I’d like to wind up the day by saying a few words about the social contract. I think we can all agree that the social contract is an agreement between citizens and their elected governing body to manage a set of tasks, tasks which only government can carry out with any efficiency and effectiveness, and which benefit society as a whole rather than specific individuals or entities and improve the environment and the economy on which that society’s prosperity is based. Not everyone buys into the social contract, though. Libertarians and some far right conservatives firmly believe that, as Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” These folks simply do not believe in the possibility …
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I’d like to talk with you today about the new reality of economic development in Vermont. Historically, I don’t believe we’ve been very strategic in our business development initiatives, choosing often to simply mimic the efforts of larger states but without their larger budgets – a bit like buying the back half of a pickup track. Furthermore, we have made little or no effort to harmonize the values and economic aspirations of Vermonters, the indigenous assets Vermont has to offer business, and the realities of a global marketplace.  We trot out the “economic development toolbox” of states working to attract global manufacturers and massive service centers and find that we have only a screwdriver and pliers with which to forge …
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Thank you. I am honored to be here today and am mindful that I am here because of you all and what you have accomplished. You have made today possible and we are here to honor you. I would like to say a few words about leadership, as you will all be leaders in one way or another. Then I will impart a mercifully brief bit of graduation advice so as not to break with tradition. Leadership is not what you may think. In fact, we have experienced its object lesson here in America for the last eight years. To be clear, observing the White House is instructive, it will help you understand what leadership is not. When I say …
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A month ago, I was standing in the Sala della Pace in the Palazzo Publico in Siena, Italy, looking up at a fresco by Ambrogio Lorenzetti depicting the virtues of good government and the graphic outcomes of bad government. In 1338, the Sienese councilors commissioned the fresco to remind the civic administrators and the citizenry of the bounty of good government and the pernicious consequences of government with bad people in power. In the early 14th Century, Siena had experienced a sustained period of peace and prosperity, understood by all to be the result of good governance. The frescoes, almost unique at that time for their non-religious depictions, are full of rich details of medieval life: craftwork, trade, agricultural, construction …
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First, I want to thank the Vermont Council on Rural Development, both for convening us today, but also for the great community-level work they are doing around the State to engage towns in a dialogue about their future. As a result of that grass roots organizing work, I am chair of a modest, but vigorous committee focused on celebrating the local goods and services of Hinesburg. We are expanding our farmers market as well as a town harvest celebration, creating a d/b of our creative and economic output, initiating a community garden space and working with another local committee to make Hinesburg a paragon of lowered energy use in our homes and community buildings. Your work here today and in …
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