The department of economics has been so successful at recruiting majors that we want to double the number of students that are forced to major in economics

Lobbying for subsidies creates bizzarre logic and here is an example (www.newsobserver.com):

Solar energy is proving so successful in North Carolina that industry advocates want to double the amount of sun-powered electricity that is required by state law.

A bill introduced Monday in the General Assembly would raise North Carolina's solar energy requirement to 0.4 percent of all retail electricity sold by electric utilities by 2018. The current requirement, set by the state's sweeping 2007 green energy law, is 0.2 percent. ...

If the mandate is not increased, solar advocates fear, Duke Energy and Progress Energy are likely to stop at their 0.2 percent requirement, rather than continue buying one of the most expensive forms of green energy. ...

In other words, if a firm is not forced to purchase an input that doesn't minimize costs then it will not purchase them. In my mind a successful industry is producing a product that people WANT to buy. So, how is the solar industry successful?

The solar bill's sponsors are mostly Republicans in the state House: Tom Murry of Wake County, Ruth Samuelson of Mecklenburg County, Chuck McGrady of Henderson County and Tim Moffitt of Buncombe County. The lone Democratic sponsor is James Crawford Jr. of Granville and Vance counties.

Murry's primary interest is job creation, not alternative energy. Southern Energy Management is in his district, and solar advocates had briefed him on the industry's creation of nearly 2,000 jobs in manufacturing, maintenance and installation by about 170 companies to date.

The N.C. Sustainable Energy Association estimates that boosting the solar mandate will result in the creation of 6,000 jobs.

As always, I'd rather we consider success in the economically appropriate manner (i.e., margin). In this case that margin is whether the true benefits of the increase in solar power exceed the true costs. The benefits are the improved health, visibility and recreation that results from improved air quality. The costs are the increased costs of production from the more expensive renewable sources. Increased jobs are part of the cost equation, not evidence that the solar industry is successful.