This was awesome.  We need more of these conversations across the State.  I'd love to see you and Scott revisit this topic annually.

Creating the space to explore wicked problems through deep, respectful conversations. WE NEED MORE OF THIS 💛 thank you, Morgan - Dakota & Angela

Morgan, this is a very timely and necessary conversation that we MUST have across the nation. Thanx for taking the lead and starting the conversation. 😊

Loved the respectful conversation on this!  A difference of opinion doesn’t mean there is a good guy and a bad guy.  Sometimes it’s two good guys from different perspectives.

I like this new trend where politicians will talk to Youtubers. They need to start talking to ordinary people again, and we need to hear them. More conversations like this need to happen.

I have to respect Scott for coming out and chatting with you.  A great discussion,  We need forums for people to openly discuss issues and to better understand the frame work of government. Thank you Morgan. Keep the channels of communication open,

As a Vermonter thank you for this. We need to have intelligent, informative conversations like this. It’s nice to actually see  where they are coming from. Both opinions were food for thought and shows that thought and work is being put into problem solving. It’s not easy. Please continue with the health care convo and maybe have a convo about where the 88 million dollars that Bernie and Welch acquired, will be spent. Vermont is unique and therefore has unique problems.

Thank you Morgan for bringing us this enlightened discussion.  You’re fighting against government for & by the corporations.

Housing problems are absolutely not helped by out-of-towners taking homes off the market for locals.

How can a representative get away with constantly saying we don't have the data to make decisions? Getting data is a solvable problem. Is he making efforts to get the data he lacks?

Tell me without telling me you own a lot of vacation homes.

Canada & many if its localities have "empty homes tax" for homes that sit empty. There's a five bedroom house with acreage in my neighborhood that's been empty for over 15 years. The owner lives in Connecticut. I reached out to see if she wanted to sell, as I knew families desperate for housing. She blew me off rudely. The property is just an investment for her, she doesn't even visit.

Taxes are not entirely are all bad, as long as there is a clear delineation of where the money is going toward I would be fine with that.

Conversations like this are great, I definitely like how this situation was handled. This does seem important to talk about, it's great that you were thinking of solutions to that problem. Maybe you'll do more things like this.

My first teaching job was in a rural elementary school, grades K-7, one class of each grade. To keep the school open, it received permission to have a head teacher, rather than a principal. There was a part-time aide who took over her 4th grade class 2 hours or so per day, allowing the head teacher to fulfill duties of an administrator. Class size was very small, averaging 12-14 pupils per class. Thus, we avoided another savings, combining classes.  My experience tells me that combining grades 5-6 or 6-7 could easily be done if the teacher was skilled enough to make that work.

If Morgan can animate this conversation like the education budget special, he may as well run for governor. He’s a smart dude with a gift for great communication.

Morgan,

A terrific episode.

You correctly identify that the math does not math.

Vermont, like many other states, will face the equivalent of bankruptcy fairly soon unless it changes its approach to the services and inducements it offers .

Vermont has about 650,000 people.

About half are 45 or older.

Its population is decreasing, albeit modestly.

Death and net out-migration of young people appear to be driving the decrease.

It is unfortunate to see the state educate its young people only to have them leave. It’s not an emergency, but it is unfortunate.

Vermont’s costs are rising due to energy, healthcare, and incomes, and it has substantial unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities (roughly 20–40% aggregate across major systems) for government and education employees—liabilities not likely to moderate soon, if ever.

Vermont will need to change its service offerings and induce more people to live in and visit the state.

Southern states once faced similar challenges. They competed by reducing regulation, taxes, and services.

Discouraging wealthy people “from away” with extra second-home taxes—beyond the non-homestead rate paid today—may not be the best long-term strategy.

Vermont could consider attracting significant employers by designating and marketing “free enterprise zones” where state regulations are largely suspended to promote factory, commercial, and workforce housing construction.

Midwestern states are succeeding in attracting new-era manufacturing and technology companies by using the equivalent of such zones (e.g., Indiana, Ohio).

My suspicion is that Vermont’s culture and history will make such service changes, incentives, and regulatory reforms difficult or impossible to implement.

I suspect it will likely attempt further tax increases, new wealth taxes, and unrealized capital gains taxes first, as they will be easier to legislate.

Great conversation

Great conversation where two different viewpoints can bounce ideas off one another. Great job.

It sounds like in the beginning that the argument is we don't know what the consequence outcome would be. But geographic information systems (GIS) would be helpful to model this. If you look up Vermont property appraiser, you can see every individual parcel and the Y/N associated with the homestead exemption. You could do a select by attribute and used the appraised parcel value to figure it out. Also, if you have a zoning layer you could separate commercial from residential areas.