Last weekend, I attended the annual Hullabaloo, described by organizers as a “design-focused, hip-and-happening, family-friendly event featuring artists, craftspeople and designers” at the Andy Murphy Center. Costing $2 to enter, the event appeared well-attended, especially by younger families with children. I’ve gone to this event since it first started around 10 years ago, so generally I knew what to expect. It’s a nice early holiday season fair featuring many fine local arts, crafts and food. I also knew many of the products would be somewhat pricey, but this year I was taken aback. On sale were $48 candles, $56 coffee mugs, $60 plastic bowls (made with a 3D printer), $20 for tiny bottles of maple syrup, and $4 donuts. These products are made in the area, including Kingston, but clearly not priced for most locals.

The event represented small local makers making, pricing and selling to deeper-pocketed out-of-towners, weekenders, trust-fund kids and city-sourced income professionals. We’ve often witnessed events like this: locally crafted products exhibited for sale that are mostly unaffordable to locals. The fast-growing disconnect between Kingston wallets and exhibitors’ pricing isn’t an accident, but a consequence of weak economic policy at the local level. My stroll through Hullabaloo reminded me of a song by the 1980s synth-pop music group ABC — “I've seen the future, I can't afford it. Tell you the truth, sir, someone just bought it.” I splurged on a donut and left.

We’ve heard time and again from Kingston and Ulster County officials that small business is more sustainable, environmentally friendly and adds charm to our tourism-centric landscape. I support small business and tourism, but this alone is weak tea for employment opportunities. More needs to be done than encouraging small, often retail businesses to open here because they typically offer low pay and limited career opportunities. This leaves our area’s economy to continue its transition into a third-world enclave where local vendors patiently wait for rich tourists arriving by bus, car and train to sell trinkets in order to survive.

Over the last few years, our economic development efforts have been timid, with little success in attracting better-paying jobs, and the businesses that offer them. And yes, today there’s inflation everywhere, but gentrification has been underway in Kingston for some time. It’s clearly displacing larger numbers of people, and driving too many into poverty. With expanding local government social safety initiatives, and generous funding by the NoVo Foundation, how is it possible that local poverty-related issues seem as big as ever?

Today, with a firm, socialist progressive orthodoxy in Kingston, few will weep over the fortunes of business. But the fact is, a thriving middle-class requires jobs that pay better than what we’ve been getting in Kingston and Ulster County. Even well-paying government jobs depend upon tax receipts from local business.

Proposals and policies on topics such as ADUs, Airbnbs, rent freezes and others are local government trying to treat the symptoms, but not the source, of the problem. Demanding that fast-food companies pay $30/hour isn’t going to help matters, especially with automation around every corner. These kinds of approaches are akin to a healthcare system that treats only the symptoms. It’s expensive and temporary, and doesn’t cure the affliction or offer preventative solutions. Instead, we need more focus and investment in business research, prospecting, site visits, incentives, location-finding and assistance with local approvals for companies that will offer good-paying jobs. And we need to thoughtfully transition the local labor pool into these higher-paying jobs. This should be our top priority when it comes to local economic development. Without this, we will see more locals falling into the margins, and requiring more assistance.

Last Friday it was announced that Ulster County’s Director of Economic Development was resigning for “family matters” after holding the position for barely two years. The previous director also held the position only briefly. As such, the office is left mostly directionless and sidelined as government officials attend to other concerns, such as caring for those living on the margins and the environment. Laudable priorities for sure, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

There does exist the “Ulster 2040 Plan,” developed under then-county executive Pat Ryan and released in 2020. The core goals of 2040 include developing a sustainable, people-centered economy with a focus on five key sectors: Makers and Creators, Agriculture/Food/Beverage, Health/Wellness/Care, Clean Energy/Environment and Social/Economic Infrastructure. This includes achieving 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, promoting green jobs and improving housing, transportation and workforce development. According to County Executive spokesperson Amberly Jane Campbell, it “provides a descriptive categorization of key industry sectors that helps shape and guide the county’s actions.” She also notes that the county remains “aligned with its key sectors … building on that framework with detailed, action‑oriented plans to ensure our policies and investments truly meet the needs of our communities.”

The fact of the matter is that the 2040 plan, or interpretation of that plan, is not meeting the needs of our communities and current residents. And in retrospect, that plan leans heavily on traditionally low-wage sectors such as farming, the arts and hospitality. Shouldn’t the focus be on sustainable, better-paying wages for local residents be a top priority?

Most of the City of Kingston’s economic development activity, as shared by the mayor, is focused on small business, especially retail, food and the arts. But these industries are not known to pay well. Inquiries from larger and better-paying businesses falls onto the county’s Department of Economic Development. But with so much changeover in that office, efforts appear to fall increasingly on various unelected civil servants such as those in planning, tourism, housing, employment and training and non-governmental voices. These offices mean well, but without a coherent strategy and vision, like that from Economic Development and the county executive, it’s left adrift. We’re all familiar with County Executive Metzger’s top priority — fighting the existential threat of climate crises. I’m down with that, but apparently it doesn’t include growing better-paying jobs for locals.

With the director of the Department of Economic Development position now open, we have an opportunity to reset local government efforts in this area and make our local economy more equitable. With a laser-like focus, we need to grow better-paying jobs and build career opportunities. While BOCES is doing good things in training employees, we also need to bring in new business with better wages. Otherwise, we will find ourselves training locals for jobs found outside of our county. If we can elevate paychecks, those locally-made candles, coffee mugs and syrup will be within reach of not only visitors but many more members of our community. That to me is a much fairer economy.

Raleigh Green is a local business owner specializing in marketing communications consulting and services. If you enjoy this column, please "like" it on social media and share online.