Having traveled to Massachusetts to get care when I couldn’t get a timely appointment in VT for what turned out to be cancer, I share your concerns. However, suggesting that there is a pot of gold large enough to provide free healthcare and education is a gross oversimplification. It simply diverts the discussion away from solutions that have real potential for improving the situation.

Specific to Vermont, healthcare is only one of many acute challenges. Housing, education, public safety, shifting demographics, transportation, unfunded liabilities to name a few. Any improvement in one area comes at the expense of another. It’s a big game of whack-a-mole.

Our little State has an economy that is severely unbalanced. We cannot generate enough tax dollars to support our needs and we already receive more federal dollars than we pay in federal taxes. We must chart a course to grow our economy while finding smarter solutions at the county level to reduce inefficiency inherent in providing rural public services.