“State lawmakers should stop throwing away scarce budgetary resources on the green pipe dream and let the private sector decide which green ideas are viable.”
About a new report on green jobs from State Budget Solutions, Bryan Leonard writes:
The cat is out of the bag and support for federal green jobs spending is dwindling. Solyndra, despite initial claims to the contrary, has turned out to be one of many government-funded green meltdowns. The federal government spent over $33 billion on energy and environmental projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and state governments also literally bought in to the green hype. Many states have pushed green growth even harder than the Obama administration. State Budget Solutions examined what actions states have taken to promote green jobs and whether it has been beneficial to their state budgets and economies…
Environmental protection is an important goal, but states should avoid pretending that it is a tool for economic growth. It may very well be worthwhile to sacrifice some economic growth in order to improve environmental quality, but policy-makers must first honestly recognize this tradeoff and quit pretending that green jobs programs are anything more than a handout to a lucky few firms. Most states have a balanced-budget requirement, so every dollar of taxpayers money spent on green subsidies is a dollar not spent on public education, social safety nets, or transportation. State lawmakers should stop throwing away scarce budgetary resources on the green pipe dream and let the private sector decide which green ideas are viable.
I love that title ‘green jobs don’t grow on trees’. It’s spot on though, they’re hard to come by.
“…It may very well be worthwhile to sacrifice some economic growth in order to improve environmental quality, but policy-makers must first honestly recognize this tradeoff and quit pretending that green jobs programs are anything more than a handout to a lucky few firms. ”
This is the key truth that has to be driven home into every person’s brain.
Regulations and distortions of natural economic forces always sacrifice growth, and therefore jobs. Sometimes the benefits are worth the cost, but in the USA today, in almost every regime, we are far beyond that point and regulations are abusive.