WASHINGTON, DC— A new report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) finds that eliminating or modifying several tax breaks currently benefiting the major integrated oil companies will reduce the deficit by $21 billion over ten years and encourage investments in alternative energy and energy efficiency.

The report, “End Tax Breaks For Big Oil: Reduce the Federal Deficit Without Increasing Prices at the Pump,” further shows that the repeal of the tax breaks will not affect oil and gas production decisions in the near term and will have little or no impact on consumer energy prices in the immediate future.

“This new JEC report makes clear that there are ways to bring down the deficit without harming our economic recovery,” said JEC Chairman Bob Casey (D-PA). “By repealing unnecessary tax breaks to the major integrated oil companies, we can reduce the deficit by more than $20 billion and speed the move to a clean energy economy without impacting prices at the pump.”

The price for crude oil, which is the key driver of gasoline prices, is determined in a global market based on global supply and demand. While the United States consumes nearly a quarter of all oil consumed worldwide, it has only 2 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. The report finds, therefore, that increases in U.S. oil production are unlikely to lead to lower crude oil prices or gasoline prices.

The report also notes that the profits of oil companies are highly correlated with crude oil prices. In 2010, as the economy recovered, the price of oil rose and the five major integrated oil companies increased their profits by an average of 21 percent.

“With the price of oil near $100 a barrel, it makes no sense to continue tax breaks to these profit-making machines. Our country can’t afford it and the giant oil companies don’t need it,” Casey continued. “While families face $4 a gallon gas prices, oil companies are raking in massive profits, boosted by tax incentives paid for by taxpayers. That’s wrong and we need to fix it.”

Casey also emphasized the need to continue to pursue cleaner energy production, saying, “The JEC report reminds us yet again of the need to diversify our energy resources, developing cleaner alternatives such as the natural gas available through the development of the Marcellus Shale.”

The report concludes that eliminating the tax provisions is unlikely to have any impact on natural gas prices, as more and more natural gas is produced through continued exploration and development of shale gas resources, such as the Marcellus Shale. Shale gas is expected to increase from 16 percent of total U.S. gas production in 2009 to nearly half by 2035.

The tax provisions discussed in the report include: (1) eliminating the ability to claim the domestic manufacturing deduction (Section 199) against income derived from the production of oil and gas; (2) repealing expensing of intangible drilling costs; (3) repealing expensing of costs of tertiary injectants used as part of a tertiary recovery method; and (4) modifying the foreign tax credit rules for dual capacity earners.

The report was prepared by the staff of the Chairman of the JEC.

- - Port Allegany Online - -

Community service program grows, and veggies too

By Martha Knight

SMETHPORT—Several existing programs, new ideas and old resources have been combined in what McKean County Court of Common Pleas President Judge John Pavlock sees as a partial solution to several problems.

The problems include chronic jail overcrowding, with the McKean County Jail seemingly always, and increasingly, so full that some inmates have to be “boarded out” in other counties, at considerable cost to taxpayers.

There’s the cost to the county and its residents of supporting persons sentenced to local time. There’s room and board, medical care, and maintaining and staffing the jail. And what does the community get back, other than the hope that incarceration will have the “correction” effect that is supposed to result from such loss of liberty?

Then there’s the sizable roster of persons who are not incarcerated, who were sentenced to “community service,” in keeping with the principle that those who have broken the law have “offended,” and it is the public they have offended—the law-abiding members of the community, including taxpayers.

With judges often including community service in sentences, there is a need for service opportunities for sentenced offenders. But how many eligible organizations and programs in the community can provide service opportunities, and how are offenders matched with the various settings and jobs?

For years, McKean County Adult Probation was tasked with tracking the performance of community service by those who were sentenced to do so. Probation staffer Jodi Tanner was coordinator, but the list of those who “owed” service kept growing, and Tanner had other duties as well.

A seemingly unrelated need has been a supply of fruit and vegetables for the jail food service, which was brought in-house about two years ago. The in-house idea has been to save the county money while supplying meals that do not have to be transported to the facility. Expanding the food service area was one reason for building and renovation program at the jail. Although Sheriff Brad Mason has been highly enthusiastic about the cost savings and other successes of the jail’s in-house food service, its purchasing arm has seen rising food costs, just as the community at large has.

Meanwhile, the county has assets in the form of land and structures at its Route 6 complex. In fact, a common name for the large, historic brick structures there is “The Old County Home.” Its spaces have been repurposed, and now house a number of county agencies.

The “county home” idea was in use by county governments for generations, beginning well before nursing home, public or private, were common. County homes were where people went to live when they could not afford to own or rent living quarters. Time was, the poor went “over the hill to the poor house,” often but not always in old age.

And associated with the county home was the county farm. The verdant acreage surrounding McKean County’s jail, Sena-Kean Manor, the 911 Center, the Children and Youth Services building and the new Domestic Relations building used to grow crops and pasture cattle for the county home. Sales of milk, extra crops and produce also helped fund the county home operation. Residents who were able helped with farm work. The McKean County Farm dairy operation was a good one, and, weather cooperating, crops were abundant.

Why couldn’t jail inmates be involved with some form of horticulture? Why couldn’t people with community service to perform get some of that done right there, at the former county farm? Why couldn’t the county be among the governmental entities receiving the value of community service, along with boroughs and townships and agencies? Those ideas have been “cultivated” by Pavlock and some county officials for some time.

Not long ago there was a garden near the jail, at the end toward Sena-Kean, where inmates grew produce. Ordinarily it was not used in the jail, according to former assistant warden Debbie Morlock; it was sold to the general public at a stand near the highway, where payment was on the honor system. Proceeds benefitted jail programs.

The idea of an expanded horticulture program, to be called Great Growing Gardens, has taken root in McKean County beginning last fall. Unlike winter wheat, the planting was not followed by dormancy, as the planners or idea planters kept the process going.

Pavlock says the planning and preparations involved the county commissioners. Use of county resources requires their approval and cooperation, and they provided it.

Pavlock says, “The Court is constantly looking for new ways to impose appropriate sanctions for violating the law at less cost to our citizens.”

Pavlock has been an advocate of the use of Intermediate Punishment as one way to restrict the freedom of some offenders while allowing them to work and earn money to support their families and pay any court-ordered restitution, costs and fines. With some elements of house arrest, IP includes monitoring and supervision; the Adult Probation department has expanded somewhat as this program has been implemented. While he was District Attorney, Pavlock helped initiate IP.

Judge Pavlock declares, “Incarceration is absolutely appropriate as a sanction for criminal activity.” He does not see it as providing all the desirable elements of appropriate punishment, because it takes from the community and the taxpayer, in costs, without giving anything back.

Community service is a mechanism for repaying society, Pavlock says. “It is a way of providing an option to a defendant who is willing to work hard.” An example would be someone who had falsified an application for welfare benefits, performing 80 hours of clean-up at the McKean County Fairgrounds.

Other appropriate service performed by non-violent offenders might augment regular crews’ labor on roads and sidewalks, in parks and at other public facilities.

Sometimes community service is imposed by the Court in lieu of jail time, sometimes in addition to time inside.

As for the benefit to the offender, Pavlock says the individual “hopefully, is walking away from the experience with a sense of pride for helping others.” Also, some assignments will help participants learn new skills and gain valuable work experience.

Not that community service is new, in McKean County, as evidenced by “hundreds of miles across McKean County that has been cleaned” by community service labor over the past 25 years.

What’s new is the expansion of community service to benefit more kinds of assignments in more places for more local governments, agencies and community programs.

For this, a full-time coordinator was needed. Mike Barnard of Port Allegany was appointed to the new, full-time position of Community Service Coordinator. Barnard’s recent related experience, helping deploy and supervise area youth in a summer employment activity involved working with many of the same labor recipients, including local governments and nonprofits. Pavlock notes that technically, Barnard is a probation officer. His salary is $27,885.

The state partially reimburses the costs of supervision of offenders, through the probation system. Another cost offset has been a $15,000 grant obtained from the McKean County Driving Under the Influence Fund. Community service is a common component of many DUI defendants. Costs assessed to them are used for the DUI Fund.

Pavlock notes that start-up costs will not occur every year. “You only have to build a fence once.”

With more community service being included in sentences for more individuals, and with an expanded program concentrating on matching workers with assignments, Pavlock foresees a possible tripling of community service in the next several years. Currently there are about 5,000 hours of community service awaiting specific assignments.

Beginning a few weeks ago, the program has assisted with projects in Bradford City, Bradford and Foster Townships, Port Allegany and Smethport Boroughs, and at agencies including the Eldred Township Fire Department, the SPCA and YWCA and YWCA in Bradford and the McKean County Historical Society.

Tasks included cleaning indoors and out, yard pickup and brush removal, painting and moving machinery and other items.

And—the Good Growing Gardens programs, possibly the centerpiece of the expanded community service program. Under Barnard’s direction, it is seen as using work from non-offenders as well, other volunteers from the community, but not on a fully “integrated” basis: “regular” volunteers are not expected to work at the same time and place or on the same teams.

An ambitious raised bed garden project will provide food for the county jail in season, and also year-round if harvests are bountiful enough to have some blanched and frozen.

In season, produce will be made available to food banks and senior citizens.

Barnard met with the cook at the jail, and with Master Gardener William Waltman of Coudersport. The latter walked the target area, near the barn on the former county farm. Waltman recommended that the area near the recycling bins be utilized. Proximity to the barn is a plus. Even the barn is receiving some repairs and refurbishing, since it contains an area used as a work center for Good Growing Gardens.

As Pavlock explains it, community volunteers interested in helping with the Good Growing Gardens program might work in the garden several days a week, youth volunteers would have their special days, and there would be certain days when community service and jail inmate labor would be used.

Another feature of the garden program is a new fence. Some materials for the raised beds, fence and barn repairs were salvaged or contributed.