The Future of Energy
What to know: Speaking at the East Texas Energy Summit in Tyler last week, TPPF’s Courtnie Bagley explained that Texas schools aren’t successfully connecting students to programs that could lead to high-paying careers in the oil and gas industry.
The TPPF take: The oil and gas industry directly employs more than 443,000 hardworking Texans in quality, high-paying jobs with an average salary of $115,300.
“Many of these jobs are available to students through the state energy cluster CTE program,” Courtnie explains. “However, 91% of students in Texas do not have access to these programs and out of 355,000 students that graduated from Texas public high schools last year, only 34 graduated with a credential in oil and gas.”
For more on the future of the energy industry, click here.
Pain at the Pump
What to know: Gas prices are starting to rise again, putting pressure on American families.
The TPPF take: Unfortunately for consumers, the Biden administration continues to hobble domestic production.
“That trip to Yellowstone National Park (or Destin, Fla., for that matter) is about to get a lot more expensive,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “But it doesn’t have to. Unleashing Texas energy production would bring down gas prices and help address the inflation pressures being felt at every kitchen table now. It might come at the expense of President Biden’s progressive base, but for a president who has often been desperate to distance himself from the pain at the pump, it could be a grand bargain.”
For more on gas prices, click here.
Expanding Coverage, Not Care
What to know: Expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults won’t solve the problems being faced by Mississippi’s rural hospitals, one expert says.
The TPPF take: The problem isn’t a lack of coverage.
“With 92% of the public holding some sort of health care coverage, the Biden administration misses a fundamental point: The real problem is not a lack of coverage but a lack of access to care,” says TPPF’s Andrea Hitt. “The increasing rural hospital closures and physician shortages greatly undermine people’s ability to seek care. Residents in rural areas who now have to travel farther for care often face worse health outcomes.”
For more on the ACA and rural health care, click here.