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. The shared experience of community is increasingly hard to come by, and the systems we have iteratively built over time create pressure on the economic sustainability of the state and affordability for Vermonters.
Increasing demand for services is colliding with revenue constraints of 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. The Roundtable members and board shared insights to craft a framework that can be used throughout policy development, and to test against systems that already exist. Our members are not elected officials or lawmakers, but they have a tremendous stake in Vermont and in our common future.
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.
How do we find that path in Montpelier and in communities across the state? By thinking critically about what’s necessary and what’s in place already.
This framework applies universal aspects of decision-making to find a path forward and create policies for long term vitality. It is a lens through which public decisions can be viewed and decision-makers can be held accountable for the outcomes Vermonters have clearly indicated they seek. 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. Doing so is necessary to create the conditions for a sustainable future state.
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.
The members of the Vermont Business Roundtable comprise 100 CEOs of our largest and most dynamic organizations. Every day, they operate in complex environments filled with uncertainty; however, the pattern towards action is remarkably consistent. Making the right decisions requires asking the right questions. There’s no single correct answer and no room for orthodoxy in complex systems.
