Wake up, Delta and Gunnison counties
Dear Editor:
The economy/jobs is on everyone's mind and words. So, let's talk about not only our local economy but also how it ties into the national economy.
Personally, I just retired from the coal mining industry after 35 years. It provided my family with good wages and benefits and the fiscal ability to go into retirement. Delta and Gunnison County have three producing coal mines. There are approximately 1,000 employees between the mines. Let's assume that the average wage plus benefits is a little over $100,000 per employee. You can do the math, but you can see that millions of dollars are pumped into the local economy through wages alone. This does not include the millions that the counties receive in taxes from the mines. In addition, it is also known that there are nearly four plus ancillary jobs for every employee that supports the industry. They too, put money into the economy.
The problem we are facing is twofold: One, Obama has openly waged war on the coal mining industry, mostly through regulations and oversight. So why does Obama want to kill the coal industry? To create more, better paying "green jobs"? Those types of jobs that he gives hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to firms that go belly-up soon after getting all that money? Yes, but not 'til after the CEOs of those companies have gotten their bonuses and of course donated to Obama's campaign fund.
The second is, Obama wants to gear towards natural gas, and other "green sources" to appease the ideology of the left, regardless of how costly it is going to be. Oh wait, the government will take care of us. If natural gas is our only or even main supplier, estimates say that we may be paying up to three times more for our energy needs (electricity).
Along with the gas prices we are currently experiencing, Obama is killing the middle class. Obama does not know the 1,2,3 of the energy industry, meaning the baseline for all economies begins with energy. Without it, no factories, no cars, no roads, etc. You get the point. And in order to have all this, energy needs to be affordable. Like all other commodities, there needs to be competition among all the energy sources to keep the price low. Obviously, something Obama does not understand.Look at the history of coal prices vs. natural gas. Coal prices are the most steady and reliable, with sustainable jobs.
You have to have your ears, eyes and mind closed (oh wait, that means you are a very liberal Democrat) to think that Obama, if elected again, will not regulate our three mines out of existence and the rest of the mines in Colorado. Delta County will dry up faster than a salt wash in a summer heat wave. I was fortunate to retire, but that may not be the case for all the miners left working. Therefore, I urge each and every citizen in Delta and Gunnison counties, that if you have friends or relatives in the Republic of Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver, or Colorado Springs to talk to them and tell them if they vote for Obama, they might as well open up their homes to you, 'cause Obama will put you on the street. He has no love for coal industry or the jobs he would leave behind.
Ed Langrand
Cedaredge