Not sure I agree with your assessment in the tone of his article, but I ABSOLUTELY agree with you about "the obvious failures of capitalism that led us to this point"! 100 effing percent behind you there!

Supply and demand. Housing is in short supply, so there is opportunity to make profit off of that. Investors will buy up multiple homes/ apartments in one area in one fell swoop, sit on them for awhile and then sell them back off individually at a much higher price than they paid for them...= Profits without having to invest in upkeep, rehabilitation or becoming landlords.

One thing that we never talk about is for housing to be built inexpensive, you need inexpensive labor and the SO MANY blue-collar people across the country that built this country are dead or addicted to opiates. The housing crisis and opiate crisis are inextricably linked. I want to scream when I hear, "no one wants to work anymore." It's not that no one wants to work anymore, but that a lot of them are dead or addicts.

They were touched on briefly in the piece, but the author spent a lot more energy blaming “anti-capitalism” then he did digging into the obvious failures of capitalism that led us to this point.

Take my upvote.
I burbled coffee out my nose when I read this.
Please, take my upvote.

You make some great points, especially how it is a multitude of issues (municipal, state, and federal, economy, etc.) that are contributing to the housing crisis here. I think the article emphasizes the problems with zoning and development, but I also think it touched on the larger issues in play, as you did. Also I just wanted to say I appreciate your amicable dialogue in the discussion. Too many folks go off the rails in here, so it is always nice to see folks keeping it civil. :)

My whole family is in California, unfortunately I don’t think I’ll ever leave because of that. Just was curious about life in Vermont is all! Im sure its frustrating having out of towners come in and spoil your way of life and not appreciate your state like you all do.

“How many Vermonters does it take to change a lightbulb? Trick question, no one’s allowed to change anything in Vermont.”

I live in Boston. the mayor is trying to institute rent control. This however, most likely will just make developers less likely to build new projects. Profits drive progress. That's the good thing about capitalism! Have a problem- if there is a profit to be made capitalism may solve it!

The problem is simple supply and demand economics 101. Not enough supply, too much demand. If you don't incentivize developers to solve the problem, it won't be solved.

Nobody likes sprawl, but smart development is easily achievable.

Stay in California we don’t want you here, full time, come for a week to spend money and promptly leave after

Ah, then as someone who appreciates food, another thing on that front about Vermont is that dairy and apples have figured prominently in Vermont‘s history. The dairy industry is struggling, but Cabot products are still prominent around the state. I get their butter, sour cream, and Vermont-style cheddar cheese (it’s a white cheddar) a lot. Apple trees grow wild all over the place. Apple pie is the state pie and there is the hilarious pie law.

12 vernal pools and 1 wetland sounds fine to me.

Totally agree with this. Very frustrating.

This is spot on and hilarious.

FWIW, I'm from NH and we have this shit happening here too. Look at this About page for a farm in my town:

https://www.brasenhillfarm.com/about

Note: these folks paid over $1m for this farm. When they bought it they couldn't have been older than 25. He's a woodworker and she's a rabbit breeder--while pursuing a PHD in education. They went to private schools, etc. etc.

Congrats on your new venture. Sounds like you are really soaking it in, and enjoying your time! The maple syrup and snow thing is super interesting, as someone who cooks a lot that fascinates me. I imagine kids go crazy making that type of thing

Really cool about the snowmobile trails too

Thank you for sharing your personal opinion on your state! This was the type of answer I was really looking forward to :)

Unfortunately, the State is introducing legislation that aims to take away individual towns rights to implement their own zoning laws. Also, the nuances of Act 250 allow for a lot more triggers than only lot amounts/ sizes. Most of the politicians that control Act 250 and Zoning regs, both municipal and at State level, are not qualified to be making any judgements on environmental protections and development: It is especially in that regard that I think our processes need reform. Too many unqualified people are able to access and manipulate well-intentioned rules/guidelines beyond what they were originally intended for, without proper vetting.

EDIT: I don't think your post should be getting downvoted o08: You make some good points and it seems like we are having a healthy discussion. Usually folks are just screaming at each other in here, so Thank you for the pleasant dialogue! :)

Yes. So why complain about SpaceX when we've failed to deliver for our own residents?

Great article. Not only does it provide a good summary of how VT got here, it has some simple policy suggestions which I think could go a long way. Suggested policy actions that I agree are mostly pretty simple and would have a significant affect:

• Allow tax revenue from any new developments built in the next 5 years to go 100% to their towns, rather than a fraction of it be getting redistributed to the rest of the state
• Impose that towns which do not see a 3% increase in housing stock by a certain time period may get their zoning authority taken up by the state.
• Reform Act 250 so that it only applies to housing projects of 50 units or more (as opposed to the currently 10 units or more)

Wait…. Not Craftsbury, Greensboro or Peacham?

Worcester is your choice?

“The ruling class sees us as serfs and the only political power we have left is our labor”

How to lose 70% of your audience right off the bat spewing communist hyperboles.

I have absolutely no objection to multi-unit dwellings and even multi-purpose dwellings, which help make suburbs more pleasing and efficient. The neighborhoods I grew up here in VT used to have a lot of houses with multiple apartments and some even with "Mom and Pop" stores in them, mixed right in between the single family unit homes. You could walk around the corner for basic groceries and household supplies instead of having to drive across town. Those places also provided the much missed and necessary "third places" for folks to hang out front and socialize... Those are the things that create neighborhoods instead of suburbs. I would love to see housing development in Vermont based on those aesthetics again!

Vermont winters have always varied. It's been a very normal mix of that, with some steady winters of 12-15 storms, such as the past few, some with huge 2+ ft, and others that barely show up (2016, 2010).

It's always been all over the place. This is nothing new. I plow snow, and the storm numbers are usually 12-15, including this year.

Bingo

Move to DPRK?