Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Calculus of Green Jobs

From today's Washington Post:
A $38.6 billion loan guarantee program that the Obama administration promised would create or save 65,000 jobs has created just a few thousand jobs two years after it began, government records show.

The program — designed to jump-start the nation’s clean technology industry by giving energy companies access to low-cost, government-backed loans — has directly created 3,545 new, permanent jobs after giving out almost half the allocated amount, according to Energy Department tallies.
From the DOE – Loan Program website – $17.204 billion in loans out of $38.6 billion in loans has already been given out creating 3,545 jobs.

That averages $4,852,000 per permanent job. Not exactly a bargain for taxpayers.
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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

~ F.A. Hayek

2 comments:

  1. I'm not a big fan of these programs either, but considering what the president has been handed, I wouldn't envy his position.

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  2. Tough times are fertile ground for greatness in Presidents, but we are a long way from greatness.

    ReplyDelete