Coal terminal debate continues | Letter

Published 3:43 pm Monday, August 13, 2012

A few thoughts re Mr. Riordan’s response to my letter on the coal terminal. If any claims of economic gains are “bloated,” I suggest the reader look no further than the massive benefits we are told will come with “green jobs.”

Can anyone say Solyndra? Coal terminal gains are speculative?  Isn’t everything in life speculative?  If a coal train is so bad, why don’t we just shut down I-5, ban wildfires and dust storms in Asia and volcanos while we’re at it?

In fact, the reports cited as being so damning to the terminal are mostly in agreement with projected benefits, both economic and labor, saying the impact estimates are “reasonable,” the findings “well done,” concluding that the terminal could reduce local unemplyment by 12 percent.

Oh, the 45 percent discrepancy in indirect benefits? The  report admits they had no good models to work with on that point.

Finally, if the real problem with this project is that it’s being promoted by an evil Wall Street corporation, then I suggest, to paraphrese a great man, that yes, free-market capital is the worst economic system ever tried, except when compared to all the others!  Thank you.

Joe Davis

Orcas Island