Knowledgeable insiders tell your editor that a combination of unknowable regulation and finance every pie-in-the-sky idea with gas tax revenue spree at the Statehouse may cause the large energy industry players to curtail growth.
As we have been saying for a while Western Colorado is at a critical point in its economic growth. Unfortunately, as others postulate that our economy is diversified enough to absorb a large scale decrease in energy industry spending, economic indicators do not support this notion.
Not wishing to beat a dead horse or any horse for that matter, it's clear that much of the retail and construction growth is directly tied to Petro dollars being expended in our area. Some, of dubious experience, believe that the energy industry will stay in our area no matter what the regulatory and tax environment. This is folly.
Most of the major energy industry players are in a mainly exploratory mode and although the dollars injected into our economy are quite large in our spectrum it is of smaller significance to multi-national corporations who have other options available. Also, we should not forget that the companies now own a vast majority of the resources -- they can extract them at their leisure should the regulatory climate improve.
In point of fact, Chambers of Commerce and job seekers in Wyoming and Utah are quite pleased with the actions of our Colorado regulators and there has been some movement in their direction. Our business/economic climate is rapidly becoming unpredictable and others are quick to capitalize on that unpredictability as they also possess energy resources.
Presently, Colorado has the advantage of having more easily reached energy reserves and development stage infrastructure for extraction. This means that all things being equal, energy corporations will absorb more to stay here, which puts Colorado into a more equal bargaining position.
If this were to change to a game of chicken, both sides ultimately would be the loser but only one could really afford it.
This is not to say that government should wholesale knuckle under to the energy industry, but instead see it as a valuable partnership to both entities.
