VT Headlines

VT Headlines: Exodus of Burlington businesses stoke fears of economic decline

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Photo by Tim Mossholder
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Categories: VT Headlines

10 replies »

  1. Burlington. The People’s Republic’s shining Queen City. Theft, vandalism, vagrancy, grime, guns, a Macy’s High School, vacant storefronts and a huge pit in the ground. Well done!

  2. Businesses leaving Boilington ? “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”.
    You don’t want crime ? Don’t defund and down size the police department .You don’t want druggies shooting up on the streets ? Don’t provide needles for them to do so.

    • Notice Patrick Finnie, Hightower is scampering for the exit. Even a cat covers up it”s own mess.

  3. Let’s stop blaming the plandemic for the exodus of businesses from Burlington. The labor market is consistently difficult in the region, and one eatery that has a location on Church St as well as in South Burlington advertises $25/hour to start. Their Shelburne Road location is right across the road from an intersection commonly occupied by a panhandler. The issue in Burlington is vagrancy and crime. The shoplifting hurts businesses directly while the general level of crime and vagrancy makes visiting Burlington undesirable for many decent folks who have other options. Progressive policies in the post-George Floyd era have instituted the double whammy of cutting police and welcoming vagrants and junkies from afar with free motel rooms and lax public camping policies. A majority of voters in Vermont have brought this upon us and the problems could be reversed in a single election if we had the political will.

    • Exactly has nothing to do with bullvid 19, it’s because of the city officials and their pandering to the criminals and addicts allowed to do what they want without any consequences.

  4. Crime, drugs, homelessness, a lack of police, and Progressive leadership and high taxes are the reasons Burlington businesses are fleeing in droves. These Progressive idiots are blaming it on Covid. Nobody wants to go to downtown Burlington due to it becoming a wasteland. It’s a shame! I grew up in Burlington, and it’s sad and sickening to see what has happened steadily since Bernie Sanders became mayor and changed the face of Burlington. Yes, the City Council is addressing all the problems. How? They do what Progressives do: establish committees and talk about it. The solution: put 8 beat cops in downtown 24/7. That won’t happen because they would rather develop programs and provide social workers. Pathetic. The city deserves every bit of what is happening.

    • You nailed it, I live and grew up in Burlington and haven’t been downtown in many years. Nothing there worth it.

  5. Why not turn those evil capitalist storefronts into high quality homeless shelters. They sure could use more .

  6. Burlington has learned nothing, back when socialist Sanders was Mayor he and liberal goons forced most of Church Street Business out of town, and Williston took them in with open arms, today some forty-plus years later we now have a gaggle of fools running the city right into the ground, they hate the police, they don’t punish crime, hell you lay around and do some drugs…… Not a problem !!

    And the one steering this ship into the ground, is the current Mayor, and now he wants the Governor’s seat………..wake up people.