VIEWPOINT How to grow the economy more quickly BY A N T H O N Y J. A H E R N Most people understand that our nation’s economy is not grow- ing at a sufficient pace to put a significant dent in the unem- ployment rate or lift the economic prospects of lower- and middle-income people. It’s not for lack of trying that we are in this situation. Washing- ton’s stimulus spending, as big as it was, hasn’t been enough to do the trick. Ramping up stimulus spending to higher levels isn’t attractive because it digs the financial hole deeper. The idea of increasing taxes at this time is now being viewed as something that would reduce consumer spending and thus be bad for the economy. What to do? One of Yogi Berra’s quotes was “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” A new fork in the road has emerged in the U.S. in just the past five years. This fork is the means to now economi- cally extract oil and natural gas through newly developed hori- zontal drilling technology. States like North Dakota, where horizontal drilling has been underway for several years, are economically booming. Unem- ployment in North Dakota is so low that employers are struggling to find enough workers. In just the past few years, concerns about declining U.S. natural gas production have been replaced with burgeoning supplies and very low natural gas prices. We have the potential to build plants to convert U.S. natural gas into diesel fuel and plastics, which would create U.S. jobs and add to U.S. exports. U.S. crude oil production is likely to increase, resulting in less imported crude oil and fewer dollars flowing out of the country. Ohio’s economy could see a big lift from eastern Ohio’s Utica shale. Growing our nation’s economy should be the No. 1 economic pri- ority of our policymakers. Increased production of oil and natural gas promises to do this more quickly than practically any other policy initiative. Why? First, society’s energy needs are huge. Second, established markets for oil and natural gas already exist. Third, ramping up U.S. oil and natural gas production reduces imports and lowers energy prices to consumers. Our policymakers need to embrace domestic energy development and get us headed in the right direction. It’s time to take this new fork in the road.  2 COUNTRY LIVING • JANUARY 2012 Volume 54, No. 4 January 2012 Contact us: www.ohioruralelectric.coop Anthony Ahern Steve Oden Rich Warren John Howley Chris Hall Bernice Mattison Keith Crabtree Nikki Heath Marc Orr Margie Wuebker Chip Gross Sandy Woolard Tim Dickes President & CEO Dir. of Comm. Managing Editor Editor Art & Prod. Manager Publications Coord. Comm. Consultant Graphic Artist Editor Emeritus Food Editor Outdoors Editor Advertising Advertising COUNTRY LIVING (ISSN 0747-0592) is the official publication of Ohio Rural Elec- tric Cooperatives, Inc. With a paid circulation of 294,786, it is the monthly commun- ication link between the rural elec tric cooperatives in Ohio and West Virginia and their mem- bers. Subscription price: $4.30 to $6.50 per year to co-op members; $12 per year to non- members. Nothing in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without specific written permission from Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. All rights reserved. National advertising representatives: NATIONAL COUNTRY MARKET, based at 611 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78704 1-800-NCM-1181 The fact that a product is advertised in Country Living should not be taken as an endorsement. If you find an ad- vertisement misleading or a product unsatisfactory, please notify us or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Section, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215, or call 1-800-282-0515. Cooperative members — Please report any change of address to your local electric cooperative. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, OH and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to editorial and advertising offices at: P.O. Box 26036 Columbus, OH 43226-0036 Telephone — 614-846-5757 Serving on the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Board of Trustees are Edward P. Sanders, chairman; George Brake, vice chairman; Dennis Schindler, secretary/treasurer; Charles Grimes, Paul Berridge, Thomas McQuiston, Robert McCort, Donald Mc- Cracken, Jack L. Kitchel, Daniel McNaull, Robert Wise, Shirley J. Stutz, David Corbin, Larry D. Martin, Jack Schmidt Jr., C. Emer- son Snapp, James R. McConnell, Eugene Royer, Larry Zeedyk, William Oedy, Harold E. Cooper, Lawrence Weirich, Jeff Wilson and David P. Miller. Anthony J. Ahern, president; Kurt Helfrich, counsel.