From the March 2004 issue of the World Socialist newsletter
The area of Mid Hudson valley in upstate New York where I make my home is rural, scenic, and beautiful. There is precious little industry, so most jobs are low paying, service jobs because we do have a strip with Mc Donalds, Wal-Mart and their ilk. Recently, tourists have been coming, so restaurants, antique stores, and other services have followed. Unfortunately, we also have a quarry with enough limestone, which if extracted 24/7, would produce the makings of cement for the next 100 years. The previous owners of a now defunct cement plant were Canadian and the name ST. Lawrence Cement is still used although the company was gobbles up by a giant Swiss banking and corporate conglomerate. They plan to build an enormous new plant mile from out only sizable population center (8,000), which will be bigger than the town itself. It will spew toxic dust out of an 800 ft. stack with will create a 6 mile plume. Three schools, a hospital, and few senior residential facilities are with a mile radius.
The corporation has been floating folksy ads and passing out wads of money to churches and town boards, giving away bumper stickers and running carnivals with free hotdogs and kiddie rides. They also lie. The workers who will suffer most from this monstrosity have been convinced that it will bring jobs. There will be one job. Because the plant is so hi-tech (but not high enough to meet Swiss environment standards), only 35 workers will be needed. Thirty-four of them will be transferred from an old plant about 30 miles away which will close. There is a local opposition group (www.friendsofthehudson.com) without which the project would already be up and running. It is presently traveling through the bureaucracy of New York State, money in hand. This is truly capitalism in action.
EP,
Upstate NY
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