Lifting ban on oil exports could boost U.S. jobs: Your Say

Leaders in Congress reached an agreement Tuesday to lift the decades-long ban on U.S. oil exports. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

Lifting the ban won’t have much effect on the world oil market. It will, however, affect the American landscape and economy. Watch for increased fracking and oil spills. On the upside, there will be a surge in employment for the drillers and frackers, and those creating the infrastructure to export the oil.

I’d suggest an export duty as a way for America to capture some of the windfall and to pay for the increased environmental damage.

— Don Reeck

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An even better idea is a heavier tax on imported oil. This could help drive up oil employment domestically, which is a highly paid sector of the economy because of the skills required. Oil employment in the U.S. is down dramatically.

— Ted Wilke

We have a history of pushing back when other nations have tried to use tariffs to protect their domestic industries, and it would be an act of hypocrisy for us now to use them. Trade wars are very rarely a good idea, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, liberal or libertarian.

— Mary Wheeler