I don’t think any KP readers will be surprised to learn that the Corbett administration’s 20,000 Jobs talking point is based on unverified industry numbers, or that we know very little about the methodology used to arrive at that figure. Even if you trust the study, the number of “direct” jobs created is estimated at just 2,396. Tryin to play you for a sucker.
The Corbett Administration’s claims that an ethane cracker would lead to “20,000 permanent jobs” in western Pennsylvania are based on a study conducted by the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group that counts Shell Chemical as a member.
The state has not conducted its own research into the matter, as the Tribune-Review reported earlier this week.
The American Chemistry Council claims a plant would lead to 17,541 new jobs. It divides them into three classes: direct, indirect and induced.
Neither the group’s one-page fact sheet or a longer three-page document – you can read both at the bottom of this post — explain the study’s methodology, but American Chemistry Council Chief Economist Kevin Smith told StateImpact Pennsylvania he and two other researchers used Mig Incorporated’s IMPLAN economic model to make projections.
How many jobs will Corbett lose by cutting education funding, and funding to social welfare programs? These are JOBS, despite current GOP talking points to the contrary, and their loss has a further deleterious effects upon the communities that host them: if you are a cop, a teacher, or a nurse, and you lose your job, you won’t be out and about SPENDING YOUR PAYCHECK in your local stores, which will result in further job loss. To believe otherwise is ignorant.