Tag Archives: President Obama’s war on coal

The Layoffs Begin

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Breitbart.com is reporting that Boeing has announced a 30 percent cut in managerial positions in the company.

The article reports:

Boeing says the cuts are not part of the president’s $500 billion in defense cuts, set to take effect in January 2013. But this is hard to believe, particularly since other defense contractors, like Lockheed Martin, have been warning that the president’s military cuts were going to lead to job losses in defense.

In fact, in September, Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors were threatening to go ahead and lay their workers off before the election so voters could see the impact of Obama’s cuts, but Obama’s team talked them out of it. At the time, the Obama administration told them it would be “inappropriate” to lay the workers off ahead of the election.

Yesterday KSL.com reported that West Ridge Mine has laid off 102 employees as a result of the re-election of President Obama.

The article reports:

In its statement, UtahAmerican Energy blames the Obama administration for instituting policies that will close down “204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014″ and for drastically reducing the market for coal.

“There is nowhere to sell our coal, and when we can, the market prices are far lower,” the statement said. “Without markets, there can be no coal mines and no coal jobs.”

Let’s hope that as the war on coal continues that at least we will be able to develop other domestic energy resources through fracking.

There is a list of layoffs at The Blaze. They include such companies as Westinghouse, the Providence Journal, Energizer, Research in Motion Limited (manufactures Blackberry smartphones), Lightyear Network Solutions, Hawker Beechcraft, CVPH Medical Center, U.S. Cellular, Momentive Performance Materials, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS), Husqvarna AB (HUSQB), Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oce North America, Inc., Darden Restaurants, and United Blood Services Gulf South region. Follow the link to the article to see the additional companies laying people off. The website has updated the story.

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Some Major West Virginia Democrats Will Not Attend The Democrat National Convention

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The National Journal reported yesterday that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Representative Nick Rahall and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin will not be part of the West Virginia delegation to the Democrat Convention in Charlotte in September.

The article reports:

“I intend to spend this fall focused on the people of West Virginia, whether that’s representing them in my official U.S. Senate duties or here at home, where I can hear about their concerns and ideas to solve the problems of this great nation,” Manchin said in a statement. “I will remain focused on bringing people together for the next generation, not the next election.”

President Obama’s policies toward coal are very damaging to West Virginia, which has an economy based on coal production.

As Breitbart.com reported earlier this month:

President Obama wants to steer electricity generation away from coal to natural gas. The only problem with that is our system is set up for coal, coal is abundant and coal is easier to get. While the market may naturally gravitate to natural gas as it becomes easier to get through fracking, something the Left has demonized and is fighting, we’re not there yet.

This is a definite threat to the economy of West Virginia, and the leaders of West Virginia are correct in taking that threat seriously. Part of their responsibility as state officials is to protect the welfare of their state. It is totally understandable that the leaders of West Virginia will not be at the Democrat Conventions. It is also interesting to read the comments at the bottom of the article at the National Journal. It is also a good idea when you read comments on news articles that campaigns have people whose only job is to comment on articles that mention some aspect of the campaign.

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The Cost Of President Obama’s War On Coal

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America is to coal as Saudi Arabia is to oil. We have a lot of it and use it domestically to generate cheap electricity. Unfortunately, that is about to change.

Breitbart.com reported yesterday:

In January of 2008, then Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama, talking about his energy plan, told the San Francisco Chronicle, “When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…” He wasn’t kidding.

He was talking about the impact of Cap and Trade, a bill he assumed Congress would pass. Congress did not pass the bill, but the President is using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement to provisions of the bill without Congressional approval.

The article reports:

This isn’t just hyperbole. A survey of electricity executive indicates 90 percent of them expect the costs of moving away from coal power plants to lead to higher electricity bills for consumers. More than half of the survey respondents predict at least a 10 percent increase.

More than a survey, as Phil Kerpen, President of American Commitment, reports:

…PJM Interconnection, the company that operates the electric grid for 13 states held its 2015 capacity auction…The market-clearing price for new 2015 capacity – almost all natural gas – was $136 per megawatt. That’s eight times higher than the price for 2012, which was just $16 per megawatt.

But don’t expect this White House to care. They have no reason to. These price spikes are a few years away and will come long after President Obama will face voters for the last time. He’ll either be a President in his last term or a former President, neither of which carry accountability.

The obvious questions here is, “What can we do to stop the dramatic rise in the cost of electricity (and these people want us to buy electric cars?)?” The only answer is for voters to become aware of what they are facing and share the information with other voters. As long as the Senate is controlled by Democrats, they will not pass legislation that will stop the attack on coal (and thus raise electricity prices). The only way to stop a drastic increase in the cost of lighting your home, cooking your food, watching television, and using your computer is to vote for Republicans for Congress in November.

 

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