Focus on Vermont

What you might not know about Vermont is . . . that it has a sea monster.  In fact, it has two.  Locals say the first one lives in Lake Champlain and they call it “Champ”.  It supposedly looks like a giant snake and is said to be at least 20 feet long.  The French explorer Champlain, for whom the lake is named, claimed to have seen the giant serpent in 1609 when he came across the lake while fighting Iroquois Indians.  The second one lives in Lake Memphremagog at the border of Vermont and Canada.  There have been more than 200 sightings of it in the last 150 years. 

The name “Vermont” comes from Champlain’s map of 1647 where he labeled the area “verd mont”, meaning  “green mountain”.  The state was originally inhabited by the Native American tribes of Abenaki and Iroquois.  They first came to hunt big game animals such as caribou and mastodons.  Later, as more forest land grew, they hunted small game and learned to gather berries and herbs and make maple syrup.  Today, the Abenaki that remain continue these traditions.

The state is the nation’s leading producer of maple syrup.  IBM provides 25% of all manufacturing jobs in the state and is responsible for over 1 billion of the state’s annual economy.  Other important industries include dairy farming and the manufacture and sale of “artisan” foods, fancy foods and novelty items trading in part upon the “Vermont” brand which the state manages.  These food items include Cabot Cheese, the Vermont Teddy Bear, Lake Champlain Chocolates and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.  Wineries have also become a noted part of the economy along with tourism.  Tourism draws include numerous ski resorts that host skiers from around the world and summer camps that attract outdoor enthusiasts of all ages.  Over the past two centuries logging has fallen off as a major industry due to initial over-cutting.  The cut back on logging has allowed Vermont’s land and forests to recover.  In fact, 77% of the state is forest land, most of which is second-growth. 

Interestingly, “captive” insurance is playing an increasingly large role in Vermont’s economy.  It is an alternative form of insurance wherein large corporations or industry associations form stand alone insurance companies to insure their own risks which has substantially reduced their insurance premiums and given them a significant measure of control over types of risks to be covered.  It also gives them significant tax advantages.  The state of Vermont is the third largest entity worldwide to house captive insurance companies following Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.  

The state is governed by a constitution with the same three branches as our federal government.  The governor and the General Assembly serve two-year terms.  There are no term limits for any office.  There are three types of incorporated municipalities:  towns, cities and villages.  On the second Tuesday of each March, voters in their respective municipalities come together to discuss and vote on town issues.  It is called “Town Meeting Day”.  For over 200 years this has been an important political event as citizens elect local officials and vote on town and school budgets and make other decisions for the town.  It has also become an important venue to discuss state and national issues that affect the state.  There is very little provision for autonomous county governments.  All county services are directly funded by the state. 

Vermonters have historically been known for their independence.  They are, in fact, the only state to have voted for a presidential candidate from the Anti-Masonic Party.  Rules which abolish smaller parties from a ballot in other states do not exist in Vermont and as a result, voters often have extensive choices for general elections.  Their independence has led to movements for the establishment of the Second Vermont Republic and other secession plans, including becoming an 11^th Canadian province.  Despite that, until recently, Vermont historically has been considered to be reliably Republican.  Prior to 1992,  they had only voted Democratic once.  In 1992, they supported Bill Clinton and they have voted Democratic in national elections ever since.  They gave Obama his third largest winning margin of 68% - 31%.  That noted, the current governor is Republican and one of their U.S. Senators is registered as an independent.

Vermont is the only state in the union not to have a balanced budget requirement and yet it has had a balanced budget every year since 1991.  The general sales tax is 6% which is imposed upon the sales of tangible personal property and a few other miscellaneous categories.  Exemptions to the sales tax include medical items, clothing, food and electricity.  During the past three decades, the state’s state and local tax burden has consistently ranked among the highest in the nation.  The top individual income tax bracket is 9.5% starting at an income of $349,700.  The state’s corporate tax system has three brackets with a top rate of 8.5% on income over $25,000.  The state also collects property taxes at the state and local levels.   Money from the state’s lotteries supplies 2% of the annual expenditure for education.  All lottery profits must be spent on education. 

Vermont is a safe place to live as it has been ranked number two in the nation for safety based on crime statistics.  It has been ranked among the best five states in the nation for preventing premature death in people under 75 years of age.  It is the third safest state for highway fatalities.  It is the 5^th best state for fewest uninsured motorists.

The state has a population barely exceeding 600,000 surpassing only Wyoming in numbers.  Most of the state is forest with the rest covered in meadows, lakes and wetlands.  It has warm, humid summers and cold winters.  Vermont is known for its mud season in the spring.  Annual snowfall averages between 60 and 100 inches depending upon the elevation. 

The largest ancestry groups are French or French Canadian (24%), English (18%), Irish (16%) followed by German, American, Italian and Scottish.  Native Americans make up .4% of the population.  Religiously, the United Church of Christ is the largest Protestant denomination.  The largest single religious body is the Roman Catholic Church.  Over one-fifth of Vermonters identify themselves as non-religious.

Vermont is a beautiful state, particularly in the fall with its multi-colors.  Maple syrup festivals also abound during that time.  Watch next month for our very special issue focusing on the North East.  As always, we welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. 

Dee Chandler
Editor
Editor@ActiveAdultLiving.com
 

Wynnmere is a small community targeted to empty nesters that no longer desire the work and worry of home maintenance and want an affordable and care free active adult lifestyle. In Wynnmere you will find thirty six individual living units consisting of single family and duplex units. The duplexes are ideally suited for two generations of the same family to be close to each other while maintaining their independent lifestyles, or perfect strangers wanting the comfort of a close neighbor while assuring their independence and privacy.

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