Jim Kouri
Obama "fake" green jobs program slammed in Congressional report
By Jim Kouri
Facing arguably the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, President Barack Obama responded with a green jobs agenda as a major component of his recovery strategy, according to a report released by the House of Representatives' Government Oversight Committee.
While the recovery from the economic downturn Obama claims he inherited from the Bush Administration is moving at a snail's pace, an examination of the "green" revolution in America reveals little, if any, progress, according to the Congressional report.
Combined with restrictions on domestic energy production, the net effect has not been employment opportunities that were forecast by Obama's staff. On the contrary, there have been a significant number of jobs lost and a failure to even approach Obama's promised goal of creating five million jobs within ten years.
"With unemployment at a staggering 9.1 percent, President Obama's green energy subsidy experiment has done little to create jobs or speed recovery. In fact, by many measures, it has destroyed jobs," Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) stated.
"When you combine heavy federal promotion of alternative energy with a concerted campaign to restrict domestic energy production, you have a recipe for what we are experiencing right now: a stagnant economy," Issa added.
Evidence presented in the report highlights the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using questionable accounting methods to count "green jobs" even though the term is vague, poorly defined, and such jobs are difficult to accurately count.
"The BLS method of reporting job creation statistics borders on fraud, especially when those statistics are used to bolster the political ambitions of a President and his political party," said political consultant Mike Baker.
"What we are left with are fake jobs or jobs created at exorbitant prices, such as when a 'green' company created 1,000 jobs with over $500,000 of taxpayer money," Baker added.
The report documents President Obama's efforts to follow many European nations down a path of heavy subsidization to promote alternative energy at the expense of traditional, carbon-based sources. The report outlines how these efforts have failed abroad and in the U.S., and at what cost to the economy.
It also points out that the guise of "green jobs" has become a rallying cry for a political coalition comprised of environmentalists and union leadership to consolidate an ideologically-based agenda, and notes that many federal green jobs programs have strings attached that require union workers, union-level wages and other mandates.
Seemingly at cross-purposes, the Obama Administration has simultaneously promoted traditional energy sources around the world through loans, grants and diplomacy, while actively discouraging it at home.
For example, while enforcing a moratorium on oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, the White House not only allowed the Mexican to drill in the gulf, but also contributed money as part of an economic aid program.
The Obama Administration's green jobs agenda has also been driven by appearances of political favoritism in the case of Solyndra, a firm that received more than $500 million in publicly-backed loan guarantees.
"There is bipartisan agreement in Congress that all energy solutions need to be on the table, but in a time of unprecedented economic distress and record-high federal budget deficits, the federal government needs to be prudent in investing its limited resources and protect the interests of taxpayers," Congressman Issa said.
Affordable energy has been and will continue to be the lifeblood for entrepreneurs and job creators in our economy. Until we ensure this goal is achieved, we will continue to see a stalled economy," he concluded.
© Jim Kouri
October 6, 2011
Facing arguably the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, President Barack Obama responded with a green jobs agenda as a major component of his recovery strategy, according to a report released by the House of Representatives' Government Oversight Committee.
While the recovery from the economic downturn Obama claims he inherited from the Bush Administration is moving at a snail's pace, an examination of the "green" revolution in America reveals little, if any, progress, according to the Congressional report.
Combined with restrictions on domestic energy production, the net effect has not been employment opportunities that were forecast by Obama's staff. On the contrary, there have been a significant number of jobs lost and a failure to even approach Obama's promised goal of creating five million jobs within ten years.
"With unemployment at a staggering 9.1 percent, President Obama's green energy subsidy experiment has done little to create jobs or speed recovery. In fact, by many measures, it has destroyed jobs," Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) stated.
"When you combine heavy federal promotion of alternative energy with a concerted campaign to restrict domestic energy production, you have a recipe for what we are experiencing right now: a stagnant economy," Issa added.
Evidence presented in the report highlights the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using questionable accounting methods to count "green jobs" even though the term is vague, poorly defined, and such jobs are difficult to accurately count.
"The BLS method of reporting job creation statistics borders on fraud, especially when those statistics are used to bolster the political ambitions of a President and his political party," said political consultant Mike Baker.
"What we are left with are fake jobs or jobs created at exorbitant prices, such as when a 'green' company created 1,000 jobs with over $500,000 of taxpayer money," Baker added.
The report documents President Obama's efforts to follow many European nations down a path of heavy subsidization to promote alternative energy at the expense of traditional, carbon-based sources. The report outlines how these efforts have failed abroad and in the U.S., and at what cost to the economy.
It also points out that the guise of "green jobs" has become a rallying cry for a political coalition comprised of environmentalists and union leadership to consolidate an ideologically-based agenda, and notes that many federal green jobs programs have strings attached that require union workers, union-level wages and other mandates.
Seemingly at cross-purposes, the Obama Administration has simultaneously promoted traditional energy sources around the world through loans, grants and diplomacy, while actively discouraging it at home.
For example, while enforcing a moratorium on oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, the White House not only allowed the Mexican to drill in the gulf, but also contributed money as part of an economic aid program.
The Obama Administration's green jobs agenda has also been driven by appearances of political favoritism in the case of Solyndra, a firm that received more than $500 million in publicly-backed loan guarantees.
"There is bipartisan agreement in Congress that all energy solutions need to be on the table, but in a time of unprecedented economic distress and record-high federal budget deficits, the federal government needs to be prudent in investing its limited resources and protect the interests of taxpayers," Congressman Issa said.
Affordable energy has been and will continue to be the lifeblood for entrepreneurs and job creators in our economy. Until we ensure this goal is achieved, we will continue to see a stalled economy," he concluded.
© Jim Kouri
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