Vermont personal income grew by 5.5 percent in 2023—to $43 billion total—the fastest growth in New England and slightly faster than the U.S. as a whole. The major components—earnings, dividends, interest, rent, and transfer payments—all increased, with transfer payments seeing the strongest growth.

The number of Vermonters employed hit 347,957 in March. This is the largest number of people working the state has ever seen, edging out the previous high in June 2018 by 683 people. Because the number of people seeking work is low, Vermont’s total labor force—those working and looking for work—is still below the 2009 peak.

The 1973 oil embargo prompted many energy-saving ideas—real and imaginary. Daylight savings was extended year-round, which was spoofed in a cartoon of President Richard Nixon demonstrating an energy-saving blanket. He was shown cutting a strip from one end of the blanket and sewing it back on to the other end.

The current plan to reform the notorious CLA—common level of appraisal—looks a lot like Nixon’s blanket. It doesn’t actually change how things work, it just makes them look a little better to the public. The latest version of the yield bill now in the Senate changes the way the CLA is calculated but doesn’t actually change the way the CLA works or affects tax bills.