Exodus of Vermonters

Quote for the Day:“Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity
 and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield 
within a few years an increased – not a reduced – flow of revenues to the federal government.”

– John F. Kennedy, Jan. 17, 1963, annual budget message to the Congress, fiscal year 1964

Pam assists a client on a fixed income

The Exodus of Vermonters

I read with great interest the timely article written by Art Wolfe in the September 25, 2014 edition of the Burlington Free Press. In the article he states "The out-migration of people tells us something about opportunities, the attractiveness of the state to people, its desirability as a place to live, and its overall quality of life. As people weigh all those factors, more have decided to leave Vermont than to come live here. ".   

 He provides empirical data to support this conclusion.  I, on the other hand, have merely anecdotal information.   I am a native Vermonter with a deep and abiding affection for our State.  In so far as all citizens of the State are also Vermonters,  the affect of any one choosing another State for residency is as equally damning as our natives leaving.  It just feels like losing a native has a  greater impact.

 Just recently I was having a discussion with a neighbor, also a native, who is considering pulling up roots and taking residence in Florida.  She and her husband would keep their current residence and pay the non-resident tax,  but in their cost savings analysis Florida is the better long term investment as they move into retirement.  This is a refrain I hear more and more frequently meeting voters in my 9-2 Malletts Bay District.  She spoke wistfully that  it pains her to make this decision due to her sentimental attachment to the State.  She even expressed feeling like a traitor but financial considerations cannot be ignored at this stage in their lives.

The loss of our citizenry affects us financially but it also erodes the character and the strength that is Vermont.  When each one of our citizens chooses to establish their legal residence in another state we lose their contribution to our democracy and the votes they cast at the ballot box.

 Many of you recall when us "Woodchucks" were losing ground to the "Flatlanders."  Now  constituents,  native and non- native are electing to cast their votes and pledge their allegiance to another state, not out of their desire but out of necessity.  We must reverse this trend and return our State to one of opportunity and sustainability for this generation and the others who follow.

Word for the Day:   extirpate 1. To pull up by the roots. 2. to destroy totally, exterminate

If we continue with our current economic policies,  we will extirpate the culture that is Vermont.

Pam