Bishop says each new 'green job' may kill 2 other jobs

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, worries that President Barack Obama's call for creating more environmentally friendly "green jobs" will actually destroy two jobs for every one that it creates.

He and other Republicans say that is exactly what happened in Spain with its green-jobs initiative — even though Obama has used Spain and other European countries as models for creating more U.S. green jobs and helping the economy at the same time.

Members of the Congressional Western Caucus, chaired by Bishop, had a roundtable discussion Tuesday with Gabriel Calzada, author of a study on Spain's green-job efforts.

They said it shows that Spain's program killed two jobs for every new job it created by leading some industries to move out of Spain because of higher energy costs coming from the green-jobs initiative. It also said that nine of every 10 green jobs created by Spain in the past decade no longer exist.

"So-called green jobs in Spain are more myth than reality," said. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. "Spain spent $774,000 to create each green job. … It found that creating those jobs resulted in the destruction of nearly 113,000 jobs elsewhere, or 2.2 jobs destroyed for every green job."

Bishop said, "In today's economy, where many families are struggling to simply make ends meet, it is nonsensical to 'create' one job at the expense of two others."

Bishop added, "Instead of the government robbing Peter to pay Paul, immediate efforts must be focused toward viable long-term solutions that stimulate market-driven job creation."

Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said, "Dr. Calzada said Spain's jobless rate is at 17.4 percent, as solar and wind industries lose thousands of jobs. That is not what we want for this country."

U.S. environmental groups have criticized Calzada's study, saying it ignores that Spain's current high employment level is still lower than it was before the green-jobs program began, and said Spain's bursting real estate bubble led to most of its job losses.

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