with WPR reporter Hugh Cook
Feb. 27, 2023.

Former Democratic governor Dave Freudenthal has written a book that analyzes Wyoming’s economy, its tax structure, and its dependence on mineral extraction and the fossil fuel industry as a major economic driver. “Wyoming: The Paradox of Plenty” was written in response to a question about this reliance and how it came to be. Freudenthal said that question was posed to him by a friend during COVID.

“I, of course, responded that it was the passage of the severance tax in 1969,” Freudenthal said. “And then I got to thinking that that’s kind of a flip answer. So, I set about finding out how it really happened and that’s what led me to do the research.”

Read the interview here:
https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/open-spaces/2023-02-24/an-interview-with-dave-freudenthal-on-his-new-book-exploring-the-states-dependence-on-energy