The Green Job Lie
Today we are being told of the purported economic payoffs of, above all, the promise of so-called “green jobs.” Unfortunately, that does not measure up to economic reality.
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On the face of it, green-job creation seems straightforward. Deploying more wind turbines and solar panels creates a need for more builders, technicians, tradespeople, and specialist employees. Voilà: simply by investing in green policies, we have not only helped the climate, but also lowered unemployment. Indeed, this is the essence of many studies that politicians are eagerly citing. So what did those analyses get wrong? The biggest problem in these analyses is that they often fail to recognize the higher costs or job losses that these policies will cause.
