Investor’s Business Daily: “Remember the promise that green jobs would flourish in California? Well, here’s the reality: The cost of going green is actually lost jobs.”

. . . The report said that “California green businesses have increased 45% in number and 36% in employment from 1995 to 2008 while total jobs in California expanded only 13%.”
Which sounds impressive. But let’s give it some context.
While Next 10, a self-described “independent, nonpartisan organization focused on innovation and the intersection between the economy, the environment, and quality of life issues for all Californians,” looked just at green jobs, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office looked at what the Global Warming Solutions Act will actually do to the overall economy. The picture is not rosy.
“It seems most likely to us that implementation of (the global warming legislation) will result in the near term in California job losses, even after recognizing that many of the programs phase in over time,” wrote legislative analyst Mac Taylor, who questioned the reliability of the Air Resources Board’s optimistic estimate.
The analyst declined to project the long-term effects, saying they were unknown. But the reasons for the job losses — higher energy prices, changes in the types of energy used, vehicle fuel standards, business contractions and relocations, regulatory compliance — aren’t likely to change. This strongly suggests that job losses will go on beyond the near term.
At one time, California was known for its overflow of original ideas that helped move the country forward. Sacramento’s global warming bill, however, is a mistake the rest of the states, as well as Washington, should learn from.