NY Fracking Ban Is Literally Impoverishing Rural Towns

New York’s ban on hydraulic fracturing is great news for environmentalists, but horrible news for those living upstate who are seeing their economic opportunities fade as the state government closes the door on drilling.

A recent report by the state comptroller found that while New York added 538,000 jobs between 2009 and 2014, virtually all of these jobs were concentrated in New York City. The Southern Tier, on the other hand, has been suffering. This is the region where most natural gas operations would be occurring had it been allowed by the state government. It didn’t, and now people are losing jobs and hope.

“The Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, Central New York and North Country regions all experienced employment declines over the five years, with lower rates of total wage growth,” the comptroller’s report found, adding that overall labor participation in the region was falling as well.

Earlier this year, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo finalized a state ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, over concerns it would contaminate state water supplies and worsen air quality. Ironically, Cuomo’s ban came after the federal EPA said there was no “evidence that [fracking activities] have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.”

Via: Daily Caller

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NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S PANEL VOTES UNANIMOUSLY FOR $15 AN HOUR MINIMUM WAGE FOR FAST FOOD WORKERS!!

The Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo is determined to destroy what little employment we have in this state just for political points as his political panel recommends that fast food workers’ minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour!

I love this girl who says the raise will “transform” her life. Yeah, if she’s the lucky one to get the raise instead of being unemployed. Then she’ll be magically transformed onto welfare!

From the execrable New York Times:

A panel appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recommended on Wedesday that the minimum wage be raised for employees of fast-food chain restaurants throughout the state to $15 an hour. Wages would first be raised in New York City and then the rest of the state.

The $15 wage would represent a raise of more than 70 percent for workers earning the state’s current minimum wage of $8.75 an hour. Advocates for low-wage workers said they believed that the mandate would quickly spur pay raises for employees in other industries across the state.

“Chalk one up for the 99-percenters,” said Bill Lipton, director of the Working Families Party in New York, which has campaigned for the $15 minimum wage. “There’s clearly a new standard for the minimum wage and it’s actually a living wage for the first time in many, many decades.”

Awesome!! I can’t wait to see the headlines of people being laid off by businesses in NYC just like they did in Seattle! LOL!!

Via: The Right Scoop

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Survey: $15 Minimum Wage Could Shutter 1 in 5 NY Fast Food Joints

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BY: Bill McMorris  
June 5, 2015 3:20 pm

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D.) promised minimum wage hikes for fast food New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D.) promised minimum wage hikes for fast food restaurants could shut down one out of every five chain restaurants in the state, according to a new survey.

The Employment Policies Institute, a free market think tank and critic of minimum wage hikes, surveyed nearly 1,000 self-described fast food entrepreneurs about how they would respond to statewide, industry-specific wage hikes. More than 20 percent of respondents said they were “very likely” to go out of business if the state raises the minimum wage for fast food joints to $15, a 70 percent increase from the current $8.75 statewide minimum wage.

Such a hike could spur higher costs for customers and reduced employment opportunities and hours for workers. Business owners responded overwhelmingly that such policies would hurt the very workers that Cuomo and activists claim to want to help.

Only 5 percent of respondents said they were “unlikely” to raise prices to cope with a $15 wage; 70 percent said they were very likely. In order to retain customers and remain competitive, a majority of the owners said they would be forced to cut employee hours or curb hiring.

“Low single-digit profit margins, which are typical for the fast food industry, explain why business owners in the state report considering a series of off-setting measures to adapt to a $15 minimum wage,” the report says.

Cuomo is seeking to increase wages on the fast food industry through a three-member board that is debating a potential $15 wage at chain restaurants. EPI analyst and report author Michael Saltsman attended Friday’s hearing, criticizing both Cuomo’s methods and also the policy.

“Our survey shows that a dramatic minimum wage hike would have the same negative effect in New York that it’s having on the west coast. Employers and employees should hope the wage board can tune out the noise and take a careful look at the consequences,” Saltsman said. “An unelected board hearing where proponents shout down the other side—is this what democracy looks like?”

Via: WFB

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NY GOV. CUOMO: PRO-LIFE, PRO-GUN, PRO-MARRIAGE CONSERVATIVES 'HAVE NO PLACE IN THE STATE'

On Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), who has been widely discussed as a possible 2016 presidential candidate,told Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom that “extreme conservatives” should leave the state. He said that “extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay” have “no place in the state of New York.”

He began by ripping into the Tea Party without naming it:

You have a schism within the Republican Party. … They’re searching to define their soul, that’s what’s going on. Is the Republican party in this state a moderate party or is it an extreme conservative party? That’s what they’re trying to figure out. It’s a mirror of what’s going on in Washington. The gridlock in Washington is less about Democrats and Republicans. It’s more about extreme Republicans versus moderate Republicans.

He then added:

You’re seeing that play out in New York. … The Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act — it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate! Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.

Via: Breitbart

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Tingles Accuses Sarah Palin Of “Dog Whistle” Racism For Saying “Shuck And Jive”…

Liberal cable anchor Chris Matthews, who in 2010 used the phrase "shuck and jive," on Wednesday assailed Sarah Palin as racist for using the phrase "shuck and jive." Referring to a Facebook post the former Alaska governor wrote about Obama and Libya, Matthews ranted, "You know, a dog whistle is a dog whistle...A trumpet call is another."

The MSNBC host insisted that "shuck and jive" has "a particular ethnic connection" and "to throw it at the president as an ethnic shot is pretty blatant." On July 7, 2010, Matthews, while talking to Rachel Maddow and her visit to Afghanistan, wondered, "What has it been like, as you shuck and jive, hang out with the men over there, the women over there, in uniform risking their lives every day?" The late Tim Russert also used the term on July 18, 2003.

In 2008, then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said of Barack Obama: "You can't shuck and jive at a press conference." Steve McMahon, a Hardball regular, talked to then-MSNBC host Tucker Carlson and demurred, "Well, that's not the way I would have put it."

On September 7, 2011, Jay Carney, a spokesman for Matthews' beloved Obama, told the press corps, "Sorry. I'm going to shuck and jive! Time to shuck and jive."

Palin entitled her Facebook post, "Obama's shuck and jive ends with Benghazi lies."

On Wednesday, Hardball guest Jonathan Alter, a former Newsweek editor, railed against Palin, "...Shuck and jive, that's like talking about watermelon... for Jews, talking about Jews are greedy or the Irish are drunk."

Via: Newsbusters

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