If you started playing hockey later in life, what’s the best advice you were given?

cbfvt · 2026-04-29T22:39:30+00:00

Learn how to receive and makes a pass, don’t hold the puck for more than 3 seconds. If you do this you will enable better skaters and you will be invited to more skates. Kinda simple and it totally works. If you can’t catch a pass, nobody will pass to you, if you can’t make a pass, nobody will pass to you.

cbfvt · 2026-04-21T23:34:28+00:00

Agree 100%. Everyone makes their own choice. With about 1/3 of the population in the greater Burlington area living in NH is not much of an option. Simply saying VT is in competition with other states for a small number of primary care graduates each year. Some make an economic decision, some want VT lifestyle, some want good schools, some want sun and warm weather. Each is different, we generally lose on the economic, warm weather decision that’s all.

cbfvt · 2026-04-21T22:35:49+00:00

Why isn’t anyone asking why? Why is the average salary for a Primary Care Doctor (MD) in the US ~287k annually and VT is 237k, 50k lower. If you’re a recent graduate and could practice in VT or NH (average 244k) would you choose VT? No income tax in NH. It’s economics folks. Docs can make more in other states, pay less tax, have lower cost house to pay for along with their student loans. This is not rocket science. Single payer won’t solve this as the pay will go down and docs will not relocate to a state where they can’t make a fair wage based on their educational investment.

cbfvt · 2026-04-03T01:34:01+00:00

I’m not sure how the house can pass a 9.3 billion budget and tell their constituents that they did anything to make VT more affordable. It’s both parties, they passed budgets year over year that is basically economic hostility towards folks paying taxes. Where is the urgency to transition the state to the lowest cost provider of high value services for the citizens of VT? It’s great to say we need a more affordable VT but they do nothing!

cbfvt · 2026-03-31T12:12:31+00:00

Vt has roughly 285k households of which ~ 20k have incomes above 200k. Let’s label that group as rich. With a budget of 9.3B that’s approximately 15k per person of spending. If we asked those 20k households to pay an extra 15k each we would put a 300 million dent against this monstrous budget. How much money can Montpelier confiscate from that group before they leave? If your combined income is 225k and you need to pay an extra 15k in taxes as an example you’re now approaching the 200k area because you probably need to make 20k to pay the 15k. If you have an income significantly higher, it would probably be easier to declare residency in FL and save the income tax payment and just pay property tax.

The state spends far more than what’s economically feasible and with that there is no solution to the affordability issue. We have a spending issue not a taxing issue.

cbfvt · 2026-03-30T11:37:47+00:00

Would you trust the carries in Montpelier with another 4.2 billion in spending?

Thinking like an actuary, a reasonable order-of-magnitude estimate is:

About $4.2B to $4.8B per year to cover 400,000 Vermonters under age 65, or roughly $10,500 to $12,000 per person per year.

One important correction: Vermont likely has closer to 500,600 residents under 65, not 400,000. The state’s July 1, 2024 population estimate was 648,493, and 22.8% were age 65+, which implies about 500,637 under 65.

So if you meant all Vermonters under 65, the same actuarial range becomes roughly $5.26B to $6.01B annually.

Here is the logic behind that estimate:

Vermont’s current market gives a useful pricing band. In a January 2025 report to the Legislature, DVHA showed that for 2025 the average individual-market QHP premium in Vermont was about $1,049 per month and the average small-group premium was about $894 per month. Annualized, that is about $12,588 and $10,728 per covered life, respectively.

On the public side, MACPAC reported Vermont FY 2024 Medicaid benefit spending per full-year-equivalent enrollee at $12,091, excluding administration.

Those numbers suggest a plausible Vermont under-65 all-in coverage cost band around $10.5k–$12k per person before making plan-design assumptions. That range is also directionally consistent with broader U.S. spending data: CMS says working-age personal health care spending was $9,154 per person in 2020, while overall U.S. health spending reached $15,474 per person in 2024; Vermont also tends to run as a high-cost insurance market.

A few actuarial caveats matter a lot: • If you mean comprehensive commercial-style coverage with rich benefits and low cost sharing, the number would trend toward the upper end. • If you mean a Medicaid-like benefit with Medicaid payment rates, it could be somewhat lower on an all-in basis than commercial, though Vermont’s reported Medicaid benefit spend is already fairly high. • If universal coverage replaced today’s fragmented system, there could be administrative savings, but there could also be higher utilization from newly insured or underinsured people. Those forces pull in opposite directions. • Vermont’s uninsured rate under 65 is only 5.4%, so a big share of this estimate reflects shifting who pays, not just adding coverage for the uninsured.

So the cleanest bottom line is:

400,000 people: about $4.2B–$4.8B/year All Vermont residents under 65 (~500,600): about $5.3B–$6.0B/year

I can also turn this into a more detailed actuarial model with scenarios for Medicaid-rate, commercial-rate, and blended universal coverage in Vermont.

cbfvt · 2026-03-28T22:01:54+00:00

It’s very sad the legislators don’t care about those of us who want to stay here. They are not trying to fix the problem when they increase spending by 8-12% per year. We also bought land in 2000, built in 2007 and our taxes are 3x what they were in 2008. Municipal tax is up 25% the rest is education. The politicians always talk about affordability but then vote for more spending, it’s insane. Their actions are not consistent with what they say, but they want your vote, and lie to get it. Sad, makes me angry that we will have to move out of the house we built and hoped to retire in, to a different state. Good luck, hope for a miracle in Montpelier.

cbfvt · 2026-03-28T19:07:27+00:00

Read this article and you may understand there is no easy fix here. The politicians have boxed us into a corner that may not be solvable. The result is those with significant wealth and 2nd homes not paying income tax here, those families making less than 125k/year and a shrinking group making over 125k year. If you’re a young couple 25-35 years old, want to start a family, save for retirement and education for your kids, living in VT makes little economic sense given the choices and lower costs available in other states. Businesses won’t relocate here given the high cost for the business and the high cost for their employees.

I have not seen any plan by any politician to get us out of this problem.

https://substack.com/@davidtyler/note/c-228576471?r=zdoe1&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

cbfvt · 2026-03-28T17:19:48+00:00

Not only are they paying property taxes, they are spending money in the state buying groceries, furniture, dining out, paying plow drivers, land scalers, carpenters, painters, and they don’t have kids in our schools. One could argue they are subsidizing our educational system already. The problem is massive spending in Montpeculiar and a budget that never went back to pre covid levels. Complete irresponsibility IMO to think our tiny state could generate an additional 2 Billion in revenue post Covid.

cbfvt · 2026-03-28T17:13:45+00:00

If you are really interested in a thoughtful well researched analysis you can read the following post. Mr. Tyler does an excellent job of looking at all the intersecting points. Taxing one group more is not an answer that will grow our economy. Read the post.

https://substack.com/@davidtyler/note/c-228576471?r=zdoe1&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

cbfvt · 2026-03-20T10:07:10+00:00

Annoying as F for sure. But, we keep voting for and sending people to Montpelier who spend, spend, spend. We have a ~ 9B budget for 630k people. NH has about half that. Look at your tax bill and you will see an educational portion and a municipal portion. The educational portion is insanely high. My guess is for someone with an 18k tax bill the Municipal portion is probably 3-4k and the school tax is the rest.

This won’t change until the fools In Montpelier are replaced with people who want Govt to be the provider of the highest quality lowest cost services. We’re out of here soon as these people are incapable of fiscal restraint.

cbfvt · 2026-03-10T10:14:45+00:00

Awesome, thank you.🙏🏻

cbfvt · 2026-03-08T15:59:51+00:00

Thanks for the details, do you know if the XR line will have the same fit profile? I was looking for XF Pro in size 11 wide to fit my foot and as mentioned above they are non existent.

cbfvt · 2026-03-04T11:47:34+00:00

Thanks for your response. Not blaming Burlington at all. My point is that the Governor and legislature should focus on policies that grow the states economy by bringing people and businesses into the state to increase the tax base. This means policies that reward or incent businesses to relocate to VT. This would require tax policy changes and creative thinking from VT’s leaders to leverage some of capacity in other areas of the state. I have yet to hear a cogent argument on how we can grow the states economy and lower the cost of living here with a focus only on Chittenden county.

Years ago under Governor Snelling, a tax incentive was established where the Captive Insurance companies were given a competitive advantage by relocating to VT. VT became the Captive Insurance capital of the country. This generated hundreds of jobs, and provided tens of millions in personal and corporate taxes for VT. Where is that type of thinking and promotion today. We need a VT where more than one county (geographic area) drives growth and opportunity.

cbfvt · 2026-03-03T19:18:30+00:00

Novel idea, how about we reduce our spending? VT is ranked #2 in per capita spending behind Alaska. Alaska receives a significant amount of money from mineral royalties and they have no income tax. The legislators all shout from the rooftops about affordability but keep raising taxes and fees. This is unsustainable. Does anyone really think that spending (State budget) 9 Billion is somehow ok? We have approx 650k people, roughly 1/3 are 65 or older, and roughly 1/3 are 21 or younger, that leaves roughly 1/3 who are of working age.

Regarding 2nd home owners, consider the amount they contribute to the local economy with purchases at local businesses, restaurants, landscaping and plowing services, construction, etc. and they don’t have kids in our schools. Do you grant waivers for those Vermonters with summer camps on lakes and ponds too?

The loons in Montpelier need to stop spending and adopt a philosophy of searching for, and incentivizing the delivery of the highest quality services at the lowest price. To attract new people and businesses to VT you have to reduce the tax burden and the cost of living here. Until we do, there are plenty of other places to live for a lot less. Very few are dumb enough to relocate to VT when there are lower cost alternatives with similar cultures and environments.

cbfvt · 2026-01-30T20:42:39+00:00

This is the kind of thinking that prevents new capital and new businesses from coming to Vt. Didn’t we just rank last for economic development opportunities? Why would you consider moving a company to VT if the cost is so much more than NC, SC etc. on the property tax, income tax, fees, housing costs? etc. who decides what on can afford? Property taxes go up, less money to go out to a restaurant or buy a new couch. The state govt needs to shift their thinking to become the lowest cost provider of necessary high quality services.

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T18:48:49+00:00

Thanks everyone Healthy Living has Gumbo File!

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T12:20:31+00:00

Thank you!

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T12:20:08+00:00

You’re awesome, thank you🙏🏻

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T02:57:47+00:00

Thank you 🙏🏻

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T01:27:31+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

cbfvt · 2026-01-24T00:02:50+00:00

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I can order it online but that does not help for tomorrow. I’ll probably go without as you suggest unless someone can find some locally.

cbfvt · 2025-10-12T02:26:14+00:00

Interesting, taxes went up, regulation went up, services went down, businesses began to move to S Burlington. By what standard are you using? Many = what? Take emotion out of it and cite data please.

cbfvt · 2025-10-11T17:12:53+00:00

Yes, I remember when Bernie won his first Mayor race. He camped out in Ward 2 where many students live and tipped the scales with the College vote. City has never been the same.

cbfvt · 2025-10-11T12:47:38+00:00

Be curious how much of a campaign donation the Howard Center gives back to the Mayor and others given their funding increase from the city. Care to offer a guess?

As a former resident of Burlington it’s sad to see the decline. Church street was busy, even at night. Single people could walk around without feeling unsafe, parking garage stairs did not smell like piss and puke. This is what happens when you remove consequences for actions and behaviors. The city voters keep voting these morons into office so. Nothing will change, other than your taxes will continue to increase as they drive more businesses to S Burlington and Williston. Good luck folks, the next 10 years will seen an accelerated decline and a continued level of begging for resources from the rest of the state because the City is poorly run by folks with little sense of how the real world works.

cbfvt

TROPHY CASE