With New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane continuing to puzzle over whether (or how) the Paper of Record should factcheck politicians, one might wonder whether other newspapers worry about the same thing.
Take USA Today (please!). Yesterday the paper reported on the very contentious matter of the Keystone XL pipeline and jobs–a favorite issue for Republicans. The paper (1/24/12) told readers:
Obama hasn’t been willing to ignore politics, says Bruce Josten, an executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He cites several instances–from the failure to reach a deficit-reduction deal with Republicans last year to the rejection Tuesday of a jobs-producing oil pipeline–as examples of Obama’s refusal to compromise.
Calling something “jobs-producing” suggests that this would be a major component of the policy in question.
Today the paper gets a little more specific in its report (1/25/12) on the State of the Union response from Republican Indiana governor Mitch Daniels:
He derided what he called “the extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands.”
That was a reference to Obama’s decision against allowing the Keystone XL oil pipeline to be built from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
No, it’s a reference to a myth Republicans and the oil industry are spreading about the jobs that would result from constructing the Keystone pipeline.
Last week USA Today counted 20,000 such jobs in a headline. I suppose the fact that some politicians like to claim that the pipeline would create hundreds of thousands of jobs makes the 20,000 number seem like a safe middle ground.
But that number is nonetheless dubious. Curtis Brainard has a pretty thorough rundown at CJR.org (1/24/12), explaining that the 20,000 figure comes from one estimate provided by TransCanada. Outside evaluations of the likely job numbers look different; the State Department’s estimate is 5,000-6,000, and as Brainard explains:
In September, researchers at Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute used the information in the EIS to come up with an estimate that was even more modest. Factoring in the various durations of employment, it calculated that “on-site construction and inspection creates only 5,060-9,250 person-years of employment (1 person-year = 1 person working full time for 1 year). This is equivalent to 2,500-4,650 jobs per year over two years.”
The Republican Party wants the Keystone story to be about jobs, jobs and jobs. This is much easier to do when media outlets will print whatever they say without questioning it.
But wait, there is more bull to this Republican talking point: the pipeline was most certainly NOT going to be safe. The lead project engineer from the engineering firm that designed it was fired for protesting the corner cutting that went into the project. These safety issues are at the heart of the EPA & Commerce department reviews that said not to build the pipeline.
Engineers not being political animals (good way to wreck a good career) I think we can assume that he is at least twice as principled as the politicians and business folks in this story.
I would also add that another bogus GOP narrative includes that the pipeline will help make us energy independant. Yeah right, it’s an export pipe line and this nasty, toxic oil will be shipped to South America, and China among other destinations. Oh yeah, it’ll also speed up the horror’s of climate change tenfold and put the final nail in the coffin in our planets ability to continue to sustain life as we know it. A vile, and sickening bunch of liars and shills the GOP is. These neanderthals will say and do anything to get their paychecks from the Koch brothers, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and BP.
The pipeline is small potatoes. Check out the Association for American Railroads website and see what real job creators are doing in Oakland, Baltimore, and many other places in the country. Republicans are just scared to do anything big or worthwhile. They are like little dogs afraid to chew on the big bones becase they are too big and they are just not secure enough to tackle a project of that size.
Oh, Mr. Mitch Daniels.. a “perfectly safe pipeline?” I hope that this pipeline is never built, as it crosses the Ogallala aquifer which supplies water for 8 states. This “pipeline” would FLATLINE America’s food basket for the world. If it is built, then those words ( ” perfectly safe”) will come back to haunt you.
Perhaps, Mr. Daniels, you might want to explain why so many governors of your own party refused money on the Super Rail projects which would have supplied so many more jobs. Please don’t speak about jobs when you refuse to look at actual ones, which your party rejected.
Personally, I think you should look at this XL pipeline as a national security threat. That pipeline crossing the entire middle of the country would be a very tragic target for terrorists. Look to the history of the ancient world, where this tactic began. That poisoning of the water and burning of the crops was a sure fire way to bring the enemy to its collective knees. I hear so much about terrorists every where, that I’m wondering why this hasn’t occured to you.
Oil, water, and humanity don’t mix. Perhaps you should take a field trip to the Gulf of Mexico and see how things are getting on there.
It is pretty obvious your whole line of argument is flawed when it depends on defining the word “job” in an odd way, not counting the negative impacts of your policy, and taking at face value only the rationales of those with a financial stake in the outcome.
“Personally, I think you should look at this XL pipeline as a national security threat.” – I agree.
As I understand it, Obama has not made a final decision on this pipeline. It’s been temporarily set aside right now but the issue will resurface (which worries me).
The Ogallala aquifer faces the same problem that other aquifers have–more water is being withdrawn faster than it’s being replaced.
However, on top of this, the Ogallala has another problem. It has poor soil permeability and high evaporation rates which slow down recharge even further. If an aquifer goes dry, it effects other ecosystems as well besides the fact that this one plays a crucial role in the agricultural economy of the U.S.
To me, it’s unthinkable that the Keystone XL pipeline would be placed over this aquifer.
Don’t forget all the jobs that will be created cleaning up the mess of foul oil that will surely happen.
And who needs high speed rail anyway – it will take away jobs from all those fine “security” folks at airports.
Who needs high speed rail anyway. It will take away jobs from all those fine security folks at airports.
I think the majority of people are waking up to the “job creation” empty rhetoric of the GOP. Their utter lack of creating jobs (not to mention the public ones they keep eliminating) has become so obvious that only a person in complete denial would believe otherwise.
Unlike the pipeline, the rail projects that others have mentioned, as well as building infrastructure for sustainable energy sources like solar, wind and hydro would ACTUALLY create the hundreds of thousands of jobs. If the GOP REALLY cared about jobs, they would be working to implement these projects.
The ONLY reason the GOP has such a hard-on for this pipeline (and domestic oil drilling… and mountaintop coal mining… and natural gas fracking…) is because of the kickbacks they receive from their BigOil bed buddies.
TD Green jobs have been a total flop.They just are not yet in a position promised by BAM.Rail and infrastructure are an old union dump ploy always favored by Dems.Rail especially has been a huge failure.Oil is our lifeblood.Cutting us off on every turn is Obamas game.It is a world destabilizer.Especially at this time.Wanna create jobs?……..Here it comes……are ya ready?………..One word……..Reagan!Lower corp taxes.Cut capital gains.You know the routine.Obamas economy is a strikeout.Next up to bat is………..