Friday, March 27, 2009

HOW BLACK WERE MY GREEN JOBS! If Spain's experience is any guide, there are serious job losses from green stimulus mesaures like the ones contemplated in Obama's plans. According to a study from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, for every new job sustained by subsidized renewable energy at least 2.2 are lost in other industries:
The premiums paid for solar, biomass, wave and wind power - - which are charged to consumers in their bills -- translated into a $774,000 cost for each Spanish “green job” created since 2000, said Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at the university and author of the report.

“The loss of jobs could be greater if you account for the amount of lost industry that moves out of the country due to higher energy prices,” he said in an interview.