Frackonomics

With New York going broke, CNY's robot army of fracking opponents have painted themselves into a corner.  Against a background of 50 years of industrial decline, they're desperately trying to convince us that there's no financial benefit to be had from all the jobs that shale gas extraction is creating in the Marcellus. 

At One of Nine, financial expert and former NY Assembly candidate Tom Reynolds takes on the "no economic benefit from fracking" story line.

Getting the straight, untwisted facts concerning any aspect of fracking is very difficult.  However, the anti-fracking element seems particularly adept at emotional (rather than factual) presentations that are half-truths.  Since my background is finance, I was particularly interested in Jannette Barth’s study on the economic impact of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.  Both in her study and at anti-fracking meetings Barth states, “Studies used to support the claim that drilling will bring economic benefits to New York are either biased, dated, (or) seriously flawed.”

Then, she produces a study that is “biased, dated, and seriously flawed.”