MONTPELIER- A new report by Public Assets Institute highlights the toll
taken by the Great Recession and Vermont's failed efforts at job creation
leading up to it. The state's immediate task is to respond to the crushing
downturn and provide jobs for thousands of people who are out of work
through no fault of their own. But Vermont also needs to re-examine its
strategy for sustainable job creation, because current policies, especially
business tax breaks, are not working. Even before this recession, Vermont
was having its worst decade on record for creating new jobs.
The report, "State of Working Vermont 2010," recommends that Vermont
return to the kinds of public investments that have been shown to strengthen
the economy and provide working Vermonters the tools they need to support
their families and prosper.
According to the Institute, certain measures undertaken in the state would lead to short-term job creation and help grow the economy. A study released in August showed that Vermont, New England, and the rest of the country prospered more in the past when collective resources were invested in things that benefited the public at large and strengthened the overall economy, such as public infrastructure and education.
The Institute's website says, "Investment that leads to sustained, long-term job growth also has the best chance of solving the state and nation's fiscal problems."
"We are all aware of the hardship created by this recession," said Paul
Cillo, president of Public Assets Institute. "But what no one has been
talking about is how poorly Vermont was doing before the recession. Where
job creation is concerned, this has been the worst decade in Vermont since
the Department of Labor started keeping records in the late 1930s."
Other key findings of the report:
. Real median household income in Vermont was lower in 2009 than it was in
1999.
. From 2008 to 2009, unemployment increased nearly 50 percent among Vermont
men.
. Vermont has lost 13,500 private sectors jobs since the start of the
recession.
. Vermont's private sector is providing 10,000 fewer jobs than it was 10
years ago.
Public Assets Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that
promotes sound budget and tax policies to benefit all Vermonters. Additional
information is available at www.publicassets.org