Biden Says Fracking Jobs Won't Be 'on the Chopping Block' If He's Elected

[brooklynite]

Newsweek

Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden has said, "Fracking is not going to be on the chopping block," if he's elected president, a statement which may rile left-leaning climate change activists and supporters of renewable energy.

An interviewer with Pennsylvanian ABC News affiliate WNEP, asked Biden, "We're losing a lot of jobs overseas, losing jobs to COVID-19, and if fracking is on the chopping block, how are you going to help these displaced workers?"

Biden responded, "Well, fracking is not going to be on the chopping block," Biden said. "Right now the president gives [an] advantage to companies that go overseas and invest overseas by reducing the taxes they have to pay on foreign profits. I'd double that tax and do that on day one."

[Squinch]

1. His statement, really, has nothing to do with fracking. He's just saying he will take away

the current advantage for companies to invest overseas.

The federal government has nothing to do with whether fracking jobs "are on the chopping block." Fracking's profitability has been decimated by the reduced oil consumption of the recent months. Companies are failing quickly. That will not stop. And what he is proposing will not slow or stop that process.

[lagomorph777]

2. Smarter to invest in green energy and make fossil fuels obsolete.

Just like 100 years ago. People discovered that it was so much more convenient to own a car than a horse: no poop cleanup, no carcass disposal, no vet bills. Many of us will buy an electric car next time: dramatically lower service requirements (no oil changes, no transmission, exhaust system, brake shoes, etc).

President Wilson (no endorsement implied) didn't have to outlaw horses. People switched when something more practical came along.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. We can return to thiis matter after election day

I have to assume Biden is wary about losing votes in PA over banning fracking. There is plenty of opposition to fracking in PA, but also a whole lot of jobs associated with that practice, and therefor also sizable support for it. Meanwhile, if Biden isn't 100% better than Trump on the environment, he's at least 99.9% better than Trump on the environment.

[Lulu KC]

4. +1

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. I'm betting you are right.

[aikoaiko]

7. I'm on a self-imposed gag order until after election day.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. How many jobs are in the fracking industry anyway?

I know that the renewable energy field's jobs are, or at least had been, growing by leaps and bounds.

Trying desperately to preserve jobs in a dying industry is pointless.

Think about telephone operators. In the early years of phones, every single call had to be placed through an operator. Then people could dial locally, but all long-distance calls had to go through an operator. Then we got direct dial within the country, but overseas calls needed to go through an operator, and lots of long-distance calls in this country still made use of an operator.

I went to work for Ma Bell in 1967. The woman who trained me had started some fifty years earlier as a teenager. She once said, and I expect this was accurate, that if all calls still needed to go through an operator, by 1967 essentially every woman in the country would need to be a telephone operator.

Progress, everyone, progress.

[aikoaiko]

8. Depends on the price of oil.

As I understand it, fracking is moderately expensive so the market price of oil has to be higher than average to make it pay.

But then it pays big.

[BGBD]

9. in Pennsylvania...

a lot.

[Amishman]

10. a lot more than are employed in renewables

You asked a good question so I looked it up.

Looks like 1.7 million employed by fracking
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/big-energy-question/how-has-fracking-changed-our-future/

about 800k in renewables
https://www.edf.org/energy/clean-energy-jobs

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Thank you. I didn't bother to look it up,

so I appreciate your going to the trouble to do so.

[0rganism]

11. Biden's "day one" list is going to be hairy

i hope he's not planning on sleeping after the inaugural celebrations, whatever they are