Tuesday, September 16, 2008
New Oil and Gas Production: It’s about the jobs, stupid
by Charles W. Fairbanks
The environmental extremists have done everything they can to stop Americans from producing new sources of energy. They also claim to be the friend of the working man. Poppycock. Working class Americans are the ones who are hurt the most when we adopt leftist energy policies. There are millions of great jobs that new drilling and mining will unleash.
Sarah Palin is changing the terms of the energy debate. She has governed a state that produces enough energy to be a member of OPEC, and, like a dozen American states, has vast untapped mineral reserves. Because she has presided over Alaska, and because she has stood up to the oil companies, she is the ideal leader to change the debate, and therefore our nation’s future.
The national conversation on energy is improving. One thing that has been missing from the national conversation is the good jobs that will be gained when we get back to energy sanity. I lived in Louisiana for eight years. Louisiana is a top-notch oil producing state. During my invovlement in the public life of Louisiana, I gained a good level of familiarity with the oil and gas economy.
When the oil industry is booming, there are a lot of good jobs for working class Americans. There are millions of very talented, entrepreneurial and energetic Americans. However, not all of them aspire to attend the hallowed halls of Princeton or Columbia, and not all of them excel in the classroom. In Louisiana, there were good opportunities for such people, opportunities to do something other than work in a government office or flip burgers. Many blue collar jobs in the energy industry are very good paying jobs.
When we purchase oil and gas from our enemies in Iran, Venezuela and Russia, we deny hundreds of thousands of good Americans the chance to earn a six figure income. Shame on us. During the campaign, this blog will examine the impact of producing our own energy in terms of numbers of jobs, enhancement to the GDP and yes, tax revenues. Stay tuned.
