Posted on 07/29/2013 9:55:55 AM PDT by thackney
U.S. President Barack Obama has called into question the number of jobs that would be provided from the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in a New York Times interview over the weekend.
Republicans have frequently stated that there would be a large number of jobs created if the pipeline is approved for construction, Obama said, adding that he disputes their premise.
“Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator,” Obama said in the interview. “There is no evidence that that’s true. The most realistic estimates are this might maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.”
The president noted that even the temporary increase of 2,000 jobs that might be created during the construction of the pipeline, which would cost about $5.3 billion to build, was “a blip relative to the need.”
Republicans and business groups have pressured Obama to approve the pipeline, emphasizing that the approval and construction of the pipeline would produce economic benefits, including a drop in gasoline prices.
Democrats and environmental groups have opposed the approval and construction of the pipeline primarily on environmental grounds, saying that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to climate change.
Obama said that if the pipeline allowed the Midwest to export more of its oil to other countries, it could actually cause gasoline prices in the region to increase.
Obama said last month that the pipeline would serve U.S. interests only if it did not “significantly exacerbate” carbon pollution.
The president is expected to make a final decision later this year or in 2014.
The $5.3-billion Keystone XL Pipeline Project is the largest infrastructure project currently proposed in the United States. Construction of the 1,179-mile pipeline will require 9,000 skilled American workers. The project will provide jobs for welders, mechanics, electricians, pipefitters, laborers, safety coordinators, heavy equipment operators and other workers who rely on large construction projects for their livelihoods.
In addition to construction jobs, an estimated 7,000 U.S. jobs are being supported in manufacturing the steel pipe and the thousands of fittings, valves, pumps and control devices required for a major oil pipeline.
TransCanada has contracts with more than 50 suppliers across the U.S., including companies in Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Arkansas, Kansas, California and Pennsylvania.
TransCanada is currently employing 4,000 Americans in Oklahoma and Texas on construction of the $2.3-billion Gulf Coast Pipeline Project, which is expected to be complete by the end of this year.
Construction and development of the Keystone XL and Gulf Coast Pipeline Projects is anticipated to generate $20 billion in economic impact in the United States, including $99 million in local government revenues and $486 million in state government revenues during construction.
The pipelines will also generate an estimated $5 billion in additional property taxes during their operational life.
The Canadian Energy Research Institute predicts that Keystone XL will add $172 billion to America’s gross domestic product by 2035 and will create an additional 1.8 million person-years of employment in the United States over the next 22 years.
Keystone XL Pipeline Project will provide good-paying jobs for U.S. families in addition to millions of dollars in annual tax revenue for local governments.
The majority of jobs will be created during pipeline construction
Jobs will likely include positions for equipment operators, welders, mechanics, truck drivers and laborers
Business and contracting opportunities — Pipeline construction will create demand for local goods and services, including clearing, gravel supply, construction equipment supply and maintenance, lodging and accommodation
Annual tax revenue — Once the pipeline is in operation, property taxes will flow to communities across the United States to support school and hospital districts, emergency services and other local programs
Investment in local communities — The operation of the pipeline will also support the economies of communities surrounding our operations, which means increased revenues
He’s plain stupid.
I don’t know about that. I think he takes stupid to a level rarely seen in public; nothing plain about it.
OK Obie. How is this different from stimulus infrastructure spending???
The man is a blithering idiot...........
Au contraire!....He's extraordinarily stupid!.....
It's not taxpayer's money.......
The media covered this Azhat as though he knows everything, when he really knows nothing.
TRANSLATED: U.S. President Barack Obama will NOT support the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and never planned to support it. He needed to get votes, but is now going to try to kill the economy again.
He doesn't control who receives it, and the associated political contributions back to him.
Obie is pointing out what he believes is a short term benefit through construction spending. Just pointing out the shallow hypocrisy of his argument.
Also, he’s just jealous. If he spends the $5.3 billion he could create 14 jobs at a green energy company founded by a campaign donor instead.
What a dork. He labels every concept or idea that he does not favor as “phony”.
One of the reasons he doesn’t want the pipeline is that a brand new state-of-the-art refinery could be built anywhere along it’s length..........with lots of high paying private sector jobs........
This from a guy that will spend a million and a half bucks to create a $40,000 job...
Nah, Obama just is pissin on our heads telling us its raining again.
It’s pablum for the low info voters.......
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