Green Jobs: Our Economic Future

Green Jobs are Our Economic Future

At a time when our economy is still losing jobs, one bright spot actually creating new positions is "Green collar" jobs. In Connecticut, up to 33% of companies responding to a recent survey by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association aid they were expecting to add at least 20 new positions to their workforce in the green jobs field. What constitutes green jobs? It is everything from weatherization technicians to solar panel installation engineers to carpenters, cooling and heating specialists to make buildings more energy efficient, less costly and use less carbon emissions. Demand for these positions is only expected to go up in 2010 and 2011. What we need in our state is a coordinated effort led by a governor who understands that as workplace trends change, we must seize the opportunity to create new industries in Connecticut and not solely rely on the same manufacturing industries that have sustained us for the last 100 years. We need to become a worldwide leader in biofuels, energy efficiency, fuel cell technology, solar and wind power. And we need the next generation of workers to be well-trained in these fields by our school systems. Some are attempting to do just that. Bill Leahy, director of the Sustainable Energy Institute at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, is leading a statewide effort to coordinate training for green jobs fields with cities and community colleges across Connecticut.

This effort, though necessary, is not enough. It needs to be backed up by policies and leadership from the Governor's office to recognize that instead of sitting idly by and watching our manufacturing base deteriorate, we need to be proactive in Connecticut in creating new industries and attracting the jobs of the future. This year, Governor Rell vetoed a major green buildings initiative that would have provided significant tax credits for environmentally sound building practices. This was clearly the wrong approach. At the time, the Governor said we couldn't afford tax credits for green buildings. The opposite is true. Our building and energy use patterns over the last 100 years are unsustainable and unaffordable. We need a leader in this state who recognizes that we need to change the economy to create an incentive and profit for contractors and building designers to build green buildings, hire labor to install energy efficient technology and thus build a new green collar workforce. All the more reason why we need new leadership, real leadership, in Hartford.

ON THE RADIO:

I recently appeared as a guest on WNPR's Where We Live with John Dankosky to discuss how to salvage Connecticut's clean elections system. Click to listen!

GOVERNOR GOES AWOL AT BUDGET TIME

In January, Governor Rell said she would balance Connecticut's state budget without any tax increases. The Governor failed to acknowledge the fact that we were facing an $8.5 Billion dollar deficit. She vowed never to accept tax increases on the wealthiest Connecticut residents and stood in the way of health care reforms that would save milllions of dollars for Connecticut businesses. In the end, the Governor abandoned her stated principles and let Democratic ideas on revenue and spending become law. In deciding to let the legislature's budget become law without her signature, Governor Rell took herself out of policy making, made her office less relevant to the citizens of Connecticut, and abdicated her primary responsibility. As Governor, her job is to craft a budget for the people of Connecticut. It was as if, after months of bitter partisan wrangling and unnecessary name calling, the Governor in essence gave up on her job and said, "Never mind." At the critical hour for Connecticut taxpayers, when communities across the state were suffering because the state had not finalized a budget (one of only two states left in the country to enter a new fiscal year without one), the Governor abandoned her post. Instead of showing leadership at a time when it was most needed, our Governor went AWOL. It begs the question: what was all the fuss about? Why did she play political games with our budget and drag our state closer to a downgraded bond rating if she was going to just throw up her hands and let the General Assembly adopt a budget without her? And to top it all off, the Governor tried to do something that violated the state Constitution, which was use the line item veto to eliminate certain spending items for a budget that she didn't sign. She was told by our Attorney General this week that such a move would be unconstitutional, so she even had to give that up. At least we have a budget. But what we also have with Governor Rell is: dishonesty about the deficit figure, political games about taxes and spending, and finally, walking away from her responsibilities as governor and attempting an unconstitutional move to claim one last bit of relevance in the debate. I think it's time for a change in Hartford, don't you?