Alaska Journal of Commerce by Tim Bradner. Flint Hills Resources will cease refining operations at its North Pole refinery near Fairbanks this spring, the company announced Tuesday in a press release.
Senate Energy Committee Spokesman, Robert Dillon, this morning provided us with an analysis of Keystone XL Pipeline labor benefits discussed during Bill O'Reilly's Super Bowl interview with President Barack Obama. (Dillon's analysis follows:)
In September 2009, President Obama declared, “I will not rest until anybody who’s looking for a job can find one – and I’m not talking about just any job, but good jobs that give every American decent wages and decent benefits and a fair shot at the American Dream…That's what I'm fighting for every single day.”
Fast forward to last week, when the State Department once again confirmed that the Keystone XL pipeline is a prime opportunity for President Obama to fulfill his commitment to American workers. State estimated that Keystone would create 42,100 jobs – and enable those workers to earn more than $2 billion in new wages – if the president finally, after more than five years, approves it.
So how did the president react? In an interview with Bill O’Reilly that aired shortly before the Super Bowl, the president somehow saw fit not to welcome, but to dismiss the good jobs Keystone would bring.
The president tried to correct Mr. O’Reilly and claim that “it’s a couple thousand to build the pipeline.” Yet State’s own analysis, pasted below, shows that it was Mr. O’Reilly who was correct, and Mr. Obama who was wrong.
We can assume the president was trying to refer to the construction jobs associated with Keystone, estimated by State at 6,800. We consider that an impressive number – especially in comparison to the construction jobs associated with each of the projects within the president’s much-touted energy loan guarantee program. The high-water mark under that program were an apparent 3,000 construction jobs for Solyndra – which quickly went bankrupt, leaving taxpayers on the hook for $535 million in losses. Next highest was a solar project with 1,700 construction jobs; most other projects reported no more than a couple hundred.
The math here isn’t hard: Keystone will create 42,100 jobs that are clearly needed. With unemployment at 6.7% and the last jobs report showing just 74,000 new positions created in December, this decision should be easy. It should already be made. The president needs to quit delaying, quit disparaging, and approve Keystone.
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