Measure B is about jobs

Measure B, the solar energy and job creation measure on the March ballot, couldn’t come at a better time. The unemployment rate is about to hit double digits in Los Angeles and the economy could certainly use a boost.
One of the most important−and underreported−aspects of Measure B is that it aims at creating good jobs with benefits and that it establishes a training academy aimed at preparing Angelenos to fill those jobs.
It is estimated that for every megawatt of clean, renewable energy generation we consturct, 200 jobs are created. Measure B will create 400 megawatts of energy. That means 80,000 jobs in Los Angeles.
This isn’t speculation. Wherever there has been a commitment to renewable energy generation, there has been job creation. Japan, Germany, India and China are all far ahead of the United States in the use of clean, renewable solar energy, and in understanding the powerful economic engine that renewable
The small group of whiners that are trying to oppose Measure B find this horrifying. Give people good jobs at good wages with union benefits? Holy cow! They would rather we continue to rely on fossil fuels or buy our solar power from private companies through “power purchase agreements” that have automatic escalator clauses and employ low-wage non-union labor so that the money goes to the companies and not the workers, and certainly not workers in Los Angeles.
Measure B is about putting together one solution to two urgent needs that Los Angeles has: green energy and good jobs. It is way past time to take action.