This page was last updated on March 13, 2011.
Impose extraction tax on natural gas; Carl Davidson; Beaver County Times; March 13, 2011.
For some background info about Mr. Davidson, please go here. Previous letters from Mr. Davidson of which I’m aware are here and here. Critiques of Davidson pieces on Beaver County Reds are here, here, and here.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“It’s just nuts for Pennsylvania not to put a hefty extraction tax on natural gas taken from the Marcellus shale.
“This is a natural resource, meaning it belongs to all of us, sitting right where it is, 4,000 or more feet down. If we want it extracted safely, protecting the public interest, those measures have to be paid for, and the work of doing it safely has to be done onsite by local union workers. Union workers are important because they are less likely to fear standing up on safety issues.
“We also need a vastly expanded state Department of Environmental Protection.
“Finally, in the longer run, we need to transition to renewables.
“All three of these will cost the taxpayers, but it can be readily done, and then some, with a decent extraction tax on the profits of the industry. This ought to be a no-brainer. It both protects our future and creates local area jobs.
“But some of the brains of our politicians have been scrambled by the industry money flowing into their campaign chests. Now that the dangers of doing it wrong are clearer than ever, we need a popular rebellion to do the right thing.”
[RWC] This is a reproduction in letter-to-the-editor form of comments Mr. Davidson made on the Times website in response to the editorial “No need to panic.” For my comments, please read my critique of “No need to panic.”
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