Another example of the games being played in Washington, by both parties, wherein the goal is not the good of the country, but to beat the other party, is the Proposed Pipeline across Nebraska.
Until this issue reached the status of a political football, it was relatively a simple issue. On one side were the proponents who wanted to build a pipeline to transport Canadian crude oil across mid America to the refineries in Texas. Jobs would be created, taxes would be paid, and reliance on imported oil would be decreased.
On the other side, environmentalists wanted to kill the pipeline altogether, or at least move the route so as to avoid sensitive parts of the sandhills and the Ogallala aquifer in Nebraska. They want to solve the oil dependence on more alternate energy production such as wind, solar, and other methods.
Nebraskans, including the Governor and the Legislature, finally acted and worked out a compromise where the route would be changed away from the sandhills and the aquifer. But then Washington got involved. First, the administration claimed they needed more time to decide whether or not to grant the permit. This was an obvious move to avoid aggravating either side in the next election. Then Congress, in another political move, tied a quick decision onto the short extension of the cut in Social Security tax rates and extension of unemployment benefits.
The result is more confusion on the main issues, but the achievement of continued political fighting to the detriment of our country.
The question remains. How long are we going to accept this lack of responsible governance?
I’m Roger Larson, and that’s the way I see it.
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