Vermonter.com

Very informative article in the Sunday Burlington Free Press (10/21/2007):

UNH study: Income disparity grows fastest in New England
By Dan McLean
Vermont’s wealthiest households have seen their incomes grow faster than anywhere else in New England — helping to drive income inequality in Vermont and throughout the region, according to a University of New Hampshire study.

Although the region does not suffer from widespread poverty, the gap between rich and poor has grown more quickly in New England than in any other region in the United States from 1989 to 2004, according to “Changes in Income Distribution in New England,” a study conducted by UNH’s Carsey Institute.

Vermont, although not listed among the states with the highest inequality levels, had the second largest disparity change in the country, following Connecticut, the study said. Vermont moved from No. 47 to No. 31 in income disparity during the 15-year period.

“It surprised me,” Ross Gittell, the study’s author and a professor at UNH’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, said of Vermont’s growing inequality. “I think there has been a takeoff at the top, and a hollowing of the middle class.”

Retirement is also a factor. Many retirees, who have made their money elsewhere, retire to Vermont with a healthy stock portfolio, he said.

Manufacturing jobs throughout New England have been replaced with higher paying jobs that require higher education levels and advanced skills, the study said; the declining number of unionized work forces is also fueling the gap in wealth.

The shifts are more noticeable in New England, the study said, because the region is well-educated, creating a high-tech work force. It’s also a relatively expensive place to conduct business, pushing low-skilled jobs elsewhere.

In Vermont, the top 20 percent of households saw their inflation-adjusted incomes, or real incomes, jump by 25.6 percent — the highest percent in the region — to $141,565; a household can include more than one earner.

Vermont’s typical wages are slightly below the U.S. level. In May 2006, the median wage for a Vermonter was $29,510 annually — meaning half earned more and half earned less, according to Labor Department data. The U.S. median wage was slightly higher at $30,388 a year.

Some of Vermont’s top earners have moved to the state for quality-of-life reasons, but continue to work at high-paying jobs — that helps drive the state’s income inequality, Gittell said.

Condon agreed, saying some recent Vermont residents “won their wealth in the rat race” and now work part-time from their homes in Vermont.

State labor data support the study’s conclusions about Vermont’s changing types of jobs.

Vermont’s manufacturing jobs dwindled by 17 percent — about 7,500 jobs — in the decade following 1996. In 2006, there were 36,243 manufacturing jobs in the state, according to Labor Department data.

“The companies are taking those jobs where they can pay them less: to other regions of the country and to other parts of the world,” Condon said.

A need to remedy?

Increasing income equality and the eroding of the middle class has serious side effects, Gittell said.

The complete article can be found here.

Island Pond, also known as Brighton, is a quiet little town in the far north reaches of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Formerly a bustling railroad town with a busy main street, lumberyards and an Ethan Allen Furniture manufacturing plant, Island Pond is now best known as one of the snowmobiling capitals of the east…or perhaps better known for it’s controversial town constable, Teddy Miller.

Any Northeast Kingdom local from St. Johnsbury to Newport and all points in between knows the name “Teddy Miller” and probably has a story to tell. Teddy is famous (or infamous depending upon one’s point of view) for aggressive enforcement of motor vehicle violations in or about the Island Pond area. Some people claim to have been ticketed for minor infractions such as air fresheners hanging from rear view mirrors, traveling at 2 or 3 mph over the posted speed limit, accidentally making the wrong turns on one-way streets and the list goes on. One story claims that a local teenager was injured in a snowmobile accident. A friend of the injured teen on another snowmobile, rode along the roadside to get to a phone quickly in order to summon help for his injured companion. Supposedly, Miller asked the person seeking help how he got to a phone so quick. He was rewarded with a ticket for illegally riding a snowmobile along a roadway. This is just one local story and there are many more. Which ones are hard facts and which are “rural legends” are subject to debate. In any case, Teddy Miller has become a legend whether he intended to or not. He is also the topic on many Internet travel websites and snowmobiling forums.

(Read on …)

Just when you thought you’d heard it all. On the television news this week, many of us were treated to a bizarre photo of a 48 year old Vermont man dressed only in diapers. The video is available here. Here’s the story:

LEBANON, N.H. — A Vermont man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to harassment and other charges after he was accused of sending pictures of himself wearing a diaper to a New Hampshire teenager.

Lawrence Robarge was charged with exposing a minor to harm, indecent exposure, harassment and stalking, all misdemeanors. Enfield, N.H., police said that on Sept. 6, Robarge sent obscene text messages to a 17-year-old girl and pictures of himself wearing a diaper. Police said Robarge placed a total of 16 phone calls or text messages to the girl, who worked with police to arrest Robarge.

Police said that one picture sent to the girl shows a bottle of baby powder and two diapers. A caption with the photo reads, “Show this to your lady friends then have them call me if their [sic] interested. OKAY???”

At first, the girl sent a message back: “Gross old man… leave me alone.”

But police said Robarge responded: “I’m wearing a diaper right now,” and attached a picture of him wearing a diaper. Robarge remains free on $3,000 bail, and a trial date was set for Jan. 16.

I remember renting a home in South Burlington back in 1987 for $650 per month. That was pretty steep back then even though I was earning $9 per hour (which was a decent wage in 1987). Anyway, I eventually ended up taking a 10 year job with UPS for a $11 per hour as a starting driver. Back then, loading trucks was $9 per hour. Fairly good wages especially for the Northeast Kingdom where a really nice house could be purchased for $50,000 or so.

Fast forward to 2007. I believe UPS (and FedEx) are still paying $9 per hour (in Chittenden County) for loading trucks. I recently noticed a morning maintenance job at a local McDonalds for $10 per hour. A scan through a job website for high-tech jobs brought up a computer support position in Williston for a whopping $11 to $15 per hour. Meanwhile, the prices for a single family home have tripled or even quadrupled since 1987. Utilities have also at least tripled and gas prices, well ’nuff said.

So how does anyone make a living in Vermont these days? It just doesn’t make sense. Wages are at 1987 levels or slightly above while everything else is in the stratosphere. I noticed in the Free Press that crime is up in Vermont, particularly drug related crimes. Nice.

In 1997, the Sunday edition of the Burlington Free Press used to be loaded with good paying tech jobs. Companies like IBM were so busy that recruitment firms (or headhunters) used to do all the hiring for the positions. Now, it seems those jobs are mostly outsourced overseas. Now, the Sunday paper is full of service jobs at local hotels, banks and other low paying companies. Not much left for manufacturing jobs either and the temporary IBM jobs at $10.50 per hour are more insulting than inviting.

Vermont is becoming a very difficult and unaffordable place to live for middle class families. I can remember hearing years ago that someday, Vermont would become a playground for the rich. One look at Stowe, Woodstock, Manchester and now most of Chittenden County certainly confirms that. Worse yet, places like the Northeast Kingdom with annually high unemployment are also becoming unaffordable for native Vermonters.

Pretty sad really and it looks like it’s only going to get worse instead of better.

A few weeks ago, the publication, Seven Days, ran a pretty good article about illegal workers employed at Asian restaurants in the Burlington area. Unfortunately, they only reported half the story and missed the other unsavory facts. They did point out that many Asian restaurants around Vermont employ workers illegally and pay them barely enough to live on. That is very true. I personally know about an Asian restaurant in Montpelier that regularly hires illegals. The owner puts them up in a dwelling that he owns with barely enough furniture to say so and sometimes not enough beds. They have to sleep on the floor. He is also paying them “under the table” so he is cheating the IRS and law abiding taxpayers. It is pretty apparent that this is a regular occurrence so how do these so called business owners get away with these practices?

On the other hand, here is what Seven Days did not report. There are also illegals working as waiters and waitresses who make a substantial amount of money in unreported tips and other compensation. I know of one woman, employed at an Asian restaurant in Chittenden County, who makes approximately $1000 per week as a waitress, tax free! She does not report the income to the IRS and does not have a green card and/or the right to work in the USA. Yet, even though she puts in a lot of hours (though probably no more than anyone else who nets $50,000 per year legally) she makes a pretty decent living at your’s and my expense. Again, why isn’t there an investigation into these establishments, hefty fines and deportation processes? It is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and U.S. taxpayers. Look what the government is doing to the American citizens barracading themselves into their homes in NH because they refuse to pay taxes. What if an American citizen can’t pay his mortgage and has to rob a bank for money? That’s right…they go to jail.

Somebody is making a lot of money at the expense of American taxpayers and legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are either taking advantage, at our expense, or being taken advantage of by unscrupulous businesses. Either way, that’s not fair to anyone involved. Billions of dollars for wars in other countries but the US cannot even control blatant criminal activity in our own country. What a hoot!