Dennis Davin, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), has been one of the loudest and most credible voices in the disastrous PA Gov. Tom Wolf Administration. Davin has done great work in promoting the Shell ethane cracker and the jobs/economic development it will bring to the state (see PA Econ Dev Secretary Hits Road to Promote Shell Cracker). Last year Davin let leak he’s hearing rumors of a possible second ethane cracker–for PA (see A SECOND Ethane Cracker Coming to Pennsylvania? Maybe!). Davin is a good guy with smart people around him. So it distressed us to read a column written by Davin in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer attempting to make the case for his boss’ disastrous severance tax–a tax that will literally kill all new Marcellus drilling in the state. We hope it was someone else that wrote the article and pushed it in front of Davin for his signature, because the column smacks of socialistic crap about how the severance tax is PA’s “fair share” of the Marcellus Shale boom. It’s nothing of the sort. The severance tax is a political payback to teachers’ unions for backing Wolf, which Davin surely knows…
