Dept of Labor IG: Obama’s green-jobs training program a flop
posted at 2:45 pm on October 5, 2011 by Ed Morrissey
It’s not as if we haven’t already learned what a failure Barack Obama’s green-tech stimulus has been in creating jobs. Solyndra collapsed with over a half-billion in taxpayer money out the door, wiping out a thousand jobs with it. After spending $17.2 billion of the $38.6 billion allocated for green-jobs stimulation, the programs have created a total of just over 3500 jobs, for a price tag of $4.85 million each. Now the Inspector General at the Department of Labor has recommended the shutdown of a green-jobs training program that has only placed 15% of its participants:
A $500 million green jobs program at the Department of Labor has so far provided only 15 percent of current participants with jobs, leading the agency’s inspector general to recommend that the bulk of the money be returned to the Treasury.
The program, which was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aims to find employment for almost 80,000 people by providing grants for labor exchange and job training projects. With those grants expiring over the next 15 months, IG officials concluded that the program would fail to come close to that target.
So how many workers has this program actually placed? As of June 30th … 8,035, or about a tenth of what was projected after burning through 40% of the funding. That actually comes to a surprisingly modest $25,000 per job placement. However, that total includes temp jobs; only 1,336 people found jobs lasting longer than 6 months.
In other words, this is just like Obamanomics in general. It provides a short-term gimmicky gain at incredible expense that is designed to do nothing except give politicians a headline and a photo op. It would be cheaper in the long run to buy politicians a camera and get them a blog.
Blowback
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If you oppose the $88 million billion slated for the Unicorn training farm, you oppose creating hundreds of jobs in the unicorn training industry.
mankai on October 5, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Ataaaaaaaaaaaaack Waaaaaaaaatch!!!
(It’s been a little while)
DrAllecon on October 5, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Reminds of the Monty Python skit:
mankai on October 5, 2011 at 2:55 PM
This is why Newt, if he expects to have any chance at being the nominee, needs to get off of his job training program talking point. People who don’t have jobs more than likely are already trained for their job, it’s just that companies are not hiring.
Kissmygrits on October 5, 2011 at 2:59 PM
$4.85 million per job = Obamanomics.
The logical question is: How can any rational, sane person vote for Barack Obama in the next election? This man is not only a throwback, neo-Luddite, statist ideologue, he’s an incompetent one at that.
Sometimes I think that B.O. might go down as the worst president of all time.
visions on October 5, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Maybe we could all save a lot of time and trouble and just whip up a list of the policies and or programs he has spent billions on which have had measurable success.
Lily on October 5, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Welcome to the News of the Obvious…
HomeoftheBrave on October 5, 2011 at 3:08 PM
Am I heartless if I oppose unicorn programs?
IlikedAUH2O on October 5, 2011 at 3:09 PM
“Things are looking up” –Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
Schadenfreude on October 5, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Now that’s just crazy talk…
/
Seven Percent Solution on October 5, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Well the answer is obvious. SPEND MORE MONEY ON IT!
GarandFan on October 5, 2011 at 3:13 PM
The new liberal mantra….
Stuck on stupid and stayin that way!
Notice how I dropped the g on stayin? Huh? It must be cool. Everyone thinks so, when Obama does it. LOL
capejasmine on October 5, 2011 at 3:14 PM
This administration has not had ONE success throughout its current term. Everything he touches turns to sh#$. Remember the Olympics coming to Chicago. What a disaster, a one boy wrecking crew. An experiment gone horribly wrong. Also, he has done nothing for Christianity but a whole lot for Islam.
rjoco1 on October 5, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Debbie Clowner calls it a success.
rbj on October 5, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Fox did a segment the other day suggesting that University of Central Florida plans to return the money since they can’t place the graduates. I’m not finding that information anywhere else.
Cindy Munford on October 5, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Sorry, had to add in the important bits you forgot to include.
Midas on October 5, 2011 at 3:26 PM
Depends on your definition of ‘success’.
By yours and mine? Yeah, he’s not had any ‘success’.
By a definition that includes destroying the economy, rights, freedoms, etc? Quite successful, in fact.
Midas on October 5, 2011 at 3:28 PM
QUICK !!
Get that money back to the Treasury, before somebody manages to re-route it to Dem bundlers !
QUICK !!
pambi on October 5, 2011 at 3:28 PM
…..and who was it that was criticizing private post secondary training schools (be a healthcare professional, aircraft mechanic etc.)???
FOWG1 on October 5, 2011 at 3:29 PM
Sometimes I think so, too.
The rest of the time, I know so.
Midas on October 5, 2011 at 3:29 PM
Obstructionist Republicans are responsible for that. Totally!
a capella on October 5, 2011 at 3:34 PM
Govt job-training programs are universally very ineffective. Now some lib will point out how the GI bill educated millions after WWII. No, the govt just sent checks. They didn’t educate anyone. The colleges and universities did that.
Paul-Cincy on October 5, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Not many people want to put itchy insulation in attics and walls.Even the illegals won’t do it in Texas.
docflash on October 5, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Well, if we weren’t in the middle of a Bush recession…
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Ward Cleaver on October 5, 2011 at 4:16 PM
Little did we know that “green jobs” meant only the green taxpayers would fork over for an idiotic program that would create few jobs.
katablog.com on October 5, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Looks like more legacy from Van Jones’ redistribute wealth via green technology technique. The watermelons keep popping up.
So who is still heading these scams? Is it just Obama’s leadership now?
AnonymousDrivel on October 5, 2011 at 4:23 PM
Green jobs: a “Titanically” poor strategery by PBHO…
Khun Joe on October 5, 2011 at 4:23 PM
I’ve got a deal for the government… I’m willing to leave my job for the bargain price of $4.5 million, freeing up the position for someone else. How about it?
malclave on October 5, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Actually, I’ve seen quite a flurry of activity being performed by products of Green Jobs Training. They are caulking a bunch of falling down shacks here in Baton Rouge this summer.
Now who was able to get the grants to have their substandard Section 8 housing caulked, I’m not sure.
Kermit on October 5, 2011 at 4:48 PM
Let’s face it, the entire “Green Jobs, Green Energy, Green Economy” thing is nothing but a scam, that’s all its ever been and now it’s starting to be exposed as the scam it is. Why put Van Jones, whoever he is, in the White House as a the “Green Czar”? Here’s a man with no training, experience, or knowledge of “green” technology, all he knows is communism and wealth redistribution. Solyndra will be exposed as nothing but a money laundering program for Democratic fund raisers, as have been other loan guarantee programs for “green” companies. As always, follow the money. $4.85 million per job? Come on, where did that money really go?
Trafalgar on October 5, 2011 at 6:09 PM
Green jobs:
Training ex-NASA scientists how to manufacture buggy whips.
landlines on October 5, 2011 at 8:02 PM
Yeah, but the stimulus saved those jobs before they were lost!
disa on October 5, 2011 at 9:31 PM