TO THE EDITOR: THE NORTHFIELD NEWS IF THERE WERE A COMPANY in Vermont that made doodads, we would be able to track its success. The DooDad Co. like all companies operates on profits. This company is very successful and has sales world wide. Everybody has a use for a doodad. There are 1000 employees who are paid well above the average wage in Vermont and the benefit package is very generous. Employees have healthcare, a retirement plan, vacation, etc., all the perks that you could want. This company has a high profit margin and is planning to expand.

From their profits they have been able to save for expansion. They also have profit sharing along with paying the employees a bonus every year. They are planning on expanding their line to include thingies and whatsits. This naturally means more job opportunities in the future.

If we compare this company with the largest employer in Vermont, you will see the sustainability of one, and not the other. The State of Vermont is the largest employer in the state. Their employees are paid higher than average wages, and have all the perks that The DooDad Co. has except profit sharing. Another big difference is that the state is unionized and The DooDad Co. is a right to work company.

The DooDad Co. operates on profits from sales of products. The state does not produce a product and operates on the taxes we pay. The ways that a private company increases its profit margin is by increasing pricing, increasing sales, or adding to the product line. The way government increases its revenue is by increasing our taxes. Period. Government can eliminate programs and cut employees. It has continued to grow and our taxes have increased accordingly. This is not sustainable.

Vermont state government has grown for the past 13 years that we have been here, and our tax burdens have increased proportionally. The biggest problem comes in when the government needs more tax dollars to operate, thus raising the taxes on The Doodad Co., its employees, and everyone else in the state. This cuts into the company’s profit, and makes it susceptible to offers from other states to relocate. Here we will have another company moving from Vermont, and 1,000 jobs lost. When this happens, the rest of us have additional tax burdens to sustain the governmental growth, because no cut backs are made in the government to compensate for the loss of revenue due to the loss of 1,000 jobs, not to mention the property taxes paid on housing, and school taxes to mention just a few.

A perfect example is with our federal government. For the month of February, the government spent $220.9 billion more than it collected in tax revenues. The tax revenues dropped 7% and expenditures increased 17%. This includes the $500 million that we pay each week in interest alone, on money that we have to borrow to sustain our government. With a 9.7% unemployment rate, revenues are not going to increase and adding a $1 trillion healthcare bill will increase our debt, no matter how Mr. Obama tries to sell it to the people.

ANTHONY VACH

Northfield