Green jobs? At $23 million a pop?

Published September 28, 2011
By Bruce McQuain

H
ow many times have we said the government shouldn’t be involved economically in picking winners and losers? And how many times have we seen examples of the government doing precisely that and the program ending up a disaster.

Solyndra, for instance. But political agendas rarely yield to the laws of economics so it is fairly easy to predict how they’ll end. The Obama administration’s “green jobs” agenda – again see Solyndra for the latest prime example – is a consummate failure. And a look at where that agenda is headed serves as an example of why what has been said right here (and many other places) continues to be true.

But in case you’ve missed it or are inclined to wave off what we might say here, here’s a guy from CATO:

Jerry Taylor, senior policy analyst for the free-market Cato Institute, says the whole program shows that the federal government should not be picking private-sector winners and losers.

"It’s a lot of money for very few jobs if you do the math," Taylor said. "If nobody in the private sector is willing to invest their capital, that’s a pretty good signal."

What is he talking about? Take a look at the chart.

Yes, those are Department of Energy numbers for the number of jobs that will be created for $6.5 billion in loan guarantees for the 9 companies in question. That’s right, $6.5 billion in guarantees will create 283 permanent jobs. That’s $23 million of your dollars (or borrowed money) per job.

Where’s the private investment? Why are these companies having to seek federal loan guarantees so they can get loans? If they’re viable, as Jerry Taylor points out, the private sector should be willing to invest in them.

Why aren’t they?

In fact, why, given that it appears the private sector is not willing to do so, is the DoE even considering these loans?

Because there’s an agenda at stake here. This isn’t about market viability or sound economics, it’s about trying to save an agenda that promised 5 million green jobs, remember.

And this is what you get. A failed Solyndra and 9 companies the private sector won’t invest in which may create 283 jobs. May. Government estimates about programs it supports have never been known to be overly optimistic, have they?

$23 million a pop for 283 jobs that may or may not materialize.

The fact that they’re even considering these loan guarantees tells you all you really need to know about how clueless they are.

And there are people that still wonder why there is a growing body of us out here wanting smaller, less costly and less intrusive government that binds itself to the limits of the Constitution?

Really?

~McQ