Friday, February 26, 2010
The State Senate: Vermont's Great Jobs Killer
Editor’s note: This opinion piece is by William N. Reardon, an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 member who works at Vermont Yankee and is chairman of the plant’s collective bargaining unit.
Enough is enough. With Vermont’s economy on the canvas and hard working men and womeworried about their jobs and struggling to pay the monthly bills, along come our elected Senators.
At the flick of a switch they voted to close Vermont Yankee and put more than 1,288 people out of work, the total number of jobs created in Vermont by Vermont Yankee according to an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300-commissioned study. This also reduces purchasing power by $78.5 million annually, negatively impacting many others in Vermont.
There is lost revenue from property and payroll taxes along with close to a million dollars in community contributions. The vote also passes on to Vermonters higher electric prices and gives the state’s business reputation a black eye, keeping more companies at bay and chasing more in-state businesses away.
At its heart, the measure is political irresponsibility.
All that seems to matters is that they want the plant closed so they can have a trophy to peddle to anti-nuclear extremists who have long agitated for the plant to close. If Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and God Almighty himself testified that the plant was safe and well run the anti-nuclear crowd still wouldn’t believe it.
Leading this charge is the self proclaimed voice of the working people — the now Senator and want-to-be governor Shumlin who is using Vermont Yankee as a distraction from his abysmal record of constituent service in Windham County, home of the plant. Windham County is arguably the most depressed region of the state. Shumlin is willing to put many of his constituents out of work to join a long list of others who are out of work in the County.
Indeed, the IBEW study commissioned about Vermont Yankee and prepared by Northern Economic Consulting notes, “Job growth in Windham County has lagged that of the state in nine of the last ten years. Only in 1999 did Windham County post a job gain. Windham County has lost jobs every year since 1999.”
It goes on, “From 1999 to 2009 employment in the state grew by 5.3 percent, a gain of 15,236 jobs. During that 10-year period jobs decreased in Windham County by 1,636, a 6.8 percent decline. Then, when the recession hit in 2008 and 2009, Windham County employers continued to shed jobs, and at a faster rate than employers across the state.”
Where has Senator been while these jobs were lost and sent out of state? Apparently he has abdicated fighting for jobs in Windham County and for his constituents, or just was never that good at it. Perhaps the Senator realized he could not stem the job flow impacting his constituents so he decided to contribute to it by championing the closure of Vermont Yankee.
In any case, enough is enough.
All of Vermont deserves better representatives then those who will trash Vermont’s economy through a reckless, fast-tracked, self-serving call to close Vermont Yankee. And the rest of Vermont beware: the 800 workers in Vermont who just got notice their jobs are gone and the 1,288 workers associated with Vermont Yankee are only the beginning.
It’s not Vermont Yankee and more than 1,200 other Vermonters that should be retired. It’s the Senators who elected to follow Shumlin’s political agenda and stick their head in the sand and ignore the economic effects of closing the plant while giving the blue collar worker the moon.
Enough is enough. With Vermont’s economy on the canvas and hard working men and womeworried about their jobs and struggling to pay the monthly bills, along come our elected Senators.
At the flick of a switch they voted to close Vermont Yankee and put more than 1,288 people out of work, the total number of jobs created in Vermont by Vermont Yankee according to an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300-commissioned study. This also reduces purchasing power by $78.5 million annually, negatively impacting many others in Vermont.
There is lost revenue from property and payroll taxes along with close to a million dollars in community contributions. The vote also passes on to Vermonters higher electric prices and gives the state’s business reputation a black eye, keeping more companies at bay and chasing more in-state businesses away.
At its heart, the measure is political irresponsibility.
All that seems to matters is that they want the plant closed so they can have a trophy to peddle to anti-nuclear extremists who have long agitated for the plant to close. If Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and God Almighty himself testified that the plant was safe and well run the anti-nuclear crowd still wouldn’t believe it.
Leading this charge is the self proclaimed voice of the working people — the now Senator and want-to-be governor Shumlin who is using Vermont Yankee as a distraction from his abysmal record of constituent service in Windham County, home of the plant. Windham County is arguably the most depressed region of the state. Shumlin is willing to put many of his constituents out of work to join a long list of others who are out of work in the County.
Indeed, the IBEW study commissioned about Vermont Yankee and prepared by Northern Economic Consulting notes, “Job growth in Windham County has lagged that of the state in nine of the last ten years. Only in 1999 did Windham County post a job gain. Windham County has lost jobs every year since 1999.”
It goes on, “From 1999 to 2009 employment in the state grew by 5.3 percent, a gain of 15,236 jobs. During that 10-year period jobs decreased in Windham County by 1,636, a 6.8 percent decline. Then, when the recession hit in 2008 and 2009, Windham County employers continued to shed jobs, and at a faster rate than employers across the state.”
Where has Senator been while these jobs were lost and sent out of state? Apparently he has abdicated fighting for jobs in Windham County and for his constituents, or just was never that good at it. Perhaps the Senator realized he could not stem the job flow impacting his constituents so he decided to contribute to it by championing the closure of Vermont Yankee.
In any case, enough is enough.
All of Vermont deserves better representatives then those who will trash Vermont’s economy through a reckless, fast-tracked, self-serving call to close Vermont Yankee. And the rest of Vermont beware: the 800 workers in Vermont who just got notice their jobs are gone and the 1,288 workers associated with Vermont Yankee are only the beginning.
It’s not Vermont Yankee and more than 1,200 other Vermonters that should be retired. It’s the Senators who elected to follow Shumlin’s political agenda and stick their head in the sand and ignore the economic effects of closing the plant while giving the blue collar worker the moon.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Daily Wisdom
Never argue with idiots.
They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentines Day
This week ends with Valentines so Happy to my very special wife. Had a short week at work and a nice long weekend in Maine with M & C.
Sorry to hear about my cousin John who pasted away this week. My thoughts are with his family.
Congratulation to Aaron on winning the state debate championship. We also went down to see him in a play at school. We had lots of fun. Looking forward to watching the Olympics this week.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tofu isn't a food group
Another cold week in Vermont. Found myself daydreaming about 2 wheels on my way to work with the cruise set at 75. Had a nice conversion with a state trooper, he decided that it was too early in the morning to write a ticket and let me off with a warning. Went to dinner with the in-laws last night, Left feeling lucky that they are really nice people. Welcome Timothee to reading my blog. I did miss your purple hair but I can get used to the gray. Getting ready for a Super Bowl supper, which will include roast turkey, twice baked potatoes, green salad. I will be pulling for the Colts. Attached are some pictures from dinner at Lynn and Toms last night.
Hope you all have a great week.
Hope you all have a great week.
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