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Green Job Subsidies Will Destroy Far More Jobs Than They Create



By Ben Lieberman
Don't let the hype about "green jobs" fool you. The global warming bill approved earlier this year by the House of Representatives would destroy far more jobs than it could ever possibly create.
Proponents of the bill's effort to reduce carbon emissions by imposing an enormously expensive cap-and-trade system are finding it a tough sell. The American people simply aren't buying the idea that global warming is a dire crisis that justifies a blank-check response. Reality is just not cooperating with doom-and-gloom global warming predictions. No warming has occurred for the last decade. And now the recession has heightened concerns about the economy and jobs.

As a result, proponents of the Waxman-Markey bill -- currently being debated in the Senate -- have changed their sales pitch. Rather than present this big energy tax as a costly but necessary step to save the planet, supporters now claim that it would be an economic boon, a green-job-generating machine.
For information on cap and trade, visit Heritage's Rapid Response page, which features research, commentary, blog posts, charts and additional policy resources.
Global Warming on the Hill:
It's shaping up to be a quiet week in Congress when it comes to global warming, as all eyes will be focused on health care. However, there will be plenty of closed-door activity. The cap-and-trade bill introduced last week by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was incomplete. They will spend the next couple of weeks trying to fill in the blanks to secure support among Senators who are justifiably concerned such a scheme could hurt their state and the nation’s economy. Senators Kerry and Boxer will have hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenues (read taxes) at their disposal to attempt to placate concerns and win over industry groups. Backroom deals, interest groups and hundreds of billions of dollars is never a good combination.