New York’s economy will burst apart without natural gas or some other viable solution natural gas opponents have yet to share.  We need jobs.

The “fracktivists” have been grasping at straws to make their case against natural gas development.  One of their members keeps claiming that the economic benefits of natural gas development are exaggerated because, as he claims, it’s a “boom and bust industry.”  This is crazy.  You just can’t make this stuff up.  Well, actually, that’s exactly what they do.

At a recent gathering of the no-natural gas clan, an audience member suggested the gas business is all hype.  Its just another boom and bust that will only last 20 years or something to that effect.  Another attendee spoke my exact thoughts.  He replied that everything is a boom and bust in life.  He went on to say that while it’s a boom, it’s just that and it’s a good thing.  People are working, people are learning, and people are happier.

There’s a saying that all good things come to an end, but they are good while they last.  “What goes up, must come down” is another famous saying.  I can’t think of anything that is all boom unless you work for the government busting booming businesses.

If the fact any endeavor has an eventual bust meant the endeavor must be avoided, nothing would be done.  It’s a senseless argument.  If I haven’t made a clear case, consider Sikorsky Aircraft in Horseheads, NY or should I say formerly of Horseheads, NY.  This short-lived boom has just gone bust along with over 570 jobs.  It employed 1300 at its peak.  They’ve only been there since 2004.  I’ll bet those employees certainly appreciated those jobs while they were booming.  In addition, I’ll bet that more than a few of them will jump at the opportunity to work in the next boom in natural gas development.

Consider other local booms gone bust like IBM, Loral, Lockheed, Ithaca Gun, etc…  What about Myspace, the hula-hoop, and hacky-sack?

This NEW YORK STATE OF DEPRESSION needs a boom – any boom before the whole thing goes bust.  Natural gas is the only boom waiting to explode for us.  With the Marcellus, Utica, TBR, etc… I’m actually thinking it’s a BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.