projects? Why should energy bureaucrats determine what is the correct approach to solving the energy problem?
The waste is inevitable — like $5.6 million per job created. It would have been cheaper to write a $1,000,000 check (tax free) to each of the 16,100 workers.
Continue reading here.
________________________
Published May 29, 2012. The original is here.
© 2022 GaryNorth.com, Inc., 2005-2021 All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission prohibited.