It is self-evident to those of us here that the energy industry, (specifically oil and gas) not only creates jobs, but revenue for state and local government.
Not just jobs here in North Dakota and Montana, mind you.
Much of the equipment we use and the supplies consumed on the 200 rigs drilling here come out of (drum roll....) Texas. Many of the manufacturing jobs down there are linked to the oil and gas activity here (even though Mr. Perry is happy to take credit for that).
We do have 1% unemployment in the county I am in, you can't turn your head in town without seeing a "help wanted" sign, and the housing in the area is full up, with more under construction--so more 'booms' than just the oil industry.
Prosperity comes from creating wealth, extracting resources is part of the process.
I'm all for this approach toward getting America back on its feet, but it is a no-brainer to anyone who has taken an honest look at the economy, trade deficits, and the oil and gas industry.
Of course, that means people have to get over the programming that "Big Oil" is "evil", or that in many instances, that it is even "big".
Pennsylvania and Ohio are learning fast...
Texas has added 929,000 jobs since 2001, while California has lost approximately 635,000 manufacturing jobs in that same time, Stewart said...
"They're doing something right down there," Stewart said of what he dubs the "Texas miracle." "Gov. Perry will go anywhere, any time, to try to recruit companies into Texas."
Perry has taken the state's regulatory process and managed it himself, Stewart said………
[CA Economic Development Corporation President Mark] Lascelles emphasized that it does no good to belabor California's regulatory environment.
"Unfortunately, we can't avoid it. We have to deal with it," he said. Speaker focuses on job creation
MONTANA: Legal gamesmanship threatens our energy future “Texas Gov. Rick Perry is able to boast about job growth under his watch, noting that over 265,000 jobs, or nearly 37 percent of the jobs created nationwide since the summer of 2009, have been created in the Lone Star state.
He credits this growth to a few simple conditions: low taxes, a regulatory climate that is fair and predictable, and a legal system that limits frivolous lawsuits. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly one-fourth of the 70 companies that left California this year relocated to Texas.
When new or relocating companies and investors survey the landscape and consider Montana, what do they see? Well, when it comes to natural-resource development, the landscape looks risky...
Make no mistake, if Montana opposition groups continue to force developers to spend as much on attorneys as they do on engineers, they’ll invest elsewhere, and Montana will be left clawing to develop the jobs and tax revenue for schools, roads, water, sewer, and other basic services we continually struggle to provide.
“The common experience for Tongue River Railroad and Tonbridge Power is this: Even if you play by the rules, even if you follow the letter of the law, even if you engage with the public during a planning process, even if you get formal approval from the regulatory authorities, you are certain to face organized opposition whose sole intent is to frustrate project development to the point of financial starvation….”
“Prosperity comes from creating wealth, extracting resources is part of the process.”
Exactly.
Drilling, mining and logging are wealth multipliers.
Gold mining built San Francisco. Logging white pine in Wisconsin and Michigan in the latter part of the 19th century built St. Louis and Kansas City. How many cities in Texas were built around drilling for oil?
Thats a good point, that if we increase drilling, we can help strengthen the manufacturing industry as well. Everything from steel for pipes down to basket makers.
Im sure, especially in the Bakken and Marcellus plays, that out of work electricians, welders, and fabrication workers from Pennsylvania to Illinois would have new job opportunities, which could give some relief to the rust belt states.
As part of the support staff of a deepwater drilling company with few current plays in the US, I still see that we employ around 400 people. That includes accountants, mechanical engineers, administrative staff, and a whole host of others. If there were satellite offices up north to support the shale and gas plays, the industry could hire the same people in the hard hit areas.