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Screenings of the documentary "Just Getting By" and other events this fall at locations across the state.
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As the pandemic winds down, report evidences need for “new normal” of security, equity, and shared prosperity
MONTPELIER —State of Working Vermont 2022, released today, analyzes Census and other data, including wages, jobs, and employment, poverty, household income, and migration to portray Vermonters’ well-being before, during, and after the arrival of COVID.
Before the pandemic:
The pandemic exacerbated some of these conditions. But in addressing the crisis, the federal and state governments also began to improve them:
“The abnormal response of government, the willingness to invest public funds to protect people from the medical, economic, and social ravages of COVID-19, provides the model of a better, ‘new normal’ for Vermont,” said Stephanie Yu, incoming executive director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank.
“We’ve seen during the pandemic that, coupled with public solidarity and community mutual aid, the state can improve social and racial equity and boost the economy by putting people’s needs first.”
Jobs and the workforce have not fully recovered, and the pandemic left some worse off, the report shows. For instance, more Vermonters are homeless than before COVID. And while poverty fell overall during the pandemic, it increased among older Vermonters.
“SWVT highlights the progress achieved when government adequately addresses the needs of people and communities,” said Yu. “By making these priorities permanent, Vermont policymakers can fix persistent problems and create a state that works for everyone, leaving no one behind.”
An accessible chartbook, State of Working Vermont 2022 can be viewed or downloaded at publicassets.org
Public Assets Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Montpelier that promotes sound state budget, tax, and economic policies that benefit all Vermonters. More information at www.publicassets.org