COMMENTARY | Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La., held up a sign during President Barack Obama's jobs speech after Labor Day. It was on a simple white piece of paper that said "DRILLING = JOBS" and was a simple statement that would replace anyone shouting out things at Obama such as "You lie" when Joe Wilson did that very thing two years ago.
Perhaps someone needs to tell Landry the same thing Wilson told Obama. Drilling does indeed equal more jobs, according to the American Petroleum Institute . A recent study states a shift in U.S. energy policy could mean 1.4 million more jobs and $800 billion in more revenue for Congress. Unfortunately, the jobs won't happen for seven years.
Additional drilling will add 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, but that won't happen until 2030. Those 10 million barrels per day will replace the nearly 9.2 million barrels of crude oil imported to the United States every day. OPEC imports nearly 5 million barrels of oil a day to feed American needs for refined gasoline to go into their cars.
By the time the extra oil comes online to U.S. markets, another policy shift could make fuel efficiency standards just as competitive. When more vehicles with hybrid and electric technology reduce the need for oil, Americans may no longer need the extra oil. Once that happens, oil companies would shift operations overseas to countries like China or India. Jobs would be exported just like now to places like China or Mexico where companies go to find cheaper labor.
Obama is trying to create jobs now, not seven years from now. Not only that, Landry's sign makes me wonder where his interests truly stand. His own biography admits he supported the oil and gas industry as an attorney in southern Louisiana.
Bingo. Drilling creates jobs for Landry's district. By the time his job-creating bill makes a difference, it will be too late for most of the unemployed who are suffering right now. The American Petroleum Institute also claimed there are shovel-ready jobs right now. Even those will take time and training to come to fruition.
It would have made sense for former president George W. Bush, an oil man from Texas, to cater to the oil industry. MSNBC reported Bush didn't take time to try to reverse oil drilling bans until July 2008, about six months before his term was up. Two months later, the economic crisis hit and then the president had other things to work on.
The oil industry isn't going to cure the American need for jobs. It's dangerous work with oil and the health effects on oil industry employees in the field are numerous. Are millions more jobs worth the risk to American families that will raise health care costs even further? That's not the kind of future Americans should envision for their children.
What's worse, Landry's sign is just as disrespectful as yelling something at the president. He should have been attentive to the speech instead of making a political statement. All Landry had to do otherwise was have an imprint on his shirt saying "Property of Big Oil."
William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.
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