The preacher from the Church of the Status Quo climbs into the pulpit this Sunday morning to lecture Governor Douglas about his nasty habit of bashing Vermont. In particular, for pointing out that
"... we are chasing young people out of the state with our high taxes."
Repent, Jim.
least there should come to be a
"perception ... that Vermont is not business-friendly, in part because our state's chief executive won't stop telling people that's the case."
And Lo, look to thy neighbors in Rhode Island, in Maine, in Massachussets, and yea, even unto New Hampshire and see that they, too, are losing sheep from their flocks. This plague falls not on Vermont alone.
And, so on. With with lots of the kind of stuff that makes one nod off during the middle of sermons and commencement speeches and Sunday morning editorials.
* There is more uncleared, cheap land in the South, so naturally business will go there to build factories.
* The South has been getting a bigger slice of the federal pie.
* Immigrants like it better down there because it is warm.
Seriously.
After droning on about this, the preacher rallies to his conclusion and thunders
So what are the solutions?
At which point one snaps out of it, starts paying attention again, and feels a little confused. We didn't think there was a problem. Except, that is, for Jim Douglas going around saying there is. Otherwise, everything is Jake. Or, if it isn't, all our neighbors are in the same leaky boat and why doesn't Douglas shut up about how we need to start bailing and
"...playing Chicken Little over taxes [which] is worse than useless because it encourages those people and businesses that want to be in the Northeast to look elsewhere."
So this preacher, like most of the breed, lives in a nether world, a place of unreality. Does he sincerely believe that:
a) if Douglas would quit talking about high taxes, businesses that were considering a move to Vermont wouldn't notice them. That they wouldn't do their due diligence? Imagine the conversation, entrepreneur to investor, "Yeah, Vermont looks good. I haven't checked out the tax situation but the governor up there seems okay with it and that's good enough for me."
or
b) that a business that wants to be here, in spite of the high taxes, would change its mind because the governor talks about high taxes?
This whole sermon is unsatisfying, even for the Church of the Status Quo. But, then, it is an exercise in preaching to the choir.
Amen, brother.
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