HARRY C. ALFORD

(NNPA)—Over the past few weeks, President Obama has made comments that seemed to signal his support for expanding LNG exports, a welcomed gesture delineating a business forward attitude that will boost our economy and make our nation more energy secure. During a meeting with business leaders in Costa Rica, the president said, “I’ve got to make…an executive decision broadly about whether or not we export liquefied natural gas. . .But I can assure you that once I make that decision, then factoring in how we can use that to facilitate lower costs in the hemisphere and in Central America will be on my agenda.”

Why is this important to communities across the country? In simplistic terms, it means job creation and economic growth in the U.S., including in predominantly African-American communities.

Many Americans are already familiar with the abbreviation LNG. For those that aren’t, LNG stands for Liquefied Natural Gas that is basically natural gas put into liquid form through a cooling process. This process allows for the safe and efficient transportation of natural gas to and from terminals around the world. LNG is popular because natural gas is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels and it’s a highly abundant resource.

In the energy industry, LNG is viewed as a game changer because this energy resource allows for economic growth and huge opportunities for job creation. Natural gas has already been credited with creating a large number of American jobs, and experts forecast that by expanding LNG exports this job growth trend can continue well into the future.

A new study by ICF International looked specifically at this issue. Across all the scenarios examined, it found there to be significant net job creation from allowing the export of LNG. In its most optimistic case, net job creation from exporting LNG could reach as many as 452,000 new jobs by 2035—76,800 of which would come in manufacturing alone. In our stalled American economic recovery, those numbers are nothing to sneeze at.

Natural gas production has hit a small speed bump recently because of extremely low natural gas prices. This deceleration in production levels comes as no surprise however as natural gas production increased a staggering 27 percent from 2005 to 2011 according to a new study on natural gas from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council).

So how does America get back to the days of robust natural gas production and job creation that were seen from 2005-2011? Simple. Encourage LNG exports. By increasing exports of natural gas, the U.S. will create a market for excess supply. Domestic natural gas prices will remain affordable and job growth in the energy industry will continue higher.

The author of SBE Council’s natural gas study, economist Raymond J. Keating, explains the natural gas situation best:

“The tremendous increase in domestic natural gas production has been a boon for small business and job growth in the energy sector in recent years. Looking ahead, growth opportunities for small businesses and employment in the U.S. energy sector look bright due to increased natural gas demand, including in international markets.”

Another recent report, this one from Moody’s Investor Service, shows the U.S. is in a good position to become a top exporter of LNG in just a few years, thanks to new facilities that can transport natural gas shipments to Asia. It’s believed that between now and 2020, the U.S. will be competing with countries such as Canada and Australia that are also focused on Asia’s appetite for cheap and plentiful natural gas.

So what does this all mean for families and communities here in America? Much needed jobs and economic growth. These reports from SBE Council and Moody’s on natural gas come as good news particularly in the wake of the Labor Department’s April jobs report. The April job numbers showed a small drop in the overall U.S. unemployment rate, down to 7.5 from 7.6 percent, yet the African-American rate remained unchanged at 13.2 percent.

Fortunately, three of the four American LNG terminals expected to come online in the not too distant future are located in Louisiana and Maryland, both states with significant African American populations. These states will benefit from new investments, new jobs and increased tax revenue as a result of the construction and operation of new LNG export terminals.

With an anemic economy, America needs to grab this opportunity to promote a real economic recovery and put people back to work.

DAMON CARR

More than 10 years ago while vacationing in Florida, I was given an offer that I could not refuse. “Come to this FREE two-hour seminar and you’ll get two-FREE tickets to Disney World and two-FREE tickets to Universal Studios.” Back then, tickets to both Disney World and Universal Studios were approximately $60 per ticket. I’m a sucker for FREE stuff. I was one of the first people in line at the seminar. It turned out that this was no seminar. It was a high-pressure sales environment for timeshares. At the time, I had no earthly idea what a timeshare was. All I knew was that the sales representative wanted me to pay $15,000 for the right to have access to a condo for one week out of the year, every year. Even back then with absolutely no knowledge of timeshares, I thought this was one of the silliest concepts ever conceived. Today, I know it is.

by Jason Alderman

Now that the long-debated estate tax rules have finally been settled, let’s get real: Despite all the hoopla raised, most people probably would never be impacted whether the lifetime estate tax threshold had stayed at $5.12 million or reverted to $1 million. In the end, it actually went up a bit to $5.25 million for 2013.

JAMES CLINGMAN

(NNPA)—Some people say “common sense is not common,” which may be the main reason Black people are not as far up the economic ladder as we should be. Having been in this country since it started, having provided the free labor that led to the creation of much of the wealth now enjoyed by those in charge, and having built a history of self-help and entrepreneurial initiative since our enslavement, Black people have the strongest case and the greatest need to exercise a little common sense when it comes to working collectively to improve our position in the U.S.