Dohiyi Mir
In Which NTodd Says His Peace
Gaaah
The hed is a direct quote from my wife, who brought this VPR story to my attention:
Wal-Mart has unveiled plans to build its largest store in the state. The facility will be located in Saint Albans town. Governor Jim Douglas says the proposal may be the first of several new Wal-Marts planned for Vermont.
The new store, which will be located just north of Saint Albans City, will be 35 percent larger than any other existing Wal-Mart in the state. Officials say the facility will employ roughly 400 people and about 300 of these jobs would be full-time positions.
400 jobs is significant in Vermont, accounting for 0.1% in our employment stats. Still, I have a hard time accepting that another Wal-Mart is our salvation, especially since many of the jobs we've lost are well-paid IBM positions. Wal-Mart also has a tendency to drive down wages in surrounding stores--we saw that when the first came to Williston, VT, several years ago--and destroy the character of our small towns. I really like Gov Douglas*, but I'm not happy about this news.
ntodd
* Jim's a Republican, and I've voted for him when he's run for lower constitutional offices--I think he's generally a good steward. I did not vote for him last election, for fear of GOP-domination of the State, possibly threatening civil unions and our environmental protection laws, amongst other things.
