Issue Position: Economy

Issue Position

I do believe the key is to diversify our economy, as tough as that might be with our low population. I support incentives for attracting new industries. Tourism should be bolstered, and I believe our Agriculture industry could expand. We need to reduce regulatory burden on business and industry to entice growth in all these areas.

At the same time, we need to be very supportive of our current extractive industries, including mining of coal, uranium, trona, and the extraction of oil and gas resources. We need to maintain our status as the preeminent 'Energy State'. To that end, I believe we need to develop our wind, solar and geothermal resources as well. I view them as part of our extractive industries, and must include them in our portfolio. The key to keeping our existing industries viable is technology.

While we should continue to oppose oppressive federal regulation, we need to find ways to overcome the carbon issue, as it will not go away. Developing new technologies will be a key component to our success. We also need to find new ways to use our resources, especially coal. New and changing technologies in wind, solar and nuclear will also be the key to building a diverse energy economy in Wyoming. The School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming will be crucial, along with our industry partners, to making us the premier "Energy State' not only in the U.S., but the entire world. A robust energy industry will give us the resources to entice other non-energy related businesses to Wyoming to help diversify our economy.

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