Dan Lawlor: Vermont Gets it Right While Rhode Island Falls Behind
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The current jobs picture in New England places unemployment levels in RI at 11.1%, Connecticut 7.7%, Maine 7.2%, Massachusetts 6.5%, New Hampshire 5.2%, and Vermont 4.8%.
Wait a second – 4.8 percent? The Green Mountain State has the best employment rate in the region, and one of the best rates in the country. What's going well up there?
A short-lived independent country before joining the United States, Vermont has been home to farms and mill villages since the 19th century. From the Abenaki tribe to French Canadian immigrants, Vermont has a varied history in a rough climate, from mountains to rivers. The 20th Century has seen a huge influx in residents to the state. A major hub for a New Deal jobs program (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Depression, Vermont's reputation for natural beauty (and the federal highway system) attracted tens of thousands of new residents after WWII.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn response to its growing popularity, Vermont leaders voted to stay a rural state, by design. In the 1970s, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 250, explicitly stating that community rights can trump individual rights for a common good. In short, Act 250 regulated and limited housing development. Since that time, a vibrant political and activist culture, an emphasis on environmental stewardship, and experiments in public policy have marked the state's life.
Linda Carbonell, a Green Mountain blogger, writes, Vermont "...is a mixed bag of economic realities, and for most people seems depressing. National Republicans focus on the “bad” parts – regulations and taxes – while Democrats focus on the “good” – our state attempts at health insurance reform and social safety net. However, we have had a fairly stable time of it during the recession and recovery for a simple reason – we didn’t participate in the boom, so it was harder for us to go bust."
Political Culture
Vermont is a place of opposites. According to the writer Cora Cheney, Vermont is a former independent country and eager applicant to the US, an anti-slave state and anti-immigrant home, site of the Northernmost Confederate raid during the Civil War and an Irish-American raid on Canada, home to both Calvin Coolidge and Bread and Puppet Theater. The state has extremes, yet stays focused on the needs of the land and its communities. Vermont maintains a lively political culture -from Progressive Party to Vermont Secessionist - and has historically one of the largest number of female legislators in the nation (far more than Rhode Island). The diversity of legislators - in gender, age, and politics - has helped to create a state government that is reflective of the population, and thus able to design laws more reflective of the desires of the people.
Green Jobs
The Vermont economy is diverse. From small local businesses and downtowns, to dairy and independent farms, to manufacturing and new "green jobs" in energy usage, the state doesn't have all its eggs in one basket. The varied economy is buttressed by strong schools, quality after school programs, and a high level of volunteerism. Vermont has more green industry than any other state in the country. Governor Shumlin has mentioned Vermont's green industry is "not only good for the landscape and our quality of life, but for our economy.” Developing new industries and supporting current ones to attract young workers and provide jobs for locals seems a key part of Vermont's growth strategy.
Experiments
The Green Mountain state is also home to some wild and bold dreamers.
In the late 1970s, leaders in Winooski, a town just North of Burlington, proposed building a dome over the former mill village as a way to keep temperatures warm and attract tourists year round. The plan was to ban cars, seize land by eminent domain, and save money on snowplows and heating costs. The dome was never built, but created quite a media buzz. The Manville Dome anyone?
As a cost saving measure and a moral right, Vermont's legislature passed and the governor signed into law a single payer healthcare system. Just as Massachusetts experimented with universal healthcare via individual mandate, Vermont, looking to Canada and Taiwan, sought to provide coverage by a common state plan. From a business point of view, the idea of state healthcare is touted as taking away health insurance costs from small business, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on product quality and employee training, not additional expenses. The single payer system is on hold until Obamacare is fully sorted out, but it offers a possible solution to the national healthcare crisis.
Vermont's successes, just like New Hampshire, can't be carbon copied. All states have unique histories and assets, which create different cultures. Yet, Vermonters' experimentation, diverse economy, and competitive political culture – from secessionist to socialist – are models worth considering, especially since so many Vermonters have jobs. We can't pin our hopes on one rescue industry, or one savior leader. Town leaders need to take risks, local businesses should be supported, toxic waste must be cleaned, and entrepreneurs should be encouraged. Rhode Island needs more experiments, more environmental stewardship, and more small businesses.
In Linda Carbonell's words, "[Vermonters] plod, we don’t go off the deep end over anything. That is how we have survived numerous recessions and how we survived this one."
