Busting the Myth of Green Jobs May 4, 2009

Hosted by The Heritage Foundation.

Central to the new administration’s economic recovery plan is President Obama’s goal to create and sustain five million “green-collar” jobs – using tools such as cap-and-trade to dramatically increase the cost of conventional energy so that new industries focused on renewable and alternative energy can become competitive, grow their market, and start employing American workers.

To sell that plan to the American people, the President has often invoked the example of Spain – a nation with more than a decade of experience using taxpayer resources to subsidize “green” industries. However, a new study by Spanish economist and professor Gabriel Calzada reveals, Spain’s green jobs experience is much more a cautionary tale than a blueprint for success.

Join Dr. Calzada, along with Institute for Energy Research (IER) economist Robert Murphy, York College (Pa.) professor Tom Bogart, and Heritage energy analyst Ben Lieberman, to explore the lessons of Spain, and examine some of the fundamental flaws in the green jobs-as-an-economic-salve line of argument.

Official Website: http://www.heritage.org/press/events/ev050409c.cfm