10/22/09

What happened to all of that Stimulus money…

In the last year, we have seen a safety net placed under the financial system, and a really dramatic comeback of the stock market, but now we’re hearing that we’ve seen most of the positive effects of the Stimulus package:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/10/22/romer-predicts-high-jobless-rate-through-election-year/

The Stimulus is in the form of grants, loans, and contracts:

http://www.recovery.gov/

predominantly in government grants:

http://www07.grants.gov/

The only silver lining in all of this would be all of the green jobs created by the stimulus. You may have noticed that a high percentage of the grants are in the area of developing “green energy” projects. Those jobs are believed to be relatively high paying. Some of them are entry level:

1.       http://www.greencareersguide.com/Solar-Power.html

2.       Women urged to tap into green jobs

This article explains some of the rationale concerning all of the expenditure in the Green sector:

Are Green Jobs Good Jobs?

Many clean-technology jobs pay well, according to a report released Wednesday by the research firm Clean Edge and PayScale, an online compensation data company.

Lawmakers, clean-technology companies and out-of-work employees are hoping that green jobs can replace some of the millions of jobs lost in the recession. But controversy over the wages for these jobs has raised some dispute about whether green jobs are good jobs.

A United States Senate Subcommittee on Green Jobs report earlier this year, for example, found low pay in wind and solar energy, green construction, and recycling workplaces, with jobs in recycling processing paying as low as $8.25 an hour and jobs in renewable-energy factories paying as little as $11 an hour.

According to that report, many wind and solar factories pay below the national average for workers manufacturing durable goods, and most green carpenters, roofers, painters and laborers earn less than $12.50 per hour.

The findings from the PayScale and Clean Edge survey strike something of a counterpoint to that study.

The median earnings found in the survey range from $36,100 a year for an insulation worker to $112,000 a year for design engineering managers in alternative energy, according to Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale.

All the jobs PayScale found were “very reasonably paid,” Mr. Lee said, adding that several entry-level positions — including jobs as solar-energy system installers and solar fabrication technicians — require only high school or associate’s degrees and pay more than $40,000 annually.

“It’s not like working the McDonald’s line,” he said.