"Green Jobs"--The New Sub-Prime? (the plan to add "carbon-intensive" tariff on Chinese goods)

Powerline ^ | 4/18/2009 | John Hindraker

[SeekAndFind]

At dinner on Friday night I was talking with an intelligent young woman who seemed shocked at my suggestion that it is a bad idea for the government to subsidize the creation of "green jobs." Given that it was a dinner conversation, I couldn't get much farther than the observation that "you cannot create wealth by subsidizing the inefficient production of energy." I'm afraid that her dismay would be shared by many relatively well-informed people.

This analogy might help to convey the danger lurking behind the friendly color green. In the London Times, Dominic Lawson writes: "Beware green jobs, the new sub-prime." Lawson doesn't fully develop the theme--he focuses mostly on electricity-powered automobiles--but these excerpts are suggestive:

Remember sub-prime mort-gages? Now universally excoriated as the spawn of the devil, the proximate cause of the credit crunch and all that followed, a few years back "sub-prime" was everyone's darling. Financiers loved it because it generated sumptuously high-yielding debt instruments; governments, because it promised to make even the poor into proud property owners.

Now business lobbyists and governments on both sides of the Atlantic have got a new big idea. They call it "green jobs". Leading the pack is, as you might expect, Barack Obama. The president recently defended a vast package of subsidies for renewable energy on the grounds that it would "create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries". ...

Electoral bribes apart, there is a more serious misconception behind the idea that ploughing subsidies into the "green economy" is a sure-fire way of boosting domestic employment. At best it will move people from one economic activity to another. Labour's plans would subsidise car production workers to move from making conventional models to electric vehicles, which hardly anyone wants to buy. Osborne's proposals would subsidise the double-glazing and home insulation industry and suck in many workers gainfully employed (without subsidy) elsewhere.

The key to a successful, wealth-generating economy is productivity. Saving energy is what businesses have done already, because it lowers their production costs. The problem with any form of subsidy is that it makes the consumer (through hidden taxes) pay to keep inherently uneconomic businesses "profitable". ...

Obama's energy secretary, Steven Chu, had some soothing words for US manufacturing companies that complained that the new policy will make them even less competitive with Chinese exporters, since the people's republic has indicated that it has no intention of inflicting a similar increase in energy costs on its own producers. He suggested that America might have to introduce some sort of "carbon-intensive" tariff on Chinese goods. One of China's envoys, Li Gao, immediately retorted that such a carbon tariff would be a "disaster", since it could lead to global trade war.

Actually, Mr Li is right: and this is how an achingly fashionable and well-intentioned plan to create "millions of new green jobs" could instead end up making the global economy even sicker than it is already.

"Green jobs"--every time you hear that phrase, grab your wallet and run.

[SteamShovel]

Labour's plans would subsidise car production workers to move from making conventional models to electric vehicles, which hardly anyone wants to buy.

Wonderful strategy for an economic train wreck.....

.....Force automobiles to use electricity

.....Oppose new, higher efficient super-critical coal generating stations

.....Use CO2 cap and trade to begin shutting down the existing coal generating stations

.....De-fund Yuka Mountain and put the future of nuclear power in question

.....Propose we plaster the countryside with wind and solar installations and all the connecting wires

We are heading toward a SEVERE energy shortage because of these nutcases.

Wind and Solar WILL NOT CUT IT, and they know it.

Their answer is the stupid smartgrid. Forced brown and blackouts of people who don't play by their rules and use almost no power.

I am sure their other answer to the electric car problem is to live within 2 miles of work in an urban center.

[Sgt_Schultze]

The only thing green Zero has to offer is ...

Green as in ENVY

The community agitator is adept at pitting one American against another. He is adept as playing up the frustrations of regular folks against folks who have more. He is adept at playing to the desires of a group that want punish another person's success.

[upcountryhorseman]

How many “green jobs” will be generated after all those
extremely inefficent solar panels are installed?

[ripley]

“Green Jobs; The New Subprime?”

Nah. Just the same old excuse for raising taxes by the left wing internationalist scu&bags.

IMHO

[EVO X]

How many “green jobs” will be generated after all those extremely inefficent solar panels are installed?

Not sure, but you can't count on lawyers getting in on the action..

[Brett66]

a carbon tariff would be a "disaster", since it could lead to global trade war.

I knew they could come up with a rationale for Smoot-Hawley II.

[Dittoette]

I thought corporate welfare was bad.