Government is the Problem that is Destroying Coal Jobs

September 27, 2012

Government is the Problem that is Destroying Coal Jobs

Democrats’ War on Energy Is Destroying Energy Jobs With a Flood of Government Regulations

President Obama recently defended his big government policies again and insisted that government is not to blame for the slow recovery.
The coal miners and workers who lost their jobs this month because of the Democrats’ anti-energy government regulations would beg to differ. Worse yet, the Democrats’ war on energy is projected to shutter even more coal plants and put more workers out of a job.
While the Democrats’ war on energy has destroyed private sector jobs, the Democrats’ taxpayer-funded stimulus has proved a complete dud in helping our economy recover—but Democrats still won’t apologize for wasting taxpayer money.

President Obama recently defended his big government policies again and insisted that government is not to blame for the slow recovery:

OBAMA DEFENDS BIG GOVERNMENT, SAYS GOVERNMENT “NOT THE SOURCE OF EVERY PROBLEM”: (“Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event,” The White House, 9/22/2012)

DNC KICKOFF VIDEO: “GOVERNMENT IS THE ONLY THING WE ALL BELONG TO”: “A promotional video played this afternoon at the Democratic convention in Charlotte states, ‘Government is the only thing that we all belong to.’” (Daniel Halper, “Dem. Video: ‘Government is the Only Thing That We All Belong To,’” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/2012)

OBAMA TO ENTREPRENEURS: “IF YOU’VE GOT A BUSINESS—YOU DIDN’T BUILD THAT. SOMEBODY ELSE [READ: GOVERNMENT] MADE THAT HAPPEN.” (Kerry Picket, “Picket: (Video) Obama: ‘If You’ve Got a Business—You Didn’t Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen,” The Washington Times, 7/15/2012)

THEN AGAIN, OBAMA ALSO SAID “THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS DOING FINE”: (Zeke Miller, “Obama: ‘The Private Sector is Doing Fine,” BuzzFeed, 6/8/2012)

The coal miners and workers who lost their jobs this month because of the Democrats’ anti-energy government regulations would beg to differ. Worse yet, the Democrats’ war on energy is projected to shutter even more coal plants and put more workers out of a job:

AP: ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES CUTTING 1,200 COAL JOBS, SHUTTERING 8 MINES: “Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said Tuesday it’s cutting production by 16 million tons and eliminating 1,200 jobs companywide, including 400 with the immediate closing of eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.” (Vicki Smith, “Alpha Closing 8 Mines, Cutting 1,200 Jobs in All,” Associated Press, 9/18/2012)

THE CAUSE? “A REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT THAT’S AGGRESSIVELY AIMED AT CONSTRAINING THE USE OF COAL” NAMED AS A MAJOR FACTOR: (Michael Bastasch, “Coal Company Facing Aggressive Regulations Announces 1,200 Layoffs,” The Daily Caller, 9/18/2012)

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS HAVE MORE SHUTDOWNS AND JOB LOSSES ON THE WAY:

“REPORT: MORE THAN 200 COAL-FIRED GENERATORS SLATED FOR SHUTDOWN”: (Michael Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

GOVERNMENT IS TO BLAME: SHUTDOWNS LINKED TO NEW AND PENDING EPA REGULATIONS: “Within the next three to five years, more than 200 coal-fired electric generating units will be shut down across 25 states due to EPA regulations and factors including cheap natural gas, according to a new report by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).” (Matthew Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

MOST-AFFECTED STATES: OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, WEST VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA: “The most affected states include Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, which will see a combined 103 coal-fired generators shut down.” (Matthew Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

TOTAL COAL SHUTDOWNS AMOUNT TO 11% OF U.S. COAL GENERATING CAPACITY: “However, ACCCE notes that EPA policies may have played a role more than 4,800 megawatts of announced closures not included on in their report which would bring total shutdowns to 241 coal generator in 30 states — more than 36,000 MW of electric generation or 11 percent of the U.S. coal fleet.” (Matthew Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

UNDER OBAMA REGULATIONS, 111 U.S. COAL POWER PLANTS HAVE ALREADY CLOSED (20% OF ALL U.S. COAL PLANTS): “But in the past two years, an increasing number of coal-powered electricity plants across the country have announced closures. Estimates vary, but banking and industry analysis firm Credit Suisse put expected and known closures for 2009-2012 at 111 plants, that’s one-fifth of the nation’s nearly 500 coal plants.” (Lisa Desjardins, “The War Over Coal Is Personal,” CNN, 7/17/12)

DESTROYING COAL JOBS WILL REVERBERATE THROUGHOUT THE ECONOMY:

NEW COAL REGULATONS ARE EXPECTED TO CUT 1.4 MILLION JOBS: “Coal plants will be forced to install new scrubber equipment that provides marginal improvement in air quality at tremendous expense… Electric bills will jump 12 percent by 2016 with areas such as Kentucky and Tennessee seeing a 24 percent increase. Employment will drop by a net 1.4 million jobs.” (“Obama’s Coal Tax,” Washington Times, 9/20/12)

COAL INDUSTRY DIRECTLY PROVIDES 550,000 AMERICAN JOBS: (“The Economic Contributions of U.S. Mining,” PriceWaterhouseCoopers for National Mining Association, October 2010)

EACH COAL MINING JOB CREATES 3.5 JOBS ELSEWHERE IN THE ECONOMY: (“Fast Facts about Coal,” National Mining Association, Accessed 9/20/2012)

While the Democrats’ war on energy has destroyed private sector jobs, the Democrats’ taxpayer-funded stimulus has proved a complete dud in helping our economy recover—but Democrats still won’t apologize for wasting taxpayer money:

WSJ: DEMOCRATS’ WAR ON COAL IS A “MIDDLE-CLASS JOB KILLER”: “Tell that to the miners and others employed in the coal industry, a middle-class job if there ever was one, and the target of relentless regulatory assault over the last four years.” (Editorial, “Middle-Class Job Killer,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/2012)

GOVERNMENT ISN’T THE PROBLEM? DEMOCRAT SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV) SAYS COAL PLANT LOSSES DUE TO COMPANIES “HAVING TO FIGHT THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT”: “The government’s role in these job losses isn’t lost on Democrat Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Senator, who reacted to the Alpha news by saying that while the company had suffered competitive ups and downs over the years, ‘they can’t be expected to fight their own government too.’ He also told the Register-Herald in Beckley, West Virginia that ‘there’s a balance to be found between the environment and the economy and the EPA has worked very hard to avoid finding that balance.’” (Editorial, “Middle-Class Job Killer,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/2012)

DEMOCRATS STILL WON’T APOLOGIZE FOR SOLYNDRA FIASCO:

“SOLYNDRA REDUX? SOLOPOWER ABOUT TO QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES”: (Jim Jelter, “Solyndra Redux? Solopower About to Qualify for Federal Loan Guarantees,” MarketWatch, 9/24/2012)

TAXPAYERS TO RECOVER JUST $24 MILLION OF $527 MILLION LENT TO NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA: “Last week, Solyndra’s final liquidation plan estimated that the government will recover just $24 million of the $527 million that taxpayers lent to the company.” (Joe Stephens and Carol Leonnig, “White House Analyst Warned Saving Solyndra Could Cost More Than Letting It Fail,” The Washington Post, 8/1/12)

ENERGY AND COMMERCE RANKING DEMOCRAT HENRY WAXMAN (D-CA): SORRY I’M NOT SORRY ABOUT FUNDING SOLYNDRA: “I’m sorry Solyndra happened. We lost $500 million dollars. That’s a shame, but that’s why loan guarantees are provided. Because these are risky enterprises, and not all of them are going to succeed.” (Remarks from Henry Waxman, Energy and Commerce Hearing, 7/12/2012)

STIMULUS LOAN CHIEF: PROGRAM THAT FUNDED SOLYNDRA IS “AN ENORMOUS SUCCESS”: “Loan Chief Frantz: ‘Quite to the contrary, sir, I think it’s been an enormous success.’” (House Energy and Commerce Hearing, 7/12/2012)

OBAMA SAID STIMULUS WAS INTENDED TO “TAKE BETS” ON NOW-BANKRUPT COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “But that’s exactly what the loan guarantee program was designed by Congress to do, was to take bets on these areas where we need to make sure that we’re maintaining our lead.” (“News Conference by the President,” The White House, 10/6/2011)

DEMOCRATS MAKING NO APOLOGIES FOR SOLYNDRA LOAN THAT LOST $535 MILLION IN TAXPAYER FUNDS: “Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday declined an opportunity to issue a direct apology for Solyndra.” (Darren Samuelsohn, “Steven Chu: No Apologies on Solyndra,” Politico, 11/17/2011)

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