The problem in NH isn't BANANAs

Reprinted by permission of the author. "BANANA" is an acronym for "Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone."

Arlinghaus wrong about NH vs. Mass. To the Editor: Charles Arlinghaus wrote in his opinion piece that New Hampshire young people are rushing to Massachusetts for jobs since there are none here. Unfortunately, Mr. Arlinghaus didn’t include where he got his facts. I guess he didn’t check with BLS.gov to find that New Hampshire’s unemployment rate is less than Massachusetts’ rate, 3.9 to 4.8 to be precise. He also didn’t check U.S. Layoffs by State: April 2015 YTD. If he had, he would have seen that Massachusetts has had 1,255 layoffs while New Hampshire has had zero. Maybe Massachusetts youth should start flocking to New Hampshire for jobs. Mr. Arlinghaus was wrong in his assumption that New Hampshire is in worse shape than Massachusetts when it comes to employment. He was also wrong when he blames everything on those who oppose the energy projects proposed by Eversource and Kinder Morgan. First of all, there is no guarantee that all the jobs that these corporations are promising would go to state residents. Northern Pass and Kinder Morgan never specifically made that promise. Second, Eversource has, up until this point, refused to discuss burial of the Northern Pass or the Seacoast upgrade projects. Much of the opposition to these two projects would immediately evaporate if they made those concessions. No, New Hampshire is not being ruined by too many BANANAS. If you’re looking for someone to blame, look to Eversource and Kinder Morgan, not the people who are trying to hold onto the jobs they do have, their property values and the safety of their families. PAMELA MARTIN Plymouth New Hampshire Union Leader 05/28/2015