T. Boone Pickens participated in a town hall meeting along with Congressman John Larson in East Hartford, Connecticut just before Thanksgiving. There were over 500 people at the event including the president of the Bristol, CT (home of ESPN) Chamber of Commerce.
Mike Nicastro wrote about his visit with Boone in his newspaper column, writing:
“Listening to Mr. Pickens it is clear the challenges we are facing in the near term could be as critical if not more critical than the current health care debate.”
As the Chamber president, Mr. Nicastro looks at major issues through a businessman’s eye. He recounted for his readers:
Lest we forget the current recession started with gasoline prices rising to unprecedented highs. Oil reached $147 dollars a barrel and gasoline for our automobiles and trucks eclipsed $4 a gallon. The domino effect was painful. Airlines declined, auto sales plummeted, small businesses suffered and consumer spending fell sharply. In many cases families were spending the monthly mortgage payment on fuel in order to get to work. The rest is history.
That last line about spending mortgage money on fuel is a huge issue in the Northeast where fuel oil is a major heating fuel.
Mr. Nicastro writes:
Many economist strongly believe that until we turn the energy corner, the US will not experience a true recovery. We are already seeing a great example of this by a market rally that is producing no jobs. Unfortunately danger continues to lurk around the corner.
The Chamber chief concluded the Pickens Plan portion of his column by writing:
While there are many other challenges facing us as a nation, our energy dependence is one that could drag this tenuous economy right back into very deep trouble. This needs to be addressed with a high sense of urgency.
To read the entire essay in the Bristol Press click HERE.
— The Pickens Team