ATR vs. Reality: Green Jobs in Colorado
Americans for Tax Reform claims Waxman-Markey will hurt Colorado. In reality, an increased investment in clean energy technology would create 28,000 Colorado jobs.
Americans For Tax Reform Gets It Wrong On Colorado Green Jobs
Americans for Tax Reform:
In our continuing, daily, state by state, look at the financial impact of the Waxman-Markey Cap and [Trade] Tax Bill, we will show you the projected losses in Gross State Product, Personal Income, and Non- Farm Jobs in Colorado.
Detailed information on this and other energy taxes can be found in the Americans for Tax Reform Energy Tax Analysis, May 2009.
Colorado:
According to a study by Karen Campbell, Ph.D. and David Kreutzer, Ph.D. at the Heritage Foundation, Colorado will suffer the following losses in 2012 as a result of Cap and Tax:
- A decline in Gross State Product of -$2,715,880,000.
- Total Personal Income Loss of -$3,575,970,000.
- Non-Farm Job losses of 28,702.[Americans for Tax Reform, 8/18/09]
Nothing could be further from the truth
Colorado Will Gain 28,000 Jobs From An Investment In Clean Energy Technologies. According to the Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute, Colorado could see "a net increase of about $2.6 billion in investment revenue and 28,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean energy investments. Adding 28,000 jobs to the Colorado labor market in 2008 would have brought the state's unemployment rate down to 3.9 percent from its actual 2008 level of 4.9 percent." [Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute, Clean-Energy Investment Create Jobs In Colorado, 6/17/09]
- Every Single State Will Gain Jobs From An Investment In Clean Energy Technologies. According to the Center for American Progress, investments in clean energy projects would create 1.7 million American jobs in every state in the country. [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]
Americans For Tax Reform Cites Heritage Foundation Study
ATR's post is based on a study by the Heritage Foundation, which receives significant funding from ExxonMobil.
The Heritage Foundation Received $50,000 From ExxonMobil In 2008. According to ExxonMobil's 2008 Worldwide Contributions and Community Investments disclosure, they donated $50,000 to the Heritage Foundation in 2008. [2008 Worldwide Contributions and Community Investments, accessed 8/3/09]
