During last night’s general meeting, the open discussion turned to green jobs, cap and trade and Obama’s misdirected policies on getting us out of the recession. During this discussion a startling piece of news emerged citing a case-study done of Spain (one of the most eager countries to embrace Federal funding of green jobs) where “stimulating” the Spanish economy with green jobs failed miserably.
Indeed, according to Dr. Gabriel Calzada’s study, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid, “Spain’s experience (cited by President Obama as a model) reveals with high confidence, by two different methods, that the U.S. should expect a loss of at least 2.2 jobs on average, or about 9 jobs lost for every 4 created, to which we have to add those jobs that non-subsidized investments with the same resources would have created.”
Obama repeatedly has said that the United States should look to Spain as an example of a country that has successfully applied federal money to green initiatives in order to stimulate its economy.
“Think of what’s happening in countries like Spain, Germany and Japan, where they’re making real investments in renewable energy,” said Obama while lobbying Congress, in January to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “They’re surging ahead of us, poised to take the lead in these new industries.”
“Their governments have harnessed their people’s hard work and ingenuity with bold investments — investments that are paying off in good, high-wage jobs — jobs they won’t lose to other countries,” said Obama. “There is no reason we can’t do the same thing right here in America. … In the process, we’ll put nearly half a million people to work building wind turbines and solar panels; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to new jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.”
Coupled with Cap and Trade, this green movement (as structured) is poised to be more than just a disaster to Texas. Instead of looking to the failed system of Spain, perhaps Obama should look to Texas instead. We do, after all, have the second highest number of sustainable green jobs in the country.