April 5, 2024

Everywhere you look in Vermont, there are structural problems that could best be defined as “unforced errors.” 

• We’ve made it nearly impossible to build housing in a state with the second-oldest housing stock in the country. 
• We forwent our obligation to pension programs, which resulted in costly catch-ups and massive unfunded liabilities. 
• We have clung to a 19th-century view of education, which has meant local control with statewide dollars and small schools that aren’t serving students well. 
• In trying to mitigate the effect of these mistakes, we’ve implemented market manipulations that have made things worse and imposed new taxes that have made the state less affordable. 

Casual observers of the state’s policy could name more, however, this is emblematic of our current problems. The current state of our housing market and the issues we are having in our education system are inextricably linked and we need to get our housing market to a healthy place. 

In this week’s update:

• Education fund solutions emerge with six weeks left in session
• Cloud tax seems a foregone conclusion in the House; unclear if the impacts are understood
• Privacy bill now considered in the Senate would make business harder
• The Laundry List