State is hurting small businesses
Toolbox
Published: May 6, 2010
I am quite upset with the Senate and governor deciding it was time for working Vermonters to pay for the unemployed Vermonters.
Last summer, my position was cut due to budget constraints. I was able to receive unemployment after a drawn-out adjudication process to haggle over 10 hours of vacation pay I had received. I then received the maximum benefit of $425 per week — cutting my pay more than in half.
The fact that my family was going to modify our lifestyle was my motivation to get back to work. I was fortunate, I did. However, I have been told that as a state of Vermont employee, I must lose 3 percent of my pay come July 1 to show that "state of Vermont employees feel the pinch the rest of Vermont is feeling." I'm doing my part.
Vermont is and always has been a working-class state. Small businesses have been what makes us thrive. As much as Gov. Douglas attempts to get big business in here, I have failed to see any progress – his attempts have been futile to say the least. Now we are going to increase the amount of unemployment tax these businesses have to pay by more than 60 percent.
Am I the only one who sees all our small businesses closing down? The local markets and florists will not exist. The butcher shop where they know your name will be closed.
This is just not fair. I am tired of the governor spending his days cutting ribbons for businesses that he exclaims with pride are exactly what Vermont needs – 15 jobs, over a three-year period, from a Canadian company is what Vermont needs? No. Vermont needs the businesses that are here to be allotted the assistance they need to stay in business. We should be encouraging the businesses that are here now.
Sadly, the article does not clearly state how the working Vermonter will be affected. Was The Times Argus afraid of the backlash and overflow of letters disputing this? How many more taxes and cuts do I need to take before I've proven myself to be a supportive Vermonter? There has to be a better way. I don't know what that is, but there has to be.
Renita Marshall
Barre
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