Vermont’s vibrant forest economy directly employs over 9,100 people and has $1.4 billion in sales. Total contributions from the sector support nearly 14,000 jobs, with labor income over $500 million, and $2.1 billion in sales.
Vermont state Rep. Harvey Smith, R-New Haven, in an appearance Wednesday on the “Morning Drive” radio show with hosts Marcus Certa and Kurt Wright, offered sobering words about the outlook of Vermont’s small farm industry.
Pandemic-related unemployment benefits slowed the economic recovery by incentivizing out-of-work Americans to remain unemployed, small business owners said.
The Vermont Department of Labor has been informed that it will not be allowed to administer a supplemental unemployment insurance benefit that was passed during the 2021 legislative session.
If all goes according to plans, Middlebury may become the new home of EcoGlobal, LLC, a federal Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) certified small business with offices currently located in Chelsea, Vermont.
You can’t blame would-be employees for making these basic economic calculations. But the reality is that by buying into the system of government handouts — limiting one’s legitimate income and opportunities in exchange — one is in reality signing on to be a member of a permanent, dependent underclass for the rest of one’s life.
Vermont’s economic model has become a tourist trap — not for the visitors, but for the residents of this once-agrarian state — when the rich tourists stop visiting. Supporting small farms is not just good for community, it’s good for business, and it’s good for survival.
Roughly 42 million Americans receiving SNAP benefits will see a 27% increase. “As a result, the average SNAP benefit will increase by $36.24 per person, per month, or $1.19 per day, for Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021,” the USDA said.
The Senior Citizens League predicted Thursday that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for 2022 Social Security payments could be the highest since 1983. The prediction comes as federal data this week showed two major signs of inflation, continuing a trend that has worsened this year.
Inflation increased at a rapid 5.4% clip compared to August 2020, the Department of Labor said Wednesday. Used car prices have surged 41.7% over the last year.
Will this legislature act next year to put a stop to this arbitrary, despotic and sometimes extortionate use of Act 250? Alas, almost certainly not, because it is owned by the enviro groups, notably the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
Recent studies show that even workers who keep their jobs and receive higher wages can be made worse off through other changes to employment caused by minimum wage laws. That’s because wages aren’t the sum total of workers’ compensation.