The most economically free state in the U.S. is New Hampshire, followed by Florida, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas, according to the report. The least economically free state is New York, followed by West Virginia, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon.
Despite chronic bad news about luring new businesses and higher-salary jobs to their state, Vermonters finally have something to feel good about: The Green Mountain State has been ranked in the top 10 best states for middle-class aspirations.
Conservatives and Republicans surveyed mentioned the state’s expensive housing, high taxes, and liberal political culture as their primary reasons for wanting to leave California, according to the study conducted for the Los Angeles Times.
About 35 million Americans still have holiday credit card debt left over from last year, according to WalletHub’s 2019 Holiday Shopping Survey. The personal finance site projects consumers will spend as much as $1.1 trillion this holiday season.
For about an hour lawmakers and policy experts gathered at the Pavilion Building to hear a comprehensive report by Legislative Economist Tom Kavet on the state of the Vermont economy and how it fits into the larger national trends.
Vermont has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, but some able-bodied Vermonters still are not joining the workforce for a variety of reasons — including fear of losing welfare benefits.
Shouldn’t we want to help rather than harm our local businesses and be competitive with other states? But the criticism was that there is “no evidence” that Vermont’s business climate was the reason for Energizer’s departure. Really?
Lately the media has paid some much-needed attention to Vermont’s financial challenges related to unfunded pension liabilities, demographic changes and labor force at the state level. However, our towns must deal with many of the same and similar challenges.
Numbers in the latest jobs report from New Hampshire Employment Security showed that from September to October, the state’s labor force increased by 1,730, to an all-time high of 774,540. The total number of employed residents also went up – to 754,600.
Of New Hampshire’s New England competitors, Connecticut ranked 13th, Massachusetts 17th, Maine 36th, Rhode Island 38th, and Vermont 47th. The only states below Vermont were Alaska, West Virginia, and in the cellar, New York.
Over the next few months the Arlington Area Renewal Project will be assisting several young families as they move into their first home that they will own. If someone wishes to spend $100 million or even a quarter-billion dollars on a home, so what?