Dustin Degree: A more competitive place for business

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Dustin Degree, a former Republican state representative from St. Albans City, and a candidate to for the state Senate representing Franklin County and Alburgh. Prior to serving in the House, Degree was an aide to former Gov. Jim Douglas.

My mother grew up in poverty, the daughter of a World War II veteran who came back to St. Albans to work for the railroad. He soon found himself disabled, and making ends meet became a struggle. My mom worked through her time at BFA to help provide for the family. Three days before she would graduate in 1975, my grandfather passed away.

I spent the first 17 years of my life watching my mother get up every morning and go to work at IBM. Like so many families in northwestern Vermont, ours depended on one of the thousands of jobs the computer giant provided at its Essex plant.

This story isn’t unique. IBM offered good-paying jobs to an entire generation of Vermonters who saw employment opportunities evaporate from the mills, farms and railroads in the early part of the last century. IBM offered people a step up. For my mom, it was a step out of poverty and an opportunity to give us the type of financial security she never had as a child. It’s no exaggeration that IBM — and places like it — literally built the middle class that exists in our part of the state.

One morning in 2002, as I headed off to school, I learned that my mother had been affected by layoffs after nearly 25 years of service. Our family was devastated. As a 17- year-old, I remember being overcome by a sinking feeling of uncertainty, wondering how we would survive. And I remember distinctly the defeated look on my mother’s face when she walked through the door. Our lives changed forever.

Politicians use benevolent rhetoric as often as possible. The notion of giving the next generation a better chance to succeed is something that we hear so often. In my family’s history, I can tell you with no hesitation that without IBM, the upward mobility my mother was able to achieve would not have been possible.

When I ran for the House of Representatives, one of my opponents, when asked about economic development said, “I don’t think Tom Watson is going to come here again to build a plant anytime soon.” She was absolutely right. Not because the company had given up on our state, but because the business environment had become a place where it simply no longer made sense for IBM to invest. The company faced never ending road blocks as it tried to grow and was under constant attacks from elected officials who dared it to divest its interests from Vermont.

In an ever-changing economy, Vermont needs not only the ability to compete globally, but regionally and nationally. It also needs, desperately, leaders who understand just how important places like IBM, Energizer and Plasan are to our working families.

The work New York is doing to eliminate start-up costs, tax burdens and impact fees is revolutionary in a part of the country known for leading the nation all three categories. It puts our neighbors to the west at a huge competitive advantage in attracting and retaining businesses and it’s already working, as IBM just announced it will bring 500 new jobs to Buffalo.

However, leaders in Montpelier refuse to accept the consequences of their actions. Instead, they’re seeking another $50 million in property taxes, they’ve voted again to increase permitting, and will look for a way to collect over $2 billion to fund an experimental single payer health care system that threatens to do even more harm to Vermont businesses, large and small.

Most disappointing is the reaction we heard from state leaders as they tried explain how there was simply nothing they could have done to change the circumstances, just like they did when Energizer, Vermont Yankee, General Dynamics, Revision, Tivoly, Huber & Suhner, Vermont Brick, NRG, Plasan and GE Healthcare all announced layoffs since the last election and, in doing so, tried to exonerate themselves and the policies they pursue of any responsibility.

We need leaders in Montpelier who understand the overwhelming effects our high taxes and burdensome permitting are having on our economy. We need leaders who will work to make Vermont a more competitive place for business. We’ve had too much bad news these past two years, too many days like yesterday.

There are many reasons why I chose to run again to represent Franklin County and Alburgh in the state Senate. None more important, none more crucial than to be the leader who’ll fight for the people whose lives changed forever with yesterday’s news.