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A massive energy tax Pennsylvanians cannot afford

by Patrick J. Creighton

Pennsylvania is the Keystone State. It’s known for its strategic location and proximity to the nation’s financial and political epicenters.

And while Pennsylvania is often thought of as a coal, steel and manufacturing state, many are probably unaware that agribusiness and farming contribute significantly—$45 billion annually—to our economy. We are also home to the finest hardwood timber in the world, the birthplace of oil, and possibly the largest natural gas field in the world, the Marcellus Shale.

There may be arguments over Penn State or Pitt, the Steelers or the Eagles, Geno’s or Pat’s, but what cannot be argued is the fact that Pennsylvania is, has been, and will continue to be an energy state for years.

Thousands of Pennsylvanians make their living keeping our homes powered and our lights on. Many more are responsible for the food that feeds our families. They are our farmers, coal miners, rig hands and factory workers. There’s a good chance you know, or are related to, someone who’s in these honest lines of work.

So it is with this in mind that one has to question why Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, along with a handful of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, support a job-killing national energy tax. A tax that would hit the Keystone State especially hard at a time when unemployment rates are at levels not seen in decades.

Advocates of cap-and-trade have called it many different things. It began as “global warming” legislation. It was then branded as a “climate change” and “green jobs” initiative. And when “green jobs” were widely rejected by the public because of their unsustainable and costly track record, national energy tax backers once again refined their vernacular, opting now for “clean energy” and “clean energy jobs” policy.

This is classic Washington double-talk. The American people—especially hard-working Pennsylvanians—know a bait-and-switch when they see one.

Study after study shows that if cap-and-trade legislation becomes law, Pennsylvania would be among the hardest hit states. And families, retirees, farmers and small businesses from Lycoming to Lawrence to Lebanon County—and everywhere in between—understand this too.

But if Senators Specter and Casey get their way, and cap-and-trade becomes law, what are the real-world implications?

In a memo to the state’s congressional delegation, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission wrote: “If the Waxman-Markey [cap-and-trade] bill were to pass, Pennsylvania is looking at a bleak scenario by 2020: a net loss of as many as 66,000 jobs, a sizable hike in the electric bills of residential consumers….”

And a cap-and-trade analysis by the respected SAIC Corporation, on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers and American Council for Capitol Formation, found that job losses could approach 100,000 in Pennsylvania and 2.4 million nationwide.

With Pennsylvania’s population and job growth near the lowest nationally, how would dramatically higher energy costs make the state more economically competitive, and a better place to raise a family and start a business?

This is why the American Energy Alliance has embarked on a 25-day, five-state educational bus tour through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Virginia, engaging Americans about the adverse impacts cap-and-trade legislation will have on the economy and our broader energy security.

We are visiting county fairs, tractor pulls, rallies, ball games and other events to help give folks the tools they need to ensure their voices are heard in this crucial and ongoing debate.

The response we’ve received in the Commonwealth has been overwhelming. And after hearing from hundreds of passionate and deeply concerned Pennsylvanians about their strong and growing opposition to cap-and-trade legislation, and seeing firsthand their overwhelming disapproval of this economically devastating plan, one has to ask: just how out of touch is Senator Specter?

The writer is communications director for the American Energy Alliance, a Washington-based, non-profit advocacy group for energy policy.

September 14, 2009 at 7:39 am

--Patrick J. Creighton

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