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You’ve no doubt noticed how awful life is here in Vermont. Awful and getting worse, what with wages so low and prices so high — especially the sale price of a nice house, or the rent on a decent apartment.

You’ve noticed because the newspapers and the radio and television keep telling you. Across the political spectrum, important people keep proclaiming our woes, especially Gov. James Douglas, who has made “affordability,” or lack thereof, the dominant theme of his tenure.... Read more

In an infamous 1989 article in Harper’s, author Tom Wolfe referred to the world as the “billion-footed beast.” That metaphor is colorful, but these days it’s far from accurate: With about 6.6 billion people on the planet, humanity is closer to a 13-billion-footed beast — and growing larger every day. Census estimates indicate that the human population will reach nine billion by 2050. All those people will need a place to live, a place to work, and transport between them.... Read more

Rob Williams has never liked nation states. In fact, the newspaper he edits, Vermont Commons, has asked Vermonters to consider “peaceably seceding from the United States Empire.”

So when Williams receives his “economic stimulus” check from the federal treasury this spring, he won’t spend it at a corporate chain or, as George W. Bush has suggested, make a mortgage payment.

He will put it toward his new yak farm.... Read more

April is cruel, all right, but meteorology can’t explain why the top block of Church Street currently looks more like poor Plattsburgh than boomtown Burlington.... Read more

In Vermont, as across the country, there’s been a lot of talk about jobs and economic development. Bluntly stated, the economy has been lousy for some time now. Yet two months ago, Governor Jim Douglas touted his record in his “State of the State” speech, greatly exaggerating his accomplishments in this regard.

Here are the facts:... Read more

Editors' Note: In his column, "Is Vermont Really On the Job?" Doug Hoffer analyzes Vermont's economic development strategy. Got questions about Hoffer's stats? Here's where he got 'em.

1. Governor Douglas' State of the State: "As a result of our steadfast focus on economic growth, in the last five years, we’ve created 12,000 new jobs and our unemployment rate remains well below the national average." See http://governor.vermont.gov/speeches/state_of_the_state-1-10-08.pdf p.2... Read more

Larry Young has worked on Northeast Kingdom roads for 38 years, and in his experience, they've never been in worse condition. At a March 18 “speak-out” in the Statehouse cafeteria, the 61-year-old senior maintenance worker for the Agency of Transportation praised the dedication of his crew before several dozen lawmakers. Just last month, he noted, when storms dumped several feet of snow in the midst of a flu outbreak in their ranks, drivers showed up to plow the roads, even though many of them were sick.... Read more

Normally, this is a slow time of year for the Winooski-based Vermont Student Assistance Corp., which loans hundreds of millions of dollars annually to parents and students looking to finance higher education.

But the latest crisis on Wall Street has the state’s largest student lender scrambling to secure $190 million to meet the demand for loans it expects to make this fall.... Read more

Paul Cillo is offering chocolate kisses to anyone who can answer a few basic questions about the state budget process. “When does Vermont’s fiscal year begin and end?” he asks from the head of a large conference table in the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.

“July 1 and June 30,” shouts one of the 30 or so people in attendance. Cillo tosses a chunk of chocolate across the table.... Read more

On Labor Day 2007, many Vermonters will go through a practiced, patriotic schlep: banners, barbecue, and so forth. But those who once worked in the state’s decommissioned manufacturing facilities will be left out of the party.

Caving to overseas trade pressures, Vermont lost almost one in four manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2006. And in the new global economy, the state’s saga mirrors national trends.... Read more