Fracking pays a lot better than tourism jobs

The letter to the editor “Fracking must be banned” made for an interesting read.

However, the writer overlooked an important aspect of the debate on whether to allow for fracking in Maryland: Tourism jobs are low-paying jobs.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage for Garrett County is $38,000. Examining the data more closely, for the jobs that are most likely to be supported by tourism — servers, dishwashers and amusement and recreation attendants — the average annual wage is about $20,000, which equates to about $9.30 per hour.

Compared to the annual average wage for fracking jobs, which is about $70,000, it stands to reason that an increase in familysupporting, living-wage jobs produced by fracking would help rather than hinder the local economy. Isaac Orr, Minneapolis, Minn. The writer is a research fellow with the Heartland Institute.

Vote gun control

In the four years since Sandy Hook, there have been 1,100 more mass shootings, and 400,000 more people have been injured or killed by firearms, 80,000 of them children (“Lethal City, USA,” Oct. 16). Enough is enough.

This November, Americans have the chance to elect leaders who will finally take action to reduce gun violence. Voter turnout is expected to hit new lows, but let’s not let that happen in our community! Every mom, dad, grandparent and family member in Baltimore who wants to see an end to America’s gun violence epidemic should make a plan now to vote, vote, vote! With so many lives at stake, we just can’t afford not to. Ellis Woodward, Baltimore