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Justagirlfromvt t1_jd059ye wrote

Reply to comment by Necessary_Cat_4801 in We're #3. Not a yay. by RedRipeTomato

I think that's true of many places. Everything is more expensive and wages are slow to catch up. We've been having this conversation for forty years (or more, I'm sure) in Vermont and not much has changed - for better OR for worse.

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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_jd3gpjr wrote

That doesn't excuse it in VT. In Vermont now, wages and costs are so far apart that the only people who can afford to live here are either working from home or independently wealthy. VT is running a sociological experiment to see what happens if you completely eliminate the workforce/working class in a state.

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Justagirlfromvt t1_jd5w075 wrote

That may be true as of the last six years since I've lived there (in Chittenden County), but I've been able to live there when I was VERY poor because of "socialized" health care and food programs including but not limited to CSAs for lower income members and SNAP. My mother bought her first home after the divorce using the farmers home program (not sure if that's the actual name or if it still exists). Vermont is very expensive, but it also allows for programs and government that actually helps people succeed. Not everywhere is like that. It's a good place, and I disagree that the trend is toward a "gated community," although I understand the frustration. When I lived in Burlington (as a poor person with advantages), my struggle was to educate less advantaged folks about the things Vermont had to offer for them that still supported the local economy. It's just a different mindset. It's about priorities.

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