I was at the Vote4Energy rally in Washington and someone asked me why I was there and why I was planning on voting for energy. The answer is pretty simple: jobs.
Candidates for office talk a lot about creating jobs. Frankly, many of the programs they support don’t seem all that realistic to me. But there is one way that has been proven to create good-paying jobs: an energy policy that encourages development. As we have seen in Pennsylvania, policies that encourage energy production create jobs. I’m voting for energy in 2012 because this is the best way to put America back to work.
Developing the Marcellus Shale natural gas resources has the potential to create 160,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. It’s already created tens of thousands of jobs here and helped numerous local businesses. I see from the news that something similar is happening in North Dakota, where an oil boom is leading to extremely low unemployment.
If our policymakers enacted the right policies, we could see even more job creation. If we had more offshore drilling, for instance, that could create 140,000 new jobs. Building the Keystone XL Pipeline and expanding the development of Canadian oil sands could create 85,000 new jobs by the end of the decade.
For these sensible energy policies to be put in place, however, politicians need to hear from the voters. If we demand energy policies that allow the U.S. to access our energy resources, the politicians will deliver. At the Vote4Energy rally, it was clear that this isn’t a partisan issue. A better energy policy is something that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on. But we have to make this a big issue from now until Election Day.
Voting for energy is voting for jobs. That’s an idea that every voter should embrace.
Dan Soltesz
Allegheny County