To The Editor:
What could possibly be better than having a film studio set up shop near downtown Hartford? (“Film Studio Hinges On Credits,” Feb. 16, 2009).
More retail? More big box stores or chains with low-wage jobs and little room for advancement except for a select few? More restaurants with still more low-wage jobs when fewer and fewer can afford to eat out? Another casino to give the illusion of prosperity while feeding off the backs of the growing number of working poor?
If Gov. M. Jodi Rell and our esteemed leaders at the state Capitol can’t figure out a way to accommodate the film studio developers or if they do away with the tax incentives that could draw them here, then I will lose all faith in this state as a vibrant and diverse place to live and work.
Connecticut may not be able to compete with the climate in California. And New York is desperate to lure entertainment business back, but Connecticut has so much to offer besides its open spaces. It is ideally located between Boston and New York City, and we are jam-packed with terrific colleges and universities providing a skilled and educated population.
Granted, some Connecticut residents may now be underemployed or newly unemployed and looking for a job or new career. But what better way to tap into this pool of talent and keep our Connecticut graduates from fleeing to other states with better prospects than by welcoming an exciting new industry to town?
See where I’m going with this?
We don’t just need any kind of job or any kind of industry. We have plenty of the sort that offer very little to far too few. We need good jobs within growth industries that offer good wages and hopefully a brighter future than the one I see from where I sit.
And if Windsor or South Windsor isn’t interested in this film studio project, I will gladly volunteer my services as a Bloomfield site scout!
Robin Sherwood
Bloomfield
