Lazy America?
Mark Green
Posted November 14, 2011
President Obama over the weekend:
"We've been a little bit lazy over the last couple of decades. We've kind of taken for granted -- 'Well, people would want to come here' -- and we aren't out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new businesses into America..."
Perhaps businesses like TransCanada? Who have already invested $1.9 billion to build the Keystone XL pipeline; and all told will invest $13 billion of private, not government money, on the entire Keystone Pipeline System. A pipeline with 20,000 shovel ready jobs and up to 250,000 permanent jobs for U.S. workers adding more than $100 billion in annual total expenditures to the U.S. economy.
With all due respect Mr. President, TransCanada was sold on America and thousands of the unemployed were sold on the prospect of getting back to work -- and you said wait. And that is the real story, we are not lazy, we are waiting. Waiting for the day when jobs and the economy trump short-term politics; waiting for the day when responsible development trumps baseless and endless delays; waiting for the day when smart policies trump uninformed protests.
We are not lazy, we are energetic. We have workers who need jobs and we have jobs that need to be done. We need to end the waiting.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.