Colin McNickle At Large

An Encouraging Ruling for the MSC

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It’s a major (though preliminary) win for the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania appeals court issued a temporary stay on a number of new rules imposed on the shale gas industry.

Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson “found that some aspects of the rules might exceed regulators’ authority to impose them and that the cost of complying with those provisions now would cause the industry irreparable harm if the sections are later found to be invalid,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Those rules have been suspended until the court can decide the actual merits of the MSC’s case. But the temporary stay at least suggests the coalition’s lawsuit indeed has some merit.

One of the more notable sections of the new rules stayed temporarily were those that pretty much treated any species — “species of special concern” — as ‘endangered” or “threatened,” even though they appear on no such official listing.

Consider it a small victory in the battle against over-regulation.

The Allegheny Institute’s mission statement notes that its “research, education and advocacy work to defend taxpayers and businesses against the burdensome taxation, inefficiency and intrusiveness of an ever expanding government.”

If Republican President-elect Donald Trump can do the same, his presidency should be considered a success.

Which brings us to the Tao Te Ching, the 6th century BC work of Lao Tzu. All of our leaders would be wise to heed this Chinese sage’s most wise words when fashioning public policy.

Among them:

— “When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit.”

— “Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them, then leave them alone.”

— “Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts and the world will govern itself.”

— “The more subsidies you have, the less self-reliant people will be.”

— “If you don’t trust the people, you make them less trustworthy.”

— “If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.”

— “Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.”

A tip of the hat to Michael Suede, who first compiled those quotes at Libertarian News on Nov. 8, 2012.
Colin McNickle is a senior fellow and media specialist at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).

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Colin McNickle
Colin McNickle

Colin received his B.G.S. from Ohio University. The 40-year journalism veteran joined the Institute in October 2016. That followed a 22-year career with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 18 as director of editorial pages for Trib Total Media. Prior that, Colin had a long and varied career in media — from radio, newspapers and magazines, to United Press International and The Associated Press.

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