Now it turns out that story is nothing but a fairy tale.
For several years the public has been told that "green energy" --an expansive term that embraces renewable energy, pollution reduction, and conservation-- will create jobs in America, lots of jobs. And that the federal government must subsidize green energy to create these jobs.
Now it turns out that story is nothing but a fairy tale.
At a hearing Wednesday before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, the Inspector General of the Energy Department and an Assistant Inspector General of the Labor Department testified that funds authorized by Congress to create green jobs had not been spent or, if spent, had yielded meager results.
Elliot Lewis, the Labor Department's assistant IG for audit, testified that an audit of the Department's green jobs training program showed that only 2.5 percent of individuals originally enrolled were still employed in the jobs for which they were trained six months after the start of their job. Whether they had gone on to other jobs, green or otherwise, or become unemployed, the Department's tracking system did not say.
Gregory Friedman, IG of the Energy Department, testified that as of late October, 45 percent of funds appropriated by the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (the stimulus bill) for green energy had not been spent, because few "shovel ready" projects existed.
The testimony of the two IGs shows why green jobs programs have not succeeded in increasing employment. Instead, government money is either wasted, or unspent.
Mr. Friedman said, with regard to weatherization programs, "The main abuses were charging for work that wasn't completed or done at all, abusing priority sequence, premiums for things that could have been gotten for a lower cost."
Take the Green Jobs training sponsored by the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration. As of June 30, ETA had awarded $490 million of the $500 million provided by Congress for the program. The funds were awarded to state workforce agencies, community colleges, and nonprofits. Green jobs were defined as those "associated with products and services that use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution, and conserve natural resources."
ETA money trained some workers in green jobs such as hybrid- and electric-car auto mechanics, weatherization of buildings, and solar panel installation. Other workers received job referrals, training in basic workforce readiness skills, and credentials and support services to overcome employment barriers.
Yet, two-and-a-half years after Congress passed the Recovery Act and almost three-quarters of the way into the program, grantees had spent only $163 million, about a third of the funds earmarked for them.
With only 1,336 trainees still employed after six months, my simple mathematical calculation yields a taxpayer cost of $121,257 per job.
Perhaps it was a good thing, given the meager results, that so little was actually spent by the states.
Here's how the numbers break out. Out of 53,000 people who were served by the ETA programs, 47,000 enrolled in training. Of them, 26,000 completed training, and 8,000 found jobs. Of the 8,000, only 1,366 were employed six months later.
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