Governor Andrew Cuomo’s indecision on the fracking issue in New York led businesses to leave the state for years. His recent ban will certainly do little to curtail the departure of those businesses.
There’s an even more surprising migration being discussed because of the fracking ban, however – entire towns.
Fifteen of them to be exact.
Fifteen towns in the Upstate New York Towns Association are actively researching whether they can secede to Pennsylvania, in part due to staples of the Cuomo economy – high property taxes, low business revenue, and of course, fracking.
Via WBNG:
The local economy is pushing one organization in Upstate New York to pose a question: Is it possible to secede to Pennsylvania?
The Upstate New York Towns Association is researching this very topic. The group says a few factors pushing its research are high property taxes, low sales tax revenue and the recent decision to ban hydraulic fracturing in New York.
“The Southern Tier is desolate,” said Conklin Town Supervisor Jim Finch (R). “We have no jobs and no income. The richest resource we have is in the ground.”
Finch said the ground in Conklin is rich with natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. However, that shale is unable to be tapped. He described this ban as a violation of his natural rights as a property owner.
There are 15 towns interested in the secession, according to the Towns Association. These towns are in Broome, Delaware, Tioga and Sullivan counties. The association declined to name the towns without their permission and also declined to comment on specifics at this time. As of now, research is ongoing. The group will be updating Action News with all of their findings in the coming weeks.
Why Pennsylvania? While New York is squandering an economic gold mine in fracking, Pennsylvania is experiencing an economic boom due to its willingness to drill since 2005.
Via Fox News:
Anybody looking for the story of how natural gas can light a fire under a cooling economy should ask officials in Bradford County, Pa.
Gas companies have been drilling there since 2005. Nearly 1,200 wells have been fracked. The county seat of Towanda, which had been in decline after its manufacturing base moved away, is now a boom town. Even a recent slowdown in drilling because of rock-bottom gas prices hasn’t blunted the growth. Gas revenues allowed the county to retire a $5 million debt — and lower real estate taxes by 6 percent.
Fracking has been an economic game-changer for the entire area, said Bradford County Commissioner Daryl Miller.
“The amount of job growth has been phenomenal. The amount of business growth has been phenomenal,” Miller told Fox News.
Cuomo, it would seem, would rather continue down the path of being a “death-spiral” state.
Cross-posted at the Mental Recession
