Pennsylvania Needs Consistency

July 28, 2020

The state of Pennsylvania is quickly losing trust in presidential candidate Joe Biden. As a state that relies so heavily on the oil and gas industry, it is understandable that Biden’s flip-flopping on policies such as fracking has the states’ workers worried.

One example of this is outlined in Politico:

Biden has said he would not allow new oil and gas development on federal land or waters. And in one debate, he misstated his own position, saying he would allow “no new fracking,” which his campaign immediately walked back.

It is for that reason that leaders in Pennsylvania have a hard time trusting Biden. David Spigelmyer, President of Marcellus Shale Coalition, recently told stated:

“I think there’s a lot of distrust there,” Spigelmyer said of Biden. “It is also concerning that the far left of his party is pushing him to eliminate hydraulic fracturing.”

We have already seen how a fracking ban can affect a state in a negative way – just look at Pennsylvania’s neighbor, New York. In 2014, New York put an outright ban on fracking. A previous Power The Future report demonstrated the consequences of the fracking ban, which, to demonstrate the day-to-day impact, includes residents’ electric bills going higher and higher.  

New Yorkers pay an average more than 5 cents higher than the national average and nearly 5 cents more than Pennsylvanians. The fracking ban has also cost roughly 400 jobs per year in many counties which has resulted in a statistically significant increase in unemployment.

With New York in mind, no wonder workers in Pennsylvania are having a hard time trusting a Biden presidency. Pennsylvania is the second highest producer of shale gas behind only Texas, meaning the jobs of thousands of hard-working Americans are on the line – all without an alternative to where these Americans will turn to provide for their families. Pennsylvania has just recently used the oil and gas industry to create welcomed jobs in the state. Particularly during these challenging economic times, new developments and opportunities for work are welcomed by all, and they do not need to go away any time soon.