Sunday Papers: How ‘Fast’ Eddie Rendell Made Sure Budget Avoided Natural Gas Pains
We all heard Gov. Ed Rendell’s (D-Comcast) lament that everyone had to share in Pa.’s budgetary pain, including the arts community, which was decimated by budget cuts while the big sports teams and movie theatres remained untouched. His lips were moving, so everyone knew that he was lying. When it comes to the natural gas industry, turns out he was lying to the tune of $107 million.
Today’s Philly Inquirer has a great article outlining just how Rendell weaseled out of this one.
Thanks to its amoral Governor, Pennsylvania is the only state not to tax natural gas production, this despite the fact that even the governor of West Virginia assured Rendell that the tax has had no negative impact on the industry whatsoever:
Rendell said (Joe) Manchin, a fellow Democrat, had assured him that West Virginia’s tax did not “inhibit gas extraction and that it is continuing at a record pace, and it’s reaping critically needed revenues so the state can provide services to its citizens.”
Rendell’s plan matched West Virginia’s – a 5 percent tax on the value of natural gas at the wellhead, plus 4.7 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas extracted.
By Rendell’s estimates, such a tax could raise $107 million for Pennsylvania in its first year, helping fill a billion-dollar budget gap.
In a recent interview, Manchin described what he said to Rendell months ago.
“The Marcellus Shale is a tremendous producer. A severance tax will not deter” the drillers, Manchin said. “Believe me, if we didn’t have the gas, they wouldn’t be here.”
Manchin said he had faced industry complaints in 2005 when he proposed to expand the tax, with some companies threatening to leave.
He offered to have the state buy up their leases “so you don’t lose one penny.” No one took him up on his offer.
So, why did the Governor relent? A multimillion dollar lobbying effort, an industry-sponsored report masquerading as an objective analysis, Fast Eddie’s penchant for lunching with lobbyists, and much more.
Folks, if you want to know what we’re up against, read this article. Then go out and find people with some sort of ethical compass to run for office. Or do it yourself.
BTW, for those of you wondering what has happened to my ‘Read All About It in the Sunday Papers’ weekly posting, my work schedule makes it virtually impossible to dig up the articles and then crank out the 1500-or-so-word feature on Sunday morning.
So, we at Delaware Liberal will be doing (or intend to do) multiple postings like this one each Sunday. Other contributors have offered to help out. And, as always, we encourage our readers to follow suit. We just might turn your contributions into full-fledged articles giving you full credit for unearthing something interesting.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just finished breakfast and need to deal with some gas pains of my own.
Tags: Ed Rendell, Lobbying, Natural Gas, Pennsylvania
A moving story of Alpha Troop in Sunday LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-alpha-troop25-2009oct25,0,3522913.story
Other big news:
The Condo Auction sells fewer units at lower prices than hoped for by developer Buchini.
The Corps of Engineers is going to ignore Delaware’s environmental concerns and dredge shipping channel of the Delaware river without a state permit (must be Bush’s fault)
No offense to anyone who bought one – but they’d probably sell better if they weren’t hideous eyesores. Honesty, what were they thinking when they designed that shiite? Oh yeah, they were thinking that the housing bubble would inflate forever. I guess the better question is – what was they city government thinking when they approved such lackluster designs?
Vice President Biden and Gov Markell to make big Announcement at GM Boxwood plant today.
Markell won that “Most Underrated Governor” poll.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/fix-poll/fix-poll-markell-as-most-under.html?wprss=thefix
Break is over. Back to the yard.
In addition to the fact that Jack is teh awesome, the poll can also be seen as a measure of this blog’s strength.
Yard. Now.
Jason, pardon, but do you think so? Interesting.
I don’t understand why we aren’t (as long as the government enjoys handing out money to developers, which is a whole ‘nother rant) doing more with restoring the beautiful housing that Wilmington has … one of our advantages, I’ve always thought.
But then, I’m a little Riverfront neutral, which I know is atypical. Like the new boardwalk, though.
I’m no fan of high-rise condos, but (1) the Riverfront properties were selling quite well until the Great Panic exposed their overbuilding; (2) the City doesn’t approve the aesthetics of building design [except in historic districts like Baynard Boulevard or Kentmere Parkway]; (3) residential development near existing urban centers is smart growth to be encouraged.
Maybe I have to disqualify myself from talking about the esthetics of WIlmington having lived for a time in Edinburgh, London, Paris and Washington.
(Thank you! That bit of egregiousness was dedicated to RSmitty).
Yes JM. Just make them look better so people will want to buy them.
JM, I’m not so sure these properties were really selling as fast as expected. And the expectation is that they would fly off of the shelves like the Riverfront townhouses across the way. Those townhouses were largely sold as they were beginning the construction — some turned over a few times even unbuilt. That said, what they built down there was pretty darned ugly. You can see the backs of these buildings from the 2nd St/Washington St intersection and from the back they look like a prison. Walk by them and look closely and you see a design that never really took advantage of its place at the river. I imagine that the auction was about getting more people down there so it looked more lived in.
And AMEN to this:
I don’t understand why we aren’t (as long as the government enjoys handing out money to developers, which is a whole ‘nother rant) doing more with restoring the beautiful housing that Wilmington has … one of our advantages, I’ve always thought.
I’ve just seen some data on Wilmington’s housing stock and an assessment of neighborhoods and man, there is plenty of opportunity in the city to help revive/restore neighborhoods. It is a complex problem, but some basic smart investing in neighborhoods, linking those neighborhoods with some of the business/market district redevelopments, and better support to neighborhoods could make a huge difference.
Cassandra – I agree with you about the splendor and potential of Wilmington’s vintage housing stock, and I am no fan of the design of Riverfront projects, far inferior to the new projects on Broad Street.
The Christina Landing townhouses were hugely popular – selling at $350,000 to $550,000 before the Great Panic. 105 Christina project sold out – at what price I can’t say – but the Justison project looks like overreach in retrospect, or at least bad timing.
I don’t carry water for the Buccini folks, but City advocates appreciate the masterful job they have done with the Delaware Trust Building and the Nemours Building, their resuscitation of the chronic white elephant known as the I.M. Pei Building, their investment in the Ship’s Tavern district, where others have stalled.
Three quarters of the Buccini townhouses are sitting empty, owned by investors (or at least people who think they are investors).
The Condo tower has not yet sold out having been completed over 2 years ago. The majority of the units sit empty, owned by “investors”.
The adjacent apartment tower is largely vacant having been completed over 4 years ago.
Which is a long way of saying the new riverfront is overbuilt and over priced.
The next round of auctioned units will go even cheaper.
but City advocates appreciate the masterful job they have done with the Delaware Trust Building and the Nemours Building, their resuscitation of the chronic white elephant known as the I.M. Pei Building, their investment in the Ship’s Tavern district, where others have stalled.
Some of their work along Market St has been great. Altho the start of the Ships Tavern district (the Ships Tavern Mews) was done by Streuver Brothers from Baltimore — folks hugely responsible for lots of the creative development in Canton, Fells Point, Brewers Hill and other Baltimore neighborhoods. Streuver Bros was largely expected to do the garage work and another project in Ships Tavern, but was inexplicably tossed aside for Buccini Polin. I was very excited to see Streuver here — their great strengths are in using existing buildings to great advantage and in launching communities — both skill sets badly needed here.