The President today killed the Keystone Pipeline project, which would have brought millions of barrels of oil from Canada and tens of thousands of jobs to the U.S.
Instead, the President would rather try to stimulate the economy by paying people not to work.
The decision was a sop to the extreme environmental left, which finds a reason to oppose any and all projects that will actually provide energy. The Heritage Foundation responded to the decision,
President Obama’s politically intoned decision to reject TransCanada’s permit application to construct a 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries sent a clear message that special interest demands are of more importance than more energy and much-needed job creation.In a statement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is composed of people who actually know what it takes to hire people and keep them employed, President and CEO Thomas Donahue, said,
This political decision offers hard evidence that creating jobs is not a high priority for this administration. The President’s decision sends a strong message to the business community and to investors: keep your money on the sidelines, America is not open for business. By placing politics over policy, the Obama administration is sacrificing tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs in the short term, and many more than that in the long term.But, really, what can you expect from people who believe ATM machines are responsible for unemployment and regulations create jobs.
It's even worse than that. This pipeline could increase our oil purchases from Canada, our friendly neighbor to the north, while consequently reducing our imports of oil from countries such as Venezuela, thereby weakening the power and ability of oppressive nutjob dictators to wreak havoc.
As for the greens concerns, our refusal to build this pipeline is going to be a net negative for the environment. Canada is going to sell this oil to somebody. If we don't build a pipeline going south, they're going to build one going west - to a port from which to ship the oil to China.
What would you rather have, from an environmental standpoint? A) Oil refined in the U.S. with our rather stringent environmental rules, or B) Oil refined in China, where they really couldn't care less about the pollution they create? C) Sorry, there is no C.
The Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, Steve Pearce (R-NM), whose members represent many of the districts through which Keystone would travel, stated,
“Once again, the Obama Administration has decided to capitulate to special interests instead of fighting for American jobs and energy security. It is incredibly frustrating to watch as this Administration kills so many potential jobs while the country’s unemployment rate remains so high.The administration is not serious about improving the economy. It has paid nothing more than lip service to reducing regulations that stifle business development and economic growth, it is intent on smothering the only viable sources of energy production resulting in higher costs and reduced output and they are tools of the environmental left, which sees human prosperity as an evil to be extinguished. The only jobs that count in this administration's eyes are those in the government or the result of a government program.
“This Administration claims its top job is to get American’s back to work. Just yesterday, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness stated in a report that we need an “all in” approach to energy policy, including new pipeline construction. However, their actions today are yet another example where their loyalties lie. Unless they are government created jobs that do not interfere with the agenda of their special interest supporters, this Administration is clearly not interested in employing people, even if it means sending precious resources to China while risking our economic and national security by continuing our dependence on oil from unfriendly nations.”
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