I’m continually amazed at our inability to “think forward” when it comes to creating and keeping good jobs in the U.S. Someone yells “job killer” and our brains turn off. Take the Keystone XL pipeline, or any other energy-export project. Every ton of dirty coal or barrel of dirty “condensate” oil we export to China helps them to take away more American manufacturing jobs.
Think about the cheap energy addiction we keep feeding by exporting our dirty energy. China burns dirty oil and coal without pollution controls, pays their people peanuts, and manipulates their currency to make their exports cheaper. American manufacturers need to compete by paying a living wage and keeping a clean environment. This has not worked for the past two or three decades, and we keep feeding our economic enemy dirty energy, so they can take more of our manufacturing jobs.
What few jobs that Keystone would add will eliminate many more manufacturing jobs, again. If you really want to “starve the beast,” stop feeding it dirty energy. The job you save may be your own. Wake up sheep, the wolfs are stealing our show.
Ken Condliff
Vancouver
