Not Just Jobs—
But Good Ones

Much talk and effort is expended encouraging local businesses to create local jobs. We all know we need them. We all know, in spite of the effort, local jobs are scarce, and people, especially the young, leave the area, and even Vermont for economic opportunity, as our population gets demographically older and older. Where will our local tax base be to address these looming issues?

Why is there such effort to create local jobs, when a closer look shows they typically don't pay very well, are too often part time, and often treat the workers substandardly, if they happen to even employ local people at all?

There are only a handful of industries in Randolph yet we see few Randolph citizens are actually hired, few are allowed full time pay with benefits, and even if one makes the hurdle, as I temporarily did, they're allowed to be treated in needlessly shoddy personal ways, because hey, if you don't like being mistreated, in an already difficult job, then just go run those hurdles of poor hiring conditions again.

Where is the tax base, local economy, or personal career growth and self esteem in any of that?

We all know friends and neighbors who are unemployed, underemployed, part time, maybe several part time jobs, and we all know people driving long distances to work, when they couldn't find local employ. We all see a lot of traffic trying to get into, and out of, Randolph every day. We're buying them a new bridge. Now, there is some local purchasing by those commuters, but most of their money, and their tax dollars, are spent out of town, yet it is your taxes and mine that subsidize local industries to dangle nearly unattainable jobs over our local residents, or treat them, and pay them, disdainfully if they ever manage to become employed.

I know making, or even proposing changes, in Vermont is very difficult, but wouldn't our efforts to create local jobs be better served if there were provisos to provide for local employment, and safeguards to make sure local people were treated decently once hired? It might ensure people don't have to leave the area, or Vermont, to make a living.

There is little to be gained by local employ if one is underpaid and mistreated and then has to search in a tiny field for another limited prospect.

We have already seen a few industries come and go, leaving unemployment and empty buildings in their wake. Is this the future we want?

Charles Kelly

Randolph