Will Pittsburgh be a bust? (Butler, Grove City: insurance, to buy, schools)

[I_Like_Spam]

Even if there isn't a direct excise tax on natural gas, the state still collect income tax from the wages of the workers involved in it, and isn't royalty income taxable by the state as well? I wouldn't know directly as I don't have that kind of cash coming in.


I am certain that the companies involved are going to be able to deal more and more efficiently with the water problems and other points of negativity that this fracking is involved as time goes on.

Although I think they could have picked a better term other than "fracking" for it, the term sounds like something that someone should have a knee jerk reaction against.

[BrianTH]

As with health care, the abnormally high growth rate in higher education may slow, but that is not the same thing as an actual contraction.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Although I think they could have picked a better term other than "fracking" for it, the term sounds like something that someone should have a knee jerk reaction against.

Ha, engineers and scientists are great for this type of thing. Nuclear engineers realized years after the fact that perhaps "SCRAM" was not the best choice of words to describe the act of shutting down a reactor. Most people tend to associate "SCRAM" with "Let's get the F out here!" But yeah, usually the euphemisms are overly cushy anyways. Anyhoo...

[pman]

Drilling generates 48,000 jobs - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

[BrianTH]

Eventually natural gas in Western PA may also lead to more employment in downstream industries (like petrochemicals).

[Mr. Mon]

Most YouTube comments are better written than that "article."

[Aqua Teen Carl]

It would really suck if Pittsburgh shed the reputation of "polluted air steel town" to gain the reputation of "polluted water frack town".

[Gnutella]

That stupid article said that Pittsburgh's economy "relies" on health care spending, as if the economy would collapse without it. Jeez, I had no idea that UPMC was the only employer in town. Apparently 84 Lumber, American Eagle Outfitters, Bayer, BNY Mellon, Bruster's Ice Cream, Dick's Sporting Goods, Federated Investors, FedEx Ground, Fox's Pizza Den, Giant Eagle, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Heinz, Intel, Lanxess, Nova Chemicals, Plextronics, PNC, PPG, rue21, U.S. Steel and Westinghouse Electric don't employ anybody in Pittsburgh, and apparently there are no small businesses in Pittsburgh either. Either that, or they all get health care funds too.

Face it; if UPMC ceased to exist tomorrow, it'd have about the same effect that the departure of US Airways had: a temporary lull, which, coincidentally, is exactly what I got from that article. Yeah, Pittsburgh has "eds and meds," but it damn sure ain't the only thing it has, and to pretend it is is ignorant.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mon

Most YouTube comments are better written than that "article."

Oooh burn!

[Rodeno]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Fracking is a new industrial procedure, and accidents are going to happen.

Steamboat and train accident, steel mill accidents, all of those things were a lot more prevalent when those technologies came on line.

I suppose that there will be some pressure to abandon natural gas drilling when the inevitable accidents happen.

But that wouldn't be the wise response if we're going to have progress. I would hope they would work hard to make gas exploration and drilling as safe as possible instead of just abandoning the idea.

Today though people tend to be to sensitive and want to save every little ant running through the ground. Back in those days people did what was best for this country and their families... by working.