Trump’s
incredibly dumb bet on coal
To watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7GV2H7jCzw
When Donald Trump was running for president, he talked a lot
about putting people back to work.
And one of the industries he focused on most was the coal industry. He even put on a hard hat and waved around a pick axe to show how much he loved coal.
And one of the industries he focused on most was the coal industry. He even put on a hard hat and waved around a pick axe to show how much he loved coal.
But there simply aren’t very many coal jobs to be had any more
in the U.S.
That’s not because of anything Obama did.
Coal jobs are decreasing because demand for coal is decreasing, and because machines now do much of the work.
That’s not because of anything Obama did.
Coal jobs are decreasing because demand for coal is decreasing, and because machines now do much of the work.
By contrast, in 2016, wind and solar energy provided more than 6
times the number of jobs as coal.
The trend is toward even more jobs in wind and solar, regardless of what Trump does.
The trend is toward even more jobs in wind and solar, regardless of what Trump does.
Solar energy is exploding worldwide, an almost sixfold increase
in just the last 5 years. But America ranks fifth in the production of
solar energy, behind China, Germany, Japan and Italy.
If we really want to lead - if we really want to join the New
Energy Economy - we have to go with the energy of the future, not the energy of
the past. The other option — the one Donald Trump is proposing – leaves us
following, not leading.
ROBERT B. REICH is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at
the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center
for Developing Economies. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton
administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective
cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books,
including the best sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of
Nations," and "Beyond Outrage," and, his most recent,
"Saving Capitalism." He is also a founding editor of the American
Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary,
INEQUALITY FOR ALL.
