Archive
Besides his books, Bill has written a variety of poems, short stories, opinion pieces, and more.
Myths of Economic Development & Taxation in Vermont
Before I get down to economic development, let me make a few general remarks that may unsettle your thinking: All too often, economic development is defined not by its opportunities...
Election Day 2010: Now it’s our turn
We are at a critical turning point in Vermont. We must confront who we are, who we want to be and what we believe in. As the nation at large...
Dear Governor-elect Shumlin,
Congratulations and thanks for taking up the challenges we face. May I suggest some priorities as you move ahead? You know from your own political experience that there are no...
Aunt Rose & Mr. Farr’s Jerseys
My imperious grandmother’s sister, maiden aunt Rose, was considered “frail.” She rarely saw anyone outside her coterie of effete friends who frequented the old Metropolitan Opera on 39th and Broadway. The...
The Price of Shaving Gear: I give up.
Luckily, I spent my puberty in an all-male boarding school in New Hampshire. I began to shave there, only because my father had given me a razor and a pack...
A Winter Elegy
Just as most progress is incremental, so too are our losses. We rarely see what we’re losing until it’s gone. We may see a dying butternut tree without knowing of...
Arts and Media
Many of society’s future creative endeavors will have no physical medium, raising questions about how those among us who choose some artform as a vocation will make a living. Let’s...
Imagine Vermont as a Destination for the Best Education in the World
Picture this…..Vermont abandons many of its under-funded, often poorly conceived fix-it initiatives in favor of a single strategic one. Investments largely wasted on economic development, various consumer and business subsidies,...
VT Bus. for Social Responsibility Comments 5/12/2011
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...
Vermonters Overcompensated? Not!
According to The Washington Post and other sources, executive compensation at the nation’s largest firms has quadrupled in real terms since the 1970’s even as pay for 90% of Americans...
We Dug a Pond
We recently decided to dig a pond in the retired pasture next to our house. It raised some questions, the most common of which is, “Is the bottom yucky?” I...
