To The Editor:
After reading Dr. Zonies well written article regarding the health care industry and the overall cost of living in Vermont I would like to share the following.
It’s no secret that the cost of living in Vermont has skyrocketed over the last few years. This has taken place throughout most of America, but attention must be paid to who’s been driving the bus for the last four years. As a now outsider looking in, I have to draw the conclusion that the majority of Vermonters are wealthy enough to afford these constant cost increases. While that may not be the case, there would have to be enough people well enough off to keep voting these same politicians into office that are responsible for these ever-increasing financial burdens.
Having followed politics since the Vietnam War, it appears to me that Vermont’s current financial situation could be the direct result of the liberal/progressive/socialist ideology that controls your state government. No matter how many people raise their voices in protest, nothing will change until Vermont moves from the far left to a more centrist legislature. Vermont has a very small tax base from which to collect the money to support the state’s annual budget. If America makes it past the second inauguration of President Trump, our nation will experience a desperately needed “belt tightening,” and the flow of federal funds, grants, and “pork” will be greatly reduced. Vermont may be forced to experience the harsh reality of “living within its means.” These continual legislative cost increases to support politically ideological spending may become unsustainable.
Steve Allen (former Waitsfield resident)
Elizabethton, TN
