Forbes ranks Vermont 48 out of 50 for economic outlook. Vermont’s overuse of the ‘Grant’ process has a lot to do with this abysmal ranking. We need to stop listening to the state as to how to grow our economy. They clearly don’t know.
Every dollar secured through a grant is a dollar that a working family cannot spend on food, clothing, housing, education, or healthcare. It’s a dollar a business can’t spend on expanding, hiring, or increasing wages. And it is a loss of control at the local level. Grants are for state initiatives, many of which would be done better through local government and/or charity. The result is wasted money, and a deterioration of our social fabric.
Pownal is now looking at hiring a full time administrator, with the idea that this person will spend a lot of time trying to secure more grants. Stated another way, we are considering a tax-payer funded full time position, with benefits for someone to spend most of their time thinking up new ways to spend other peoples money. The cost to the taxpayers and the working families isn’t even considered. Grants are incorrectly treated like ‘free money’. This is not only not sustainable, it is destroying Vermont’s economic outlook. Pool money at the state level, and then pit each town against each other to compete for it.
Bob Jarvis for Pownal Select Board 