Free Market Benefits, Big Government Burdens Obvious in Obama, Sebelius Visits

President Obama and one of his cabinet members are making separate trips to Pennsylvania this week.  Their reasons for visiting couldn’t be more different.

Today, the President will speak on education and jobs at Lackawanna College in the heart of the Marcellus Shale boom, which has ushered in unprecedented job growth and lower utility rates for consumers across PA.

Gas production numbers continue to surge. Moreover, this renaissance is providing the educational opportunities President Obama can only talk about.  George Stark of Cabot Oil & Gas explains how companies are not only hiring, but also helping to train workers at Lackawanna College in this op-ed.

A few hours south of the President’s visit, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius traveled to Philadelphia to make another sales pitch for Obamacare yesterday.

Why does Sec. Sebelius need to travel the country to sell a law long on the books? Because the sad reality is Pennsylvanians are not seeing more affordable health care.  Rather, spouses are being cut from some insurance plans, workers’ hours are being reduced and premiums are skyrocketing.

Instead of selling a failed policy, we need to truly make health care affordable by allowing more innovation and returning choice to patients.

The contrast between Marcellus Shale and the Affordable Care Act is just one more example of the failure of big government, compared with the success of free markets and entrepreneurs, in improving the lives of everyday Pennsylvanians.