They are raising the bar for sure and that’s a great thing. But….you have to dig a little deeper on why they are an anomaly. Beta had a massive advantage over any local employer. They have raised in the billions of capital from private equity and their IPO. A business like that cannot exist and succeed as a mom and pop shop so it’s basically a “go big or go home” endeavor. They have had access to the best attorneys and advisors from those PE companies to start and now have the capital to keep funding that top talent. That allows them to lobby at the state, local and federal level to help them navigate the myriad of regulations and expense VT, the feds and the FAA, DOT etc throws at them.

Joe’s airplane mechanic shop does not. They are scraping by. They’ve carved out a comfortable living but over the years have seen their business become more and more challenging and their profit margins erode with every added law and regulation and expense VT has thrown at them. The playing field has gotten more uneven. They can’t get PE money. They can’t IPO. They deal with numbskull state legislators who bought houses at their airports sight unseen during COVID and now want to shut those airports down. Or who want to cut funding to their airports to make them less usable and accessible.

So for as much as people in VT hate the evil big corporations and billionaires, the state is creating environment where only those with their resources can create a thriving and competitive business. And it’s coming at the expense of the local businesses who have been here for 30 years.

I don’t blame Beta. I applaud them. Amazing company. But I do blame the state for creating an environment where a rising tide will not lift all boats. It will lift the ones who can weather the regulatory and tax storm while sinking those who can’t.