By Seth Bowden
Editor’s note: Seth Bowden, Jericho, is president of the Vermont Business Roundtable.
Vermont stands at a crossroads. In fact, we’ve been there for some time. Economic growth, affordability and social equity must converge to create a sustainable and prosperous future, yet the existing conditions of our communities prevent them from doing so.
Increasing demand for services is colliding with revenue constraints for a shrinking share of the workforce. Our demographic makeup — we are old, small and poor — affects our financial and economic sustainability, while the systems and civic design that we have limit our ability to create a future where every Vermonter is better-off, people want to stay here, and people want to move here.
There is an uncomfortable paradox of growth in Vermont. Growth sometimes seems unsustainable: a field we once walked may become homes for families with kids. And yet, absent growth, the schools we fund won’t have children to fill them, or enough middle-class workers to fund the care of our aging populations. The economic rationale for being a Vermonter has always been difficult, and is becoming more so, precisely at the time we need more people to make that choice.
A piecemeal approach to lawmaking is the norm in Montpelier, hamstrung by both election and budget cycles. But this moment — as we witness the disinvestment of federal funds and a heightened need for statewide sustainability — requires a change in thinking.
Who holds the comprehensive, integrated and long-range view of our future that wrestles with the paradox of growth?
Vermont’s path forward requires a structured and proactive approach that creates an environment of economic vitality as a precondition for community well-being.
Business and community are inextricably intertwined and mutually beneficial. Employers support Vermont’s tax base and in turn rely on quality education for our next generations, safe and healthy communities in which to live and housing to support working families. The sustainability of these systems isn’t just at risk; they are failing.
Government is not business, but the core function of understanding direction, setting targets and creating action shares similarities. Significant work has already been done in outlining the challenges that Vermont faces. From housing to healthcare, workforce population to education, we understand the barriers that affect communities today. The bigger challenge in a public structure skewed to short-term thinking is picking our heads up and looking over the horizon.
We can wrestle with the paradox of growth or acknowledge that if we don’t grow our school and workforce population, the things we are trying to save are not sustainable.
Ultimately, Vermonters want a future where they can affordably call this state home, where quality of life is not a privilege but a standard and where economic opportunities are available for our children, families and neighbors. Our policy priorities must meet Vermonters where they are today, while looking out over the next decade. By embracing policymaking that prioritizes the aspirations of our communities, Vermont can create an integrated vision where sustainable growth is not seen as a compromise of the present, but a way to protect our future. The time to act is now.
