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Opinion
| 2/20/2010 10:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Listening To The Kingdom
Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie brought his listening tour to the Northeast Kingdom this week. He toured the Miss Lyndonville Diner, two new start up companies in Lyndonville, Weidmann Electrical Technology and a number of other companies in the area. He billed the tour as a listening tour because he believes a lieutenant governor should get out of the statehouse and meet with the people of the state.
Dubie visited other sections of the state and said he heard from IBM, the state's largest employer, that a reliable supply of uninterrupted energy and the price of that energy are the two crucial factors IBM considers when planning future plant expansions. He heard the same message from Weidmann. Dubie heard from a local developer that last year's legislative override of Douglas' budget veto left businessmen saddled with a capital gains tax and an estate tax. Worse, Vermont has decoupled its tax program from the federal government's, and, as a result, the feds are way ahead of Vermont when it comes to allowing developers to take advantage of shorter term depreciation. "Depreciation is cash to a developer," said Peter Murphy.
David Allard of Lyndon Furniture said that last year's economic downturn forced him to lay off some employees for the first time since he opened his plant. He's rehired almost all of his help and may add some new help, but he's been hit with much higher unemployment compensation rates for the next three years.
Dubie said he saw a Forbes magazine study that rates Vermont 47th when it comes to providing a healthy business climate. Dubie said Vermont doesn't have to be first, but the state should at least aim for the middle of the pack if it hopes to compete for new business.
An accountant at the round table told Dubie he's counseled more clients in the past year on the advantages of citizenship in another state than he has in the last 10 years combined.
The point of Dubie's job tour was not to hold a gripe session. It was to identify key areas where Vermont government needs to address business concerns.
Dubie's listening tour stands in contrast to Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, a Democrat who hopes to face off against Dubie this fall in a race for governor. While Dubie was talking to Vermonters over pancakes in the diner and sounding out the Kingdom's business leaders, Shumlin was standing at a podium in the statehouse reading a prepared statement on his decision to shut down Vermont Yankee, wiping out 650 high quality jobs and the availability of long-term, low cost, reliable power.
Kingdom residents have been spoiled for the last seven years by the unprecedented attention our corner of the state has received from Gov. Jim Douglas and Dubie. We hope Kingdom residents will recognize the importance of having a connection to the statehouse and will vote in November to keep the partnership alive.
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