As our economy perhaps heads into another tailspin, it’s worthwhile contemplating how much economic growth and how many jobs President Obama and his comrades are blocking with the EPA and the rest of the federal, state and local regulatory bureaucracies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently issued a report called “Progress Denied: A Study on the Potential Economic Impact of Permitting Challenges Facing Proposed Energy Projects.” The study reports:
- In aggregate, planning and construction of the subject projects (the “investment phase”) would generate $577 billion in direct investment, calculated in current dollars. The indirect and induced effects (what we term multiplier effects) would generate an approximate $1.1 trillion increasein U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including $352 billion in employment earnings, based on present discounted value (PDV) over an average construction period of seven years. 1 Furthermore, we estimate that as many as 1.9 million jobs would be required during each year of construction.
- The operation of the subject projects (the “operations phase”) would generate $99 billion in direct annual output, calculated in current dollars, including multiplier effects, this additional annual output would yield $145 billion in increased GDP, $35 billion in employment earnings, based on PDV, and an average 791,200 jobs per year of operation. Assuming twenty years of operations across all subject project types, we estimate the operations phase would yield a potential long term benefit of $2.3 trillion in GDP, including $1.0 trillion in employment earnings, based on PDV.
- Therefore, the total potential economic and employment benefits of the subject projects, if constructed and operated for twenty years, would be approximately $3.4 trillion in GDP, including $1.4 trillion in employment earnings, based on PDV, and an additional one million or more jobs per year.
Even the Marxist Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson now recognizes that growth is the only way out of the current economic mess. His column in today’s print edition of the Post was entitled, “Growth, not cuts“.
I just do not understand that it is not understood this is the plan. If you don’t believe me read Saul’s book. Last name ? Alinsky? Mr. Obama likes him and his writings. Read Obama’s books! The upheaval in our economy is on purpose. Mr. Obama is not stupid or miss-in-formed. What is happening to America is “THE PLAN”. Change of personnel is the only solution.
It would be amusing to see Obama spin “jobs saved” and “job created equivalencies’ if we were not in a terrible situation. I know he has to since he has blamed bush for everything else. But after 30 months, it is failing him. People are tired of hearing him cry wolf.