Thank you for exploring a corner of the housing issue in Vermont. The article acknowledges that the short-term rental market exacerbates what is a longstanding and deeper problem.
I'm assuming the article is referring to the lack of construction of housing for moderate-income people since the 2008-2009 recession. That this is the heart of housing problems nationally was addressed in national news sources in July, including The New York Times and NPR.
Focusing on short-term rentals is a distraction from the bigger issue at a time when we need to be facing the housing crisis in a clear-eyed and determined manner. We need targeted and ambitious proposals to address this problem.
As is mentioned in the piece, the housing crisis only stands to get worse as people move north to avoid certain effects of climate change. The combination of more demand with not enough quality, varied housing stock provides an environment for even-higher prices for what exists.