The Energy Efficient New Liberal Order

Last week, the American Council of Energy Efficiency (ACEEE) released their 5^th annual report on energy efficient states at the National Press Club in Washington, DC in another futile and laughable attempt to bolster the liberals’ “new energy economy” with hot air rather than actual, um…energy.

Or jobs.

Jobs seem to be not just optional, but unnecessary when it comes to the New Energy economy the New Liberal Order is creating for us all.

In the New Energy economy they probably want to “people” the jobs with energy efficient robots that will vote the straight union ticket and take a paycheck that goes to 100 percent to union dues.

That would be even easier for Obama to rule over than his expressed desire to rule over the Chinese.   

The ACEEE report showed that for the first time Massachusetts knocked California off the top of the list as the most energy efficient state. Also making the top ten were New York, Oregon, Vermont, District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Connecticut and Maryland.    

The states that ranked worst in energy efficiency were South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming.

“Clearly, 2011 has not been kind to our economy, but energy efficiency remains a growth sector that attracts investment and creates jobs,” said Michael Sciortino, ACEEE senior policy analyst and the report’s lead author.

Investment maybe, thanks to an out of control federal government writing checks to any donor who promises to write a check back to the Democrat war chest.

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But jobs? No.

Because when you look at the average unemployment numbers of the most efficient and least efficient states, the stats show that the more energy efficient states lag their lesser efficient brethren by 1.1 percentage points in unemployment.

The least efficient states enjoy average unemployment rate of 7.48 percent while the most energy efficient states have an average rate at 9 percent joblessness, right around the US average. That’s a 12 percent advantage in jobs for the big energy users; and more than just statistical noise.       

“A sour U.S. economy, tight state budgets, and a failure by Congress to adopt a comprehensive energy strategy have not slowed the growing momentum among U.S. states toward increased energy efficiency,” said the accompanying press release by the ACEEE.

This shows the complete disconnect that Democrats have when it comes to creating an energy policy that actually, um…works.

And here’s more evidence:

“Illinois is a purposeful leader in the area of sustainability, investing more than $600 million in energy efficiency projects over the last four years alone,” Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Warren Ribley told the ACEEE with apparently a straight face.

Illinois, under Democrat Pat Quinn, ranks 17^th in energy efficiency according to ACEEE presumably because the president subsidizes the state with much of his own hot air.  

Illinois is tied at 17^th with Michigan in the ACEEE rankings.

The folks in Peoria, however, have to be wondering how the state can be spending $600 million on energy efficient programs when facing an $8 billion budget deficit- $5.5 billion of which is just unpaid bills- despite raising corporate taxes by 45 percent this year with personal income taxes going up 66 percent.

Companies such as Motorola, Caterpillar, Jimmy Johns, US Cellular and even the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have threatened to leave Illinois over rising government costs.

Remember: Illinois is a "purposeful leader." [Cough, hack].     

Illinois ranks 41^st in unemployment in the US, coming in at a 10 percent rate, while fellow energy efficient state Michigan ranks 48^th at 11.1 percent joblessness.  

But it’s not just the false New Energy Economy that’s a culprit here.

Not one of the top ten most energy-efficient-greatest-in-the-world-states is a right-to-work state, while the seven of the 10 most energy-draining-scowl-faced states are right-to-work states.

It’s funny how efficient you can be when you let the free markets work.

Free markets are operative in both energy and employment.

The Least Energy Efficient States (Plus DC) 

The Most Energy Efficient States (Plus DC)