By Douglas V. Gibbs
The liberal denial of the Keystone Pipeline is actually pretty confusing. I get the whole environmentalist thing, and I know that Obama is in trouble so he will do anything to draw back in his base like the nutty environmentalists, but logic doesn't seem to be working here.
Hmmm, did I just use "logic" and "Obama" in the same sentence?
The liberal left is constantly screaming about how we are "dependent" on Middle Eastern oil. We keep buying oil from our enemies, and that is a bad thing. Now, our ally and neighbor to the north, Canada for those of you that are geography impaired, has all kinds of oil they want to sell to us, and all we need to do is build a pipeline (wow, job creation too!) to get it down here. Win-win for everybody. . . except the liberals because the possibility of a leak on a pipeline (don't we have miles and miles and miles of pipeline that isn't leaking?).
By the way, we already import more oil from Canada than any other country.
Anyway, if we don't take it, they will sell it somewhere, and they are talking communist China.
Cheap oil, local oil, and not from the Middle East oil. . . but they won't.
Oh, did I say that it would create jobs to build the pipeline, too?
What is wrong with these people?
"Logic" and "liberals" doesn't seem to work in the same sentence, either.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Obama Rejecting Pipeline, Pokes Back At GOP - National Journal
"did I say that it would create jobs to build the pipeline, too?"
ReplyDeleteSome of the political rhetoric about jobs is overblown. I believe that I heard a politico speak about 85,000 jobs.
Well maybe 85,000 job positions over 10 years.
What does this (or any other figure) mean? Positions open today to build the actual segments of pipe will close when enough pipe has been manufactured. Design engineers are working now, but their work ends soon. Construction workers will soon lay the pipe, but down the pipeline (excuse the pun) they'll be laid off. Soon manufacturers of the "pigs" -- robots that examine the pipeline's integrity -- are gearing up to sell a few of these. If these manufacturers don't get new contracts, they'll furlough their employees.
New construction of state-of-the-art refineries tie up capital before there is any return. So, oil companies will come to us taxpayers, hat in hand, for all sorts of concessions to build new refineries.
Before we know it, the unrefined oil will be shipped to China anyway.
When politicos speak about jobs, I know that they are bluffing, maybe even voicing industry lies.
This job creation is a revolving door of only hundreds of jobs at any one time.
Did I forget about the new (temporary) jobs to clean up oil leaks, spills, and contamination? Big Oil cuts corners -- why pay for quality? "Accidents happen." No they don't -- have we forgotten the huge oil spill in the Gulf?
There would be more jobs than just the ones for manufacturing the pipeline. The increase of supply would employ truckers, dispatchers, etc. The new jobs in the private sector for the larger supply of oil would be a domino effect throughout the industry.
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