{news} Green Party--Hemp could be a boost for Connecticut Economy

[clifford thornton]

http://www.ctpost.com/business/ci_4242740<http://www.ctpost.com/business/ci_4242740>

Job growth predicted to be slow

      ROB VARNON rvarnon at ctpost.com<mailto:rvarnon at ctpost.com> 



     
      The state Labor Department said Thursday that Connecticut will have 150,000 more jobs in 2014 than in 2004, touching off a political brush fire as candidates for governor discussed what could be done to improve the 8.5 percent growth rate. 
      John Tirinzonie, the Labor Department economist who authored the report, said Friday the U.S. Department of Labor requires the state departments to generate forecasts for planning purposes. 

      The report is based on current trends and takes into account business cycles, both ups and downs, he said. 

      Tirinzonie said many of the service-sector jobs the department believes will be created in the next eight years will be high paying and require college degrees and math and science skills. 

      But with 2,594 annual job openings, retail salespeople will be the top growing occupation in the state, according to the report. However, Tirinzonie said projections for retail sales, cashiers and waiters and waitresses are high because there is a high turnover rate in those professions. The report said 14 professions where the average annual salary is more than $57,000 will have more than 200 job opening each year. Included among these higher-paying jobs are nurses, computer software engineers, management analysts, financial managers and teachers. 

      While the overall growth rate appears slow, Tirinzonie said, people should remember Connecticut's economy is not only challenged by high-energy prices, but also because it is a mature economy with an older population of workers and limited room for expansion on a geographic scale. 

      That's why the state's slow growth pattern might not be so bleak, he said, noting that rapid economic growth is typically accompanied by not only congestion, but also by pollution and higher crime rates. 

      The two major party candidates issued news releases the day the report came out. 

      Republican candidate and incumbent Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in her release the report should serve as a "blueprint for continuing economic progress," as the state moves from a goods-producing economy to a service-providing one. 

      Rell's release noted the shift to a service sector will mean factory employment 

           
           
           
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      will decline. 
      She said the state needs to prepare for this shift and the retirement of thousands of workers, meaning younger residents should be encouraged to learn mathematics and medical skills needed to fill the jobs of the future. 

      Democratic challenger John DeStefano, New Haven's mayor, said in a news release that the Labor Department is predicting less than a 1 percent per-annum job growth for the state. He also said Rell appears to be resigned to accepting the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs. The state needs to create a skilled work force and find ways to reduce energy and health care costs, he said. 

      While DeStefano and Rell issued statements on the report, Green Party candidate Cliff Thornton Jr. talked about it in a phone interview Friday after he said he looked over the report. 

      Thornton said he sees two ways to improve job growth in the state. The first is to provide free post-secondary education to Connecticut residents who graduate from schools in the state. Thornton said any student with a "C" average would be allowed to attend community college for free and students with a "B" average or better could attend four-year universities for free. This would create a higher demand for teaching jobs, Thornton said, and create a more skilled work force because more students would receive math and science degrees. 

      "If we had as many engineers as we have lawyers, we'd be in good shape," Thornton said. 

      Thornton also wants to create new jobs by growing a new industry: hemp. 

      He said hemp has a bad reputation because it's associated with cannabis but that the weed can be used to create clothing, paper and fuel. About 600 percent more ethanol could be produced from hemp than from corn, he said, noting hemp products are widely used in Europe. To view the report, visit www.ct.gov/dol. 

      Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216. 
     



Thornton for Governor
PO Box 1971
Manchester, CT 06045
votethornton at yahoogroups.com<mailto:votethornton at yahoogroups.com>
www.votethornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>
860 657 8438-H
860 268 1294-C
860 778 1304-Tim Mckee-Campaign Manager
860 293 0222-Ken Krayeske-field Manager
Paid for by Thornton For Governor
Donna L. Byrne-Mckee, Treasure
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