For years, OCPA has stood for the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and individual initiative. We stand for those principles because we believe in the talent, creativity, and determination of entrepreneurs. We will choose free markets over government intervention every time. We make that choice because those economic freedoms are our God-given rights, and because common sense demands it. As an example, just look at what is happening with the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.

TransCanada, the company working to build the addition to the pipeline, has asked for no government assistance. They have simply tried to do what business people do: invest, employ, and improve. Government has inserted itself into this discussion for political reasons, both political parties are to blame, and potentially everyone stands to lose.

Look at what is happening in Oklahoma alone. The potential for significant economic development in this region is at stake here. In just one month of construction on an earlier portion of the project, contractors purchased more than $1.4 million in supplies in the Stillwater area alone. That is in addition to the increased activity in food, lodging, and other services. Yet, at a time when our nation’s economy most needs a boost, the government got in the way again. Miles and miles of pipe are lying on the ground waiting to be installed. Contractors who are ready to put Oklahomans to work are being held off. Delay and uncertainty brought on by political posturing are poised to hurt the American people once again.