What do you think that the future holds for Pennsylvania? (Erie: how much, pros and cons)

[ddmhughes]

I grew up in Pa and like many Pennsylvanians moved out of state but I came back after a couple years and I can not imagine ever leaving again. Lately I have been wondering what the future of Pennsylvania is going to be. I think that things will be better in PA then most other states.

Since we didn't have the big housing bubble in most parts of the state our households are not as weighed down by debt. I think as people in the bubble states cut back I lot of service jobs are going to be lost. After the 70's and 80's we are a lot more financially responsible then people from most other states so I don't see us having a huge correction in our service sector.

I also think that as people realize that the economy needs a manufacturing sector the government will begin to promote manufacturing the same way every other country on the planet does. Pa is great place for manufacturing it has an educated work force, great transportation options and is very close to the major East Coast cities (this will be very important as shipping prices continue to rise). Also very soon a lot of states are going to have to spend a large percentage of their GDP on water and water is something that Pa has an abundance of.

What are your opinions?

[BackToTheCityMouse]

I haven't a clue, really, about what will happen in Pennsylvania in the future.

Probably it is more accurate to consider what will happen along the Eastern, Western and Southern borders of the state separately from what will happen in Central PA.

I doubt the Central areas will see much growth in terms of population and jobs because the environment won't support a dense population. Specifically, the water issues.

There has been a significant population growth in the border areas I mentioned above, with people living in PA but working in another state where wages and salaries are much higher. This results in some growth in the number of small businesses that provide services to the bedroom communities.

I don't expect many new manufacturing jobs coming to Pennsylvania. There just isn't a huge need today for people who are willing to work hard, but have minimal literacy skills. Corporations seeking that type of work force will simply outsource to an overseas manufacturer, or locate in areas of the US that have larger immigrant populations.

Pennsylvania doesn't have a business-friendly tax structure, so the main attraction for companies opening a facility in Central PA is the relatively low wage scale.

The problem here is cultural more than logistical. People on the East Coast (where I am from) find it nearly impossible to believe that many temporary office workers here -- who have to be verbally articulate, literate, skilled in computer office applications, etc -- earn less per hour than the workers who clean the offices at night Like 25-30 percent less. Amazing.

[amsherwo]

Well, on the plus side, the Marcellus Shale is bringing a lot of money into your state and should just continue to bring in more money (and hopefully jobs) in the future.

[pman]

Pennsylvania's strenght-realtively moderate weather in many areas, abundance of water, natural gas, and coal. the eastern side has an established city and is close to both the seat of empire and financial center. the western side has a large city that appears to have bottomed out and may yet, one day, grow. We have plenty of rail infrastructure that can be upgraded. low personal taxes. on the downside, we have high taxes on businesses, maddening bureaucracy, aging infrastructure, and aging population, and many cities and towns that have seen better days. I don't know what the future holds but I think Pennsylvania has a lot of potential, whether we use it or not is another story.

[reztrop]

I agree with amsher that the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania holds enormous potential for the state's energy future.

Right now drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is in its infancy. Northeastern Pennsylvania has the highest concentration of these gas deposits. So I see the northeastern counties and the Lehigh Valley carrying the most potential for population growth due to the strategic location of these deposits. Add the fact that New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are already starting to migrate to northeastern Pennsylvania to escape the high cost of living in their states.

There are both pros and cons in drilling for natural gas. One is revenue. Harrisburg could become flush with revenue if it imposes a tax on the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. Right now the industry is in its infancy, so it doesn't make sense to impose a tax now. Future tax revenue from the Shale could be used to lower personal taxes in the state.

But development should be done in a responsible manner to protect the state's natural beauty. Drilling for the gas could use up a lot of water, especially from rivers and streams.

[sunsetcliff]

PA is fine. I like Pennsylvania.

Tho we do have to pull away from the British Empire.
We are no longer a colony.

When you consider the Bank of England- and the Federal Reserve, it amounts to colonizing the states.

If you think taxes are bad now- wait until cap and trade, health care eugenics, and 14 trillion$ in federal debt- if you think that YOU wont pay- then keep dreaming.
The idea is not for the debt to ever be paid. The idea is for a NWO - and Americans decline into a lesser status.
Based on the food I seen people throw away the other day at Taco Bell, we deserve what we are about to get.

You can tell alot about a community by how much food it wastes...

[amsherwo]

Well, there is a lot of natural gas associated with the Marcellus Shale in NE PA, however NE PA is on the edge of an anthracite basin (which basically means that the rocks have been baked too much to be worthwhile for natural gas), so the edges of that basin need to be determined for a lot of development to occur in NE PA. However, the Marcellus is being drilled all over the state (west-central, central, and NE), not just in the NE areas.
And I also agree that there are both pros and cons with drilling (as with any other thing). The boom in drilling activity in PA has caused a lot of service companies to open offices all across PA, which is creating jobs and bringing money to the state. Additionally, there are a lot of water issues that can arise with drilling (b/c a lot of water is used to hydraulically fracture the rocks to allow the gas to get out of the rock more easily), however there are a lot of new technologies that have been used in Canada (but not so much here yet) that allow this to be done without the use of water (several companies will be testing this is PA over the next few months), so at least that is a move in the right direction.
Thank you reztrop for agreeing that we shouldn't be taxing drilling in the Marcellus just yet!!!

[dugdogmaster]

Rainbows, puppies and unicorns!

[gummer]

PA is a great place if you're a senior citizen. It has the best prescription plan in the nation. No other state uses lottery money to benefit older citizens.

The only issue I have had to live with as far as natural gas is concerned is the outrageous heating bills I have to pay monthly. I can't figure out why we are paying so much for something when we have the largest reserve of natural gas in the nation.

This has also been in the news off and on for years.....congress won't approve competition between utility companies in PA. I'm not sure what choices are to be had in the larger cities of PA but Erie has very limited choices. One company per utility and that's it. Electric is the exception but you still have to pay something to Penelec because they own the lines. There is one phone company, one gas company, one electric company, one cable company, and two choices for internet (those being offered by phone and cable company). Oh there is a local ISP but they get their lines through phone company and charge more than twice for dSL what you could get it for directly from Verizon. I think this has a huge impact on our economics. When they don't have competition, we have to pay more. It may also be the reason why it's so hard to find a good paying job. My cousin lives in Cleveland and we often compare notes on prices. He uses the same cable company and has the same package bundle as we do and pays $99......we pay $140 for the exact same package.

[susquehannock]

congress won't approve competition between utility companies in PA

Ridge deregulated electricity 10 years ago.

That is all about competition. Deregulation is slowly being phased in and will be complete at the end of this year. That's why PPL customers' rate will be going up 40% in 2110. Supposedly people will be able to choose another provider like Sunbury has just done.