This excerpt about the business roundtable is from the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
Vermont business leaders voiced their economic concerns and urged action on workforce and housing initiatives at a roundtable discussion with State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale. The meeting, hosted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, centered on the top issues facing the business community in advance of the legislative session.
“It is essential that policymakers understand the impact of legislation on Vermont businesses and the broader impacts on the economic vitality of Vermont,” stated Megan Sullivan, VP of Government Affairs for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. “The opportunity for legislators and business leaders to exchange information is invaluable. We appreciate Senator Ram Hinsdale taking the time to engage and proactively build relationships with business leaders. The Vermont Chamber will continue to be a resource for policy leaders throughout this upcoming session.”
Business leaders from various industries emphasized the need for strategic workforce recruitment and retention efforts, and further investment in workforce housing infrastructure. These policy areas are among the top priorities for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce advocacy team in 2023.
“After losing several recruits to other states because they couldn’t find a place to live, we’ve considered getting into the rental housing market to secure housing for our employees,” stated Chris Kesler of Black Flannel Brewing Co. “But, with inflation, supply chain issues, and trying to keep our process reasonable, it’s ever more challenging for small independent hospitality operators just to break even. The Vermont quality of life is not accessible to everyone, and that needs to change.”
Read full article here.
A majority of “Vermonters” voted for this pathetic scenario. Orwell’s 1984 was written as a cautionary tale but Vermont’s leftists use it as an instruction manual…
The simple fact remains that government, particularly Vermont state government has created the majority of the issues that hinder economic growth in Vermont, as a result of misguided reactions to “fix” something.
Until Vermont’s voters send legislators to legislate on behalf of Vermont and not the cabal of special interest lobbyists, socialists, marxists (same thing) and elitists, Vermont shall continue of this course until bankruptcy occurs.
Vermont is a failed welfare state. Vermont cannot continue as presently without the largess of US federal dollars to prop up the illusion that is Vermont. balint and welch cannot save the illusion.
It isn’t just “housing”…Yes, housing can be a problem for the lower wage tier…but not middle and upper income. With my two kids – and all their many, many friends..I can’t think of a SINGLE one…maybe 1-2 dozen…who stayed in VT. All gone…..Buh-Bye… My two were well aware of my huge tax burden…income and property taxes…sales taxes.. My kids enoyed big snow and skiing…grownig Up – but not now! Both kids had enough of snow, with frigid 10, 20 or even 30 below zero temps..So they both couldn’t wait to leave. There were no careers for them in VT anyway…and they have great career paths $$ now.
OH! I forgot. They were sick of the schools indoctrinating and that was K-College. Both were “taught” at U-32… who allowed a teacher to “teach” them that the USA never landed on the moon. It was all a Hollywood faked set only to support the ‘Military Induatrial Complex”….Or, when U-32 flew it’s flag at HALF MAST when George Bush II was elected President. The Principle approved. And don’t even ask what my daughter had to suffer thru at UVM
And now the socialist/marxist/sexualization indoctrination is starting with “pre-school”, “daycare” and public library story hour…
With the exception of the tech jobs that blossomed in Chittenden County 40 years ago this has been a perennial issue for Vermont for decades. As retired HR professional working for over 35 years in the Northeast Kingdom and Northern NH I was involved in many efforts to attract workers to the industry I represented. The history of Vermont is the history of young flight.
The situation has become nearly untenable since the Covid economy disrupted the fragile balance that was always present. The most impactful is the folks with money fleeing the cities and buying up (at almost any price) all the real estate they could. Many of those properties were rental apartments and affordable (at the time) fixer-upper homes that the new average worker might be able to get into or purchase, but no longer.
Transportation has become another issue. It has become nearly prohibitory to live any distance away from one’s work. The price of a used car has skyrocketed, fuel is outrageous and best yet, Vermont is poised to require everyone to buy an EV car in the near future. How many new workers does the state believe THAT will attract?
Until there is reasonably affordable infrastructure for the average worker, and public policies that do not strip them of any chance of success, businesses will struggle finding help or die due to it. Unfortunately, from everything I see happening, I’m afraid it will be the latter.
What you say is right Gary.
I have confidence though that the people would figure it all out, if only the government would get out of their way and allow them to do their thing.
As you know, dealing with one crisis after another is fairly normal in these parts..somehow we that are from here- are made for it.
BUT we thrived to a far greater degree years ago.. when there was much less government.
More Government is not the answer at all.. because all this money comes with the strings attached that will strangle you if you take it.. and that is just what has happened.
We’ve become addicted to the federal money and we’ve become more and more strangled in the strings. (I’ve watched this happen)
Following Covid, I was seeing what was going on and thinking “Okay, now what the states need to do is slash regulation to jump start the ambition, the opportunity. That will light the spark.. but instead we got a flood of MORE Regulation- on top of a situation where practically nothing at all is running right anymore.. exactly the opposite of what was needed.
A man I know that moved here to NH from Massachusetts some 40 years ago explained the problem so well. He said “It used to be that there was nothing at all up here but it was cheap living. So if you were resourceful, and could fend for yourself and make it, if you were happy with small and simple- it was a good life.
But today it costs a fortune to live here and there still is nothing here. It’s getting impossible to create the money it takes to live up here now”.
So that right there is an evacuation plan- not a plan to preserve what we have at all.. not our people, not our jobs, not our culture, nothing.
The fat, bloated, dysfunctional, corrupt and unnecessary government costs too much- it’s that simple.
The schools are half empty from what they were when I was growing up here and yet look at what they are costing us.
We had dirt roads when I was a kid around here. They were good enough.
If you cannot pay a lot, then you can’t get a lot- it’s that simple.
Wealthy people move in and vote for ‘all the stuff’, and then what that does is forces the very people they think they are helping-out.
It’s driven us downward- not upward. Or we wouldn’t be reading this- right?
I saw what worked and now I have watched that all get destroyed and here we sit, wondering what to do.
It’s simple., go back to what we were when it worked. Period.
I never voted for “Progress”.
Their progress has been a failure.