Binghamton Chamber Supports Unshackle Upstate

The Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce is standing by efforts by the business advocate Unshackle Upstate to move forward the planned exploration for natural gas in the region.

Unshackle Upstate presented a new plan called ERA (Economic Revitalization Agenda) Upstate calling for a cut in income taxes for upstate residents making less than 50-thousand dollars a year, reducing corporate franchise tax toward eliminating by 2018, lowering the state sales tax and eliminating the energy assessment for manufacturers in the area.

Unshackle Executive Director Brian Sampson insists New York is in a position to do hydro-fracking better than anyone and in a safe way.  Fracking opponents, meanwhile, are just as adamant that the process is not safe, fraught with accidents and responsible for water contamination in neighboring Pa.