BRATTLEBORO-I am a resident of District 7, and I have been a strong supporter of Emilie Kornheiser during her terms in the Vermont Legislature. I am also an admirer and customer of Lilac Ridge Farm. Amanda Ellis-Thurber, whose family owns and operates Lilac Ridge, is running against Emilie in the Democratic primary for the District 7 legislative seat.
I believe in lively debate and straightforward conversation where ideas are challenged, and people have to think hard about what they believe and be able to articulate the same. So it was with interest that I saw the article by Joyce Marcel about this upcoming race. I've been wondering why Amanda chose to challenge Emilie and hoped the article would give me an answer. So I read it, from start to finish.
Well, sadly, it seemed to me it all came down to Thurber's supporters believing that Emilie's proposed bill to "tax the rich" would discourage business, and that it's business that supplies the money to charities that help the poor, and that somehow this addresses issues like the homelessness crisis.
Well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022 Vermont ranked fourth in business growth of any state in America. That didn't seem to make a dent in the housing crisis as far as I could see.