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Crime and Vermont’s Punishment

Macho Grande'
@ChrisCampion
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Stories like this, about my home state of Vermont, seem to pop up from time to time. This one was sent to me by a buddy who still lives in Vermont, and works in Burlington, so he sees this stuff up front and personal.

dailymail.co.uk

Open link

Residents of Vermont say their famously beautiful, verdant state is increasingly blighted by homelessness, crime, drug addiction and other social problems in its bigger towns and cities.

Downtown areas of Burlington and Brattleboro, among other cities, were too dangerous to walk at night, following reports of passers-by being attacked by thugs, locals told DailyMail.com.

I grew up next door to Burlington, in Winooski, and there's nothing "beautiful" about Burlington other than when the lake and shore are involved. The beauty of Vermont is discovered when driving away from the several cities listed above, and it doesn't take long to be out in the mountains, either. It's like 15 minutes.

But the real disaster that's been creeping up in Burlington has been entirely predictable and getting worse for decades. It's not related to housing costs (although they keep propping that one up), it's all a result of liberal policies coming out of Montpelier (the capital) and specifically Burlington. Housing is expensive and hard to find because of a zillion regulatory standards that have long been in place and have completely dampened new housing development, increased the cost of sale (you'll have to replace your old windows to be up to the new window codes if you want to sell), and the state shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant because—gasp!—nuclear power. This has resulted in higher energy prices, which scares away businesses, including the state's formerly largest private employer, IBM, which had a chip foundry/manufacturing site just outside of Burlington. They bailed on the location and built their new fab in New York. Energy being a key cost driver in semiconductor manufacturing, dontcha know.

Burlington is the locus of liberal lunacy, with programs and zoning idiocy that would take days to catalog, but the homeless and crime problem is a direct result of decades of sissified progressive mayors looking to install some version of a socialist paradise.

How's that working out now? Progressives are left standing around, scratching their heads, because their math doesn't add up. If you scare away business and make it hard to simply build a house, where does the money come from to live on? What supports your tax base?

These towns could be so much more. All things being equal, it is a great place to live, raise kids, and retire for middle-income families. It won't be without a political sea change, or a deconstruction of the burdens put in place by insipid socialists trying to mandate paradise without even a basic understanding of economics, business, and people.

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Discussion (10)

  • ctlaw@ctlaw

    I saw the original video. There was a knowledgeable woman (perhaps working for a social services organization or the government) who volunteered to walk him around for a bit and show him all the drugs and crime. My thoughts were that she is going to get in trouble.

  • Randy Weivoda@RandyWeivoda
    Macho Grande' (View Post):
    and the state shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant because (gasp!) nuclear power! Resulting in higher energy prices, which scares away businesses, and the state’s formerly largest private employer, IBM, which had a chip foundry/manufacturing site just outside of Burlington, bailed on the location and built their new fab in New York.

    I remember reading about the state of Vermont pushing a move to solar energy. That's a great idea, because there are few places on Earth that get more hot sunshine than Vermont. I can't tell you how many people have said, "I'd love to move to Vermont, but I just don't think I can take that much sun."

    Or wait . . . maybe that's Arizona I am thinking of. Yup, it turns out Vermont is tied with Washington as being the state with the fewest clear days each year.

  • Macho Grande'@ChrisCampion
    ReplyingtoRandy Weivoda

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    Macho Grande' (View Post):

    Macho Grande' (View Post):
    and the state shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant because (gasp!) nuclear power! Resulting in higher energy prices, which scares away businesses, and the state’s formerly largest private employer, IBM, which had a chip foundry/manufacturing site just outside of Burlington, bailed on the location and built their new fab in New York.

    I remember reading about the state of Vermont pushing a move to solar energy. That’s a great idea, because there are few places on Earth that get more hot sunshine than Vermont. I can’t tell you how many people have said, “I’d love to move to Vermont, but I just don’t think I can take that much sun.”

    Or wait . . . maybe that’s Arizona I am thinking of. Yup, it turns out Vermont is tied with Washington as being the state with the fewest clear days each year.

    Also - it snows in Vermont. Sometimes a lot.

    But hey, logic, facts, etc, take long (decades-long in some instances), holidaze.

    Vermont: Where jobs and people go to die.

  • Chowderhead@Podunk
    ReplyingtoMacho Grande'

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    Macho Grande' (View Post):

    Macho Grande’ (View Post):
    and the state shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant because (gasp!) nuclear power! Resulting in higher energy prices, which scares away businesses, and the state’s formerly largest private employer, IBM, which had a chip foundry/manufacturing site just outside of Burlington, bailed on the location and built their new fab in New York.

    I remember reading about the state of Vermont pushing a move to solar energy. That’s a great idea, because there are few places on Earth that get more hot sunshine than Vermont. I can’t tell you how many people have said, “I’d love to move to Vermont, but I just don’t think I can take that much sun.”

    Or wait . . . maybe that’s Arizona I am thinking of. Yup, it turns out Vermont is tied with Washington as being the state with the fewest clear days each year.

    Macho Grande' (View Comment):

    Also – it snows in Vermont. Sometimes a lot.

    But hey, logic, facts, etc, take long (decades-long in some instances), holidaze.

    Vermont: Where jobs and people go to die.

    They have maple syrup and... um, I don't know . There must be something else. Well, 91 has a rest stop with a gondola. That's kinda cool.

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