Energy

All eyes are now focused on negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff, which if left unaddressed will result in arbitrary spending cuts and tax rate increases for all earners at the beginning of next year. Arbitrary cuts combined with new increases in tax rates would undermine economic growth and likely send our economy back into recession.

The national economy is bleak. Four years after a deep recession, unemployment remains stubbornly high at 7.8 percent, and economic growth has slowed to 1.3 percent. Families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. As wages and benefits have been cut, prices of electricity, gas, food, and health care continue to rise. Clearly, we are not headed in the right direction.

Affordable energy is a necessary ingredient for long-term economic growth. Lower utility rates reduce overhead costs, leaving businesses more money to grow, add more employees, and reduce consumer prices. The less money families spend on their monthly power bill, the more money they have to save or spend as they wish – all of which contributes to economic growth.

As our economy struggles, the lack of bipartisan solutions from Congress only adds to our frustration.