To: Governor Tom Wolf
Governor Wolf, Don't Frack PA's Tourism Industry
Karen Feridun
We the undersigned urge you to consider the irrefutable economic case for saving Pennsylvania’s sustainable tourism future from the fracking industry.
Pennsylvania made a great mistake ten years ago and we now have the evidence to understand it. We could have chosen to protect our large and growing tourism industry, which was producing significant job growth, state and local taxes, and economic development. Instead, the state favored the gas industry, famous for boom and bust cycles, requiring few employees, skilled in tax avoidance, and with a deplorable history of environmental degradation.
It is difficult to understand the strategy of allowing a small, economically unstable, outside industry to ruin the future of our much larger domestic travel industry. Even if a severance tax is imposed, it would be a fraction of the taxes derived from visitors. If tourism in the rural areas of the state is promoted vigorously, the new tax revenues generated would render the gas industry irrelevant. It does come down to a choice between the two, though, because we can't expect vacationers to visit a ruined, industrialized landscape.
Pennsylvania made a great mistake ten years ago and we now have the evidence to understand it. We could have chosen to protect our large and growing tourism industry, which was producing significant job growth, state and local taxes, and economic development. Instead, the state favored the gas industry, famous for boom and bust cycles, requiring few employees, skilled in tax avoidance, and with a deplorable history of environmental degradation.
It is difficult to understand the strategy of allowing a small, economically unstable, outside industry to ruin the future of our much larger domestic travel industry. Even if a severance tax is imposed, it would be a fraction of the taxes derived from visitors. If tourism in the rural areas of the state is promoted vigorously, the new tax revenues generated would render the gas industry irrelevant. It does come down to a choice between the two, though, because we can't expect vacationers to visit a ruined, industrialized landscape.
Why is this important?
This is a companion petition to an organizational sign-on letter the Better Path Coalition will deliver to Governor Wolf just after the beginning of the summer tourism season on Memorial Day. We will ask visitors of parks and state forests affected by shale gas development to sign this petition on the 4th of July and deliver it shortly thereafter.
The petition language is excerpted from the sign-on letter. To read the full letter, visit bit.ly/WolfTourismLetter. If your organization would like to sign the letter, visit bit.ly/SignTourismLetter.
The petition language is excerpted from the sign-on letter. To read the full letter, visit bit.ly/WolfTourismLetter. If your organization would like to sign the letter, visit bit.ly/SignTourismLetter.