Originally published on Vermont Digger in August 2016
Our land-use policies have served us well for close to 50 years having thwarted the kinds of development that would otherwise jeopardize the beauty of Vermont and the Vermont brand. But have we become victims of our own success? I believe Vermont is at a turning point in terms of land use planning and development priorities, directly affecting the health of our economy and issues of affordability.
Continued revenue shortfalls, despite increases in taxes, suggest that Vermont’s economy suffers from fundamental structural issues. A 2016 VPR/Castleton Polling Institute poll results show that the economy/jobs/cost of living is the No. 1 concern. Stunningly, that same poll found that 70 percent of respondents believe job opportunities are “just fair” or “poor” and 75 percent believe that wages are “just fair” or “poor.” Improving wages largely depends on increasing job opportunities and our land use policies could very well be the main constraint keeping us from improving both.
I believe the main impediment to our long-term economic well-being is the “homevoter” effect, a term coined by Dartmouth College professor of economics William Fischel and described in his 2001 book the “The Homevoter Hypothesis: How Home Values Influence Local Government Taxation, School Finance and Land-Use Policies.” Continue reading “Vermont’s ‘Homevoter’ Effect”