Category: Opinion
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Does Biden Prefer OPEC Oil over American Oil?
By Alan Olson, Executive Director, Montana Petroleum Association Last week as fuel prices continued to climb the White House released the following announcement: “President Biden has made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump. Although we are not a party to OPEC, the United States…
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Letter to the Editor – Morse
Dear Editor, On August 3, 2021, the Yellowstone County Commissioners faced one of its most significant votes in recent memory relating to the recreational marijuana issue as a result of I-90. Whether you were for the Board action, or against it, is was important for each Commissioner to participate. Commissioner Pitman stated he had a…
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Letter to Senator Tester
Dear Senator Tester At the forefront of our recovery from the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is the Biden Administration’s $2 trillion-plus American jobs Plan. It’s an ambitious proposal meant to create jobs, strengthen infrastructure, and position the U.S. to compete globally – ultimately, putting Americans and our communities back on strong financial…
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Federal Reserve Worries about Extended Inflation
The Center Square Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tried to calm lawmakers’ fears about rising inflation but also said it would probably remain elevated for months to come. Testifying before Congress, Powell said the Federal Reserve was willing to step in to address the situation, but that inflation should level out next year. “As always,…
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SBE Council Says Inflation Running from Hot to Red Hot
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) reacted to the news that Consumer Price Index inflation ran at 0.9 percent in June, and 5.4 percent over the past year. SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating said, “Inflation went from running hot to red hot. If annualized, during the first six months of 2021, inflation…
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Let’s get real…. Natural Gas Remains Important
From Center Square Thanks to fracking in the Marcellus shale, Pennsylvania has led a U.S. natural gas revolution since 2007. The state’s production has exploded almost 40-fold, to over 7,300 billion cubic feet, or 20% of the national total. Pennsylvania now ranks second only to Texas on this measure and yields more gas than any…
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Hamm Striving for Impossible
By Harold Hamm, Continental Resources, From the Montana Petroleum Association America reached energy independence in 2019 and, more recently, achieved another milestone that Harold Hamm says will better align where the U.S. oil and gas industry is headed in the future. There is an old saying that goes, “The difficult is done at once, the impossible…
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Group Calls for Permanent Child Care Credit
An organization called Parents Together Action is calling on Montanans to advocate to expand the Child Tax Credit into a permanent benefit. The group claims to have 2.5 million members nationwide.A marketing agency recently released information saying that many parents are still unaware of the federal program that gives parents $300 per child every month.…
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Letter to the Editor – Alan Olson
Has Billings Mayor Bill Cole Forgotten 1000 Workers in Yellowstone County? By Alan Olson, Montana Petroleum Association It was reported recently in the Billings Gazette that Mayor Cole was enthusiastically doing the obligatory political ribbon cutting thing to celebrate a new business venture in Billings. The new venture is in the business of selling electricity…
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MPA Expresses Concerns Over President’s BLM Nominee
A Montanan, Tracy Stone-Manning of Missoula has been nominated by President Biden to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The appointment has stirred concern by the Montana Petroleum Association (MPA) which points to Stone-Manning’s recent testimony before a natural resources committee about the way the BLM manages public lands regarding oil and…