Coös County Democrat Committee Basic Positions
Industry and Jobs in the North County
Adequate and appropriate industry is needed in the North Country, specific to the skills and resources available locally, to bring jobs that will provide a livable wage.
For decades, the North Country relied extensively on logging and the paper industry to provide the backbone for employment. But when those industries found it was cheaper to send those jobs to the far east, the bottom fell out of the jobs market, and people moved away. And while logging and healthcare are still vital to the economy of the region, they can only support a limited number of jobs to sustain and build a thriving population. While many communities would welcome a thriving new industrial base, the reality is that if the labor and skills needed for the types of industry that might want to come here do not exist, we are unable to attract those businesses.
The CCDC supports the establishment of a region wide interdisciplinary group of outside the box thinkers, that would be chartered with identifying potential industries that might be interested in coming to the North Country, that could utilize the resources and labor skills that exist in the region, and that would be willing to work towards building a thriving local economy. Obstacles would be regulation, affordable housing, transportation, and adequate infrastructure, and the group would need to be empowered overcome and address problems to making this happen as they surface. The State of New Hampshire should be a vital member of the team, as should our federal Congressional representatives, both to break through barriers and provide any resources that may be required to enable this.
Possibilities might include Venison production, OHRV parts manufacturing, Alternative Energy production, specialty agriculture (possibly using greenhouses, heated by biomass), Recreational Vehicle manufacturing, and Railcar refurbishment.