Thank God for New York. Otherwise, Vermont would be dead last in this ranking of states according to their economic competitiveness. The study's findings are sufficiently grim to inspire a headline writer at the Herald to describe the state's outlook as "desolate."
And they accuse us of being extreme.
The conclusion of this study comes as no surprise to anyone who regularly visits this site. What is interesting is the company Vermont keeps. New York does worse than Vermont. Rhode Island, Maine, and New Jersey are ranked just above us.
Now, compare that group of losers with the states in the study's top five: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, and South Dakota.
In none of these states would it be difficult for most Vermonters to find agreeable "lifestyle" arrangements. Virginia might be marginal since so much of its character has been infected by the Washington D.C. virus. But Colorado? Utah? These are cool places to live. And South Dakota is a real sleeper.
Bad enough (though predictable) to be ranked in the bottom five, but the indignity of keeping company with New Jersey & New York is almost insupportable.
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