Saturday, June 12, 2004

Where the jobs are
With signs of a possible light at the end of the tunnel that is Iraq beginning to be seen (or at least imagined), the economy -- specifically, jobs -- once again is looming as the 800-pound gorilla of the 2004 presidential election. Every axe-grinder with a point of view and a political stake is gearing up for the blame game to be played out between now and November. While recent news has indicated job creation is on the rise, there is still a lot of ground to be made up for the losses of recent years.

Much has been made of the phenomenon known as job exporting, a topic currently under discussion in X-voter.com's forum and referendum. How much, if any, pressure will be brought to bear in this election for legislation to address this aspect of job losses remains to be seen. But there is one readily available, significant source of American jobs sitting out there right now, waiting to be tapped. Or should I say drilled? The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.

Estimates vary, but there could be as much as 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or even more, in this small chunk of Alaska. Getting that oil out of the ground and into production could put large numbers of people to work at various levels within the industry, although certainly not all at once. Perhaps as many as hundreds of thousands. That represents a huge stimulus to the economy and a lot of sorely needed tax revenue.

Isn't it worth it to find a way for legitimately concerned environmentalists and the oil companies, in possession of greater technology than at any time in their history, to come together on this one? A lot of people would like to go to work.

By Robert Parker at 12:21 PM | Permalink
Category: Economy | Comments (0)