Top 10 Stories of 2009 - #5: What, oil execs don't [heart] green jobs?
Today we continue our series of the Top Stories of 2009 here at Facing South. You can see numbers 6 to 10 here, here, here, here and here. And coming in at #5 ...
Take your mind, for a moment, back to early 2009: The economy is in shambles. Jobs are scarce. (OK, that sounds like right now, but work with me.)
Congress and Obama are talking about a big stimulus bill to jump-start recovery, including green jobs.
And then, as if out of thin air, a storm of angryastroturf grassroots protesters descends on Congressional offices demanding that Washington ... do nothing. Where did THAT come from?
Big Oil money helped. Leading the no-stimulus charge was a secretive conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which had mastered the art of taking money from Big Guys and funneling the cash -- and right-wing talking points -- to Little Guys on the ground.
Sue Sturgis connected the dots here at Facing South in mid-February: Americans forthe Prosperous Prosperity was founded in 2003 with money from the Charles G. KochCharitable Foundation, run by the billionaires at Koch Industries -- the nation's largest privately heldoil and gas company.
So we pointed out that, aside from the whole pro-corporate, anti-progressive thing, Koch/AfP might have a specific reason to fight a "green jobs" stimulus bill:
AfP has never met an environmental cause they didn't hate. As we reported in 2008, the group sponsored a "Hot Air Tour" fighting what they call "global warming alarmism."
Which is exactly what Big Oil executives from Kansas would like you to think.
Take your mind, for a moment, back to early 2009: The economy is in shambles. Jobs are scarce. (OK, that sounds like right now, but work with me.) Congress and Obama are talking about a big stimulus bill to jump-start recovery, including green jobs.
And then, as if out of thin air, a storm of angry
Big Oil money helped. Leading the no-stimulus charge was a secretive conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which had mastered the art of taking money from Big Guys and funneling the cash -- and right-wing talking points -- to Little Guys on the ground.
Sue Sturgis connected the dots here at Facing South in mid-February: Americans for
So we pointed out that, aside from the whole pro-corporate, anti-progressive thing, Koch/AfP might have a specific reason to fight a "green jobs" stimulus bill:
Why would an organization funded by oil and gas interests be hostile to the economic stimulus plan? Could it be the $50 billion the bill offers for more sustainable energy alternatives? [T]he stimulus bill allocates $5 billion toweatherize more than a million modest-income homes and another $6.3billion to install energy-saving insulation, windows and furnaces infederally funded housing projects.It also offers a tax credit of up to $7,500 for families that buyplug-in hybrid cars, and includes $500 million for green jobs training.In other words, a group running off oil profits might not think going green is such a hot idea.
AfP has never met an environmental cause they didn't hate. As we reported in 2008, the group sponsored a "Hot Air Tour" fighting what they call "global warming alarmism."
Which is exactly what Big Oil executives from Kansas would like you to think.
Tags
Chris Kromm
Chris Kromm is executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of the Institute's online magazine, Facing South.