We cannot fall back on short-term solutions

The Pennsylvania Senate could pass a bill that would be an economic nightmare for Pennsylvania, warping our state economy to be more reliant on natural gas, which contaminates our air, water and land, and destroys our home.

The bill in question, House Bill 1100, calls for $800 million annual tax credit subsidy for the next 30 years for any petrochemical-related building projects in Pennsylvania, as part of the Energize PA plan. We simply cannot afford to support such frivolous spending. Our schools, infrastructure and environmental programs, like the Department of Environmental Protection, are fiercely underfunded and passing HB1100 funnels money away from things Pennsylvanians need and into the pockets of some of the world’s richest companies.

Furthermore, creating a single-industry economy is a dangerous game. From the steel industry collapse in Pittsburgh to the crash of coal in Scranton, Pa., we are not strangers to the harm of monotowns. We need to be diversifying our economy and looking for innovative solutions to our problems, prioritizing the repair of communities that have largely been short-changed, like our communities of color, depopulated rural communities and deindustrialized communities.

The bill passed the House back in September with a 13946 vote in favor, but we cannot fall back on short-term solutions that will ultimately cause more harm than good.

I’m now calling on Pittsburgh’s state senators to defend the well-being of Pennsylvanians and vote no on House Bill 1100.

MAURA DEELY

Oakland