At a time when positive economic trends are hard to come by, much of America is benefiting from a gas and oil boom. Thanks to technological advances like fracking, domestic energy production of oil and gas has grown tremendously. The new supply has lowered the cost of energy for American’s and boasted the economy. The Washington Examiner editors highlights the benefits described in a new CBO report:
U.S. oil and gas production continues to reach new heights each month thanks to fracking, putting this country on par with oil powers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. That is good for everyone who lives here, not just for energy businesses. It not only increases economic output by a noticeable amount (three-quarters of a percentage point by 2020, CBO predicts), but also because it reduces energy costs for consumers and industries. Fracking will boost federal tax revenues by about 1 percent annually by 2040 without requiring any tax increases, according to CBO’s projections.
The fracking-fueled increase in U.S. oil and gas production will have other, intangible benefits as well. Fracking has already helped cut oil imports by half. It could weaken Russia and other hostile powers that use their energy supplies to bully their neighbors.
They go on to point out that there’s still room for improvement on the policy front:
These are great benefits, and Congress can do much to enhance them. First, it can lift the ban on crude oil exports, a relic from another era that does not benefit consumers… Congress can also help the United States achieve an even more dominant position in the world market by opening up more public lands to oil and gas exploration. Production of oil and gas on federal land has slowed dramatically under Obama… Finally, the new Congress can expedite federal approval for construction of as many liquid natural gas terminals as the world market can sustain. CBO notes that the United States will be producing more gas than it can consume by the end of this decade.
Further good news is that the shale boom is breaking the neck of the OPEC cartel. The bad news is that the EPA is determined to halt this American energy revolution no matter the cost.
