A recent analysis by USA TODAY shows that development of the nation’s shale resources is reversing a decade’s long trend and shifting significant wealth toward rural areas of the country that certainly can use the boost.

From reviving local steel mills in blue collar communities to supporting family businesses, responsible shale development is transforming and reshaping our economy for the better. And according to an analysis by USA TODAY, oil and natural gas development is also rapidly increasing personal income in small towns – reversing a decade’s long trend and shifting significant wealth toward rural areas of the country that certainly can use the boost.

To reach this conclusion, USA TODAY examined Bureau of Economic Analysis data from 2007 to 2011. Over this period, individuals in metropolitan areas saw their income decrease, on average, by 3.5 percent. Their rural counterparts, meanwhile, saw their incomes rise by 3.8 percent – thanks in part to oil and gas development in the Southwest, Mountain States and Midcontinent.

Bill Connors, President of the Boise Metro Area Chamber of Commerce, summed up the situation nicely: “Give us a little shale, and we’ll show some pretty good income growth, too.”

http://eidmarcellus.org/marcellus-shale/a-wealth-transfer-we-can-ge...