President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing the Obama administration’s stance on the Keystone Pipeline project. Trump cited jobs, plain and simple, as the reason he’s for the pipeline — jobs over clean water, some fear. But even the jobs aspect comes with a caveat. Infrastructure projects are almost always job creators in the short term only — for example, when a bridge is done, it’s done. Ongoing maintenance of infrastructure-related projects usually requires just a fraction of the workers needed at first.
These are important considerations as President Trump tries to boost the jobs market for American workers permanently, attempting to fulfill the campaign promise that was the chief driver of his victory: more American jobs. In 2014, an examination of the Keystone Pipeline Project by the U.S. Department of State determined that post-construction the project would create 35 permanent jobs in the U.S.
“Once the proposed Project enters service, operations would require approximately 50 total employees in the United States: 35 permanent employees and 15 temporary contractors.”
However local citizens might still benefit from taxes generated by the pipeline according to the report, which states:
“The total estimated property tax from the proposed Project in the first full year of operations would be approximately $55.6 million spread across 27 counties in three states.”
