Contrary To GOP Promises, Keystone XL Pipeline Will Only Create 35 Permanent Jobs

On Tuesday, ahead of a Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline that came up short, Krystal Ball of MSNBC’s The Cycle provided some facts in response to well-worn Republican talking points supporting the pipeline’s extension. Conservatives have long championed the a 1,200-mile extension of the pipeline, which would transport crude oil from tar sands in Canada down to refineries in the United States, which will then be delivered to the world market. Ball systematically decimated each one of the GOP’s major reasons why it is absolutely necessary for the country to have this pipeline transport Canadian oil to US refineries for international consumption.

Below is video of the segment, courtesy of MSNBC:

While Ball helpfully refuted such falsehoods, such as the pipeline will lead to lower gas prices or energy independence, the coup de grace came when she quoted a State Department report regarding the number of jobs that will be created by the project. Per the study, roughly 3,900 temporary construction jobs will be supported by the pipeline. However, those jobs are not permanent. When looking at permanent jobs, only about 35 will be created as a direct result of the pipeline. That is a far cry from the tens of thousands of sustainable jobs that conservatives have crowed about regarding Keystone.

Of course, the real reason Republicans and conservative Democrats have continuously pushed for this pipeline’s approval is due to the huge windfall it will create for oil companies, specifically the Koch Bros. A report completed last year shows that the Kochs stand to make $100 billion from the passage of the Keystone extension. That’s billion, not million. While it is possible, and perhaps even likely, that the report may have exaggerated the figures a bit, it still stands to reason that the Kochs will profit greatly from this pipeline and will make billions of dollars.

Now, Republicans can’t just go to the people and say that we need to make sure insanely rich billionaires need to be given an opportunity to become even more insanely wealthy, environmental impacts be damned. Of course not. Therefore, they need to go out and claim that the project will create tons of jobs,  help the country’s economy and fulfill its energy needs. Or, in other words, lie. Lie through their teeth.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).