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By: Carl Graham, CEO, Montana Policy Institute Why are the same people who get so exercised about out of state influence on Montanas elections so uninterested in out of state influence on our livelihoods? Too many people who bemoan outside political spending seem to be just fine with out of state special interests and bureaucrats telling us how we can make a living, manage our lands and raise our families. Whos watching over our right to pursue happiness and foster a legacy of opportunity for our kids and grandkids while special interests try to fence the state off as a playground for the rich and a petri dish for social and environmental special interests? A rancher friend once told me he was going to live a pauper and die a millionaire. Much like him, Montana is land rich and cash poor because were not allowed to responsibly use our lands and resources for our own benefit. Even as we sit on unimaginable wealth above and below our beautiful landscapes, we have the second lowest wages per job on the nation.i Weve been cut off from our wealth by people who either dont understand or dont care about the human toll of pressing their values on Montana families. We all want and should welcome a sustainable and diverse economy; but industries that arent based on some underlying value can pack up and leave overnight. A sustainable economic base must leverage the things that are unique and lasting. In Montana those things are natural resources. You cant harvest Montana timber in Indonesia, raise Montana wheat in Australia or pump Montana oil in Saudi Arabia. Theyre what we have and businesses have to come here to get them. But were being increasingly cut off from what makes Montana the Treasure State. Imagine if the federal government stepped in and outlawed gambling in Las Vegas, tanning in Florida, or Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Those are the local engines of economic growth. Businesses and families depend on those things to prosper and pursue happiness. But here in Montana were being cut off from our economic engine. Its both unfair and unsustainable to have barriers erected by far away special interests and bureaucrats that seem to think that the families and lifestyles of those who live here are expendable. They can do this because the federal government oversees so much of our land. Nearly 30 percent of Montana is controlled by the federal government.ii Getting access to those federal lands, whether through grazing, drilling, digging or harvesting is getting more and more difficult and expensive because of federal meddling in what used to be state responsibilities.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Data released Sept. 2012. (Data pulled from University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Annual Average Wage/Salary per Job by State, http://bber.unm.edu/econ/us-wage.htm, (Accessed 10/15/12) ii U.S. Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346; February 8, 2012), by Ross W Gorte, et. al. iii Tom Amontree, Hydraulic Fracturing Has Been Done Safely For Years, http://thehill.com/opinion/letters/187527hydraulic-fracturing-has-been-done-safely-for-years, 10/13/11, (Accessed 10/15/12)
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