The Myth of Green Jobs

I don't claim special qualifications in the science of economics, but it seems obvious to me that the claim that green jobs are a benefit to the economy is plainly false. Here's my analysis:

Taking a macroeconomic view, it is a truism that the grand total of what we value - our homes, cars, cell phones, etc. - is the sum total of what we produce. A key word in that sentence is "value." Someone who goes into the business of making buggy whips today is not producing anything that adds to the economy because nobody will buy them - in other words, they have no value.

The same can be said of John Maynard Keynes (reputed) recommendation that in times of a depressed economy the government should hire people to dig holes and fill them in. Aside from the charitable aspect, this measure obviously doesn't add anything to the economy. The same can be said of "green jobs" because their incremental value in an economic sense is zero, or, more likely, negative.

Take the example of jobs associated with wind turbines for generating electricity. Wind energy is more expensive than other forms of energy, hence electricity generated by wind turbines doesn't add anything to the economy that cannot be generated at lower cost by other means.  The excess cost of the "green jobs" associated with wind energy is therefore no different in principle than hiring people to dig holes and fill them in.

Environmentalists will argue that wind energy has value because it contributes to saving the planet. OK, good enough, but let's be honest: the only value a consumer who is paying higher energy bills gets for his increased cost is the satisfaction, if that's the word, of knowing that he's contributing to "saving the planet." Whether the average consumer would be willing to pay the extra cost if it was explained to him that way (and he had a choice) would depend on how much the extra cost is and how tenuous the connection is between the cost and the environmental benefit. (A cost/benefit analysis is a topic for another day.)

What I object to is the claim that the green economy is a net benefit, what they call a "win-win." It is no such thing, and to claim otherwise is a fraud.