Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Wonderful, Magical Animal   [Chris Horner]

Simpsons fans recall from "Lisa the Vegetarian" when Lisa lectures Homer that pork, bacon, and other delights come from the same animal. To which Homer replies condescendingly, "Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal."

Well, that's how the global warming industry view "green jobs" schemes. Pork and (Davis-) Bacon all from the same magical source.

We know why new investment in auto assembly does not go to Michigan but to Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky. In short and making no effort to put a fine point on it, this is to avoid the crushing weight of the collective bargaining agreements that killed American auto manufacturing.

We also know why the unions push "green jobs" so aggressively, despite the overwhelming evidence that the schemes harm employment (that is, reduce the overall work force). Since these jobs are effectively federally mandated — and certainly "federally" (that is, taxpayer-) funded — they are uniformly, de facto or de jure, Davis-Bacon or otherwise union jobs. So even if they kill jobs, at least they increase the union labor force. And that's really what's important.

Today's "E&E Daily" story should be viewed through that lens:

REGIONS: Group claims the South can rise again on 'green' jobs

Mmm. Yes. From a wonderful, magical pig called the taxpayer trough. Green jobs schemes kill jobs on net. Unions and greens have teamed up to promote these economic drains because it funnels taxpayer-funded workers, and therefore taxpayer funding, into the unions.

10/27 10:00 AMShare