To The Editor:
Vermont is a beautiful state, the privilege of being from Vermont is not lost on me. Vermont has three pressing issues at hand -- affordability, school funding, and unaddressed drug problems.
In the affordability category, one of Vermont’s pressing issues is having industry and jobs that support a living. For years Vermont had touted a meager unemployment rate, usually the lowest in the nation. A corollary that goes along with that is many are holding more than one job to make ends meet.
Montpelier has come up with a new economic plan; it has had an excellent press rollout, covering our entire nation with the news of our modern plan to prosperity. Vermont will pay $10,000 for the telecommuter to move to Vermont!
Upon further reading, we find out that the program will be for 2019, 2020, and 2021. There is money set aside for this program already. $125,000 for 2019, $250,000 for 2020 and $125,000 for 2021.
Then you do some simple math, so, $10,000 goes into $125,000 = 12.5 times. The first year our best expectation is to bring in 12.5 people through this economic program. The total master plan would be for 50 people to come to Vermont over three years. This plan is deceitful and this is not an economic plan. This chicanery is an ongoing theme in Montpelier.
Economic prosperity doesn’t cost money; we only need reasonable laws and zoning, that will bring real change, more than 12.5 people will have jobs from these changes.
These examples are not isolated instances, I could go on for days.
Our economic problems are easily solved, without money. Cronyism and insider deals are not the way to prosperity, this practice needs to end. Economic problems get solved with sound policy, cooperation, and understanding of how business and a free market works. We can do better for less.
Neil Johnson
Waitsfield and candidate for lt. governor
