[68vette]

My feeling is that things are going to get very bad in the future in Vermont if many things don't change. The state needs to focus on school taxes and bringing in the types of buisness that will attract young people back to the state. This is the second oldest state in the country and will soon be the oldest. The tax burden will be much worse for those still working. It's great that we get a buisness that brings 20-40 new jobs, but many of these jobs are unskilled jobs. Not the types of jobs that young professionals are looking for and my opinion is that there aren't enough jobs being created.

[MRVphotog]

Act 250 is one of the bottlenecks that prevent businesses from growing and coming in. It's too strict, cumbersome and inflexable. Satisfying town permits and conditions can sometimes be big obstacles as well.

I'm not a big proponent of big box stores but it was on the news the other night that the Lowes's that they are trying to build in Burlington has just got the go-ahead to finish the store as it was halted for over a year for water drainage issues.

Gov Douglas just announced that a state task force is being formed to really take a hard look at Act 250 and see if it can be changed to make it more business friendly without sacrificing the environmental issues Act 250 was originally conceived for. Personally, not holding my breath but you never know.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

Act 250 is one of the bottlenecks that prevent businesses from growing and coming in. It's too strict, cumbersome and inflexable. Satisfying town permits and conditions can sometimes be big obstacles as well.

I'm not a big proponent of big box stores but it was on the news the other night that the Lowes's that they are trying to build in Burlington has just got the go-ahead to finish the store as it was halted for over a year for water drainage issues.

Gov Douglas just announced that a state task force is being formed to really take a hard look at Act 250 and see if it can be changed to make it more business friendly without sacrificing the environmental issues Act 250 was originally conceived for. Personally, not holding my breath but you never know.

Home Depot came to LI and basically drove Mom and Pop hardware shops out of business overnight. The only business which remained in my neighborhood was an Ace hardware -- another national chain. Lowes is now building stores within a short hop of HD, and in some cases in adjacent shopping centers. It is not good. The jobs they offer are minimum wage, and how many people can afford to live on that?

If you live within 10 - 15 miles of that Lowes and have a friendly, neighborhood hardware store, say goodbye to him soon.

[68vette]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Home Depot came to LI and basically drove Mom and Pop hardware shops out of business overnight. The only business which remained in my neighborhood was an Ace hardware -- another national chain. Lowes is now building stores within a short hop of HD, and in some cases in adjacent shopping centers. It is not good. The jobs they offer are minimum wage, and how many people can afford to live on that?

If you live within 10 - 15 miles of that Lowes and have a friendly, neighborhood hardware store, say goodbye to him soon.

That's not really true. It creates competition and it means better prices for the consumer. We had the same thing happen when I lived in Ct. The mom and pop stores survived. Their buisness was hurt, but they were able to offer different items or services that Home Depot or Lowes doesn't deliver or have no interest in offering. In fact a few of them did better when they weren't trying to compete with the same offerings. The same happens with Wal-Mart and any of the big box stores. The mom and pop stores still do ok.

The pay is not minimum wage, but I agree it's not the greatest wage. The deal is Vermont has kept many of the big box stores out for a long time. The rest of the country is becoming flooded with them. It would only be a matter of time before Vermont became a target for the big box stores to move into. They are jobs, but not the type of jobs people are willing to move here for.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Home Depot came to LI and basically drove Mom and Pop hardware shops out of business overnight. The only business which remained in my neighborhood was an Ace hardware -- another national chain. Lowes is now building stores within a short hop of HD, and in some cases in adjacent shopping centers. It is not good. The jobs they offer are minimum wage, and how many people can afford to live on that?

If you live within 10 - 15 miles of that Lowes and have a friendly, neighborhood hardware store, say goodbye to him soon.

The walmarts of the world have been doing that for years in many places around the country but in some places I have lived, not so much. Yup, Burlington has had a HD for years so it's not surprising Lowes wanted in. In Auburn and Windham, Maine they are across the street from each other.

In Vermont the minimum on Jan 1st will rise to $8.01/hr and I hear HD pays starting workers $9/hr, not a living wage perhaps but alot better than the fed minimum wage of $6 or whatever it it goes up to after about a zillion years at $5.85.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by 68vette

The same happens with Wal-Mart and any of the big box stores. The mom and pop stores still do ok.

No they don't. They dissappear.

[GypsySoul22]

Where I used to live on Long Island we had Home Depot for years down the road, then Lowes came in about a year ago maybe five miles or so away. In our town (the town center/Main St.) there was still a Mom and Pop hardware store but I don't know how they survived and if anyone went there (that goes for all the other 'town' stores except for the restaurants and cleaners which all seemed very busy.)

I believe competition IS good because it does create better sales for the customers. Again, where I lived there were 4 supermarkets within 3 miles. (OhBee, you know how LI is..). You could literally drive from store to store getting all the deals (if you like that sort of thing.). Here we are lucky to have a lot of shopping near by and you can do the same thing...if Shaw's isn't your cup of tea, you can go to Pricechopper or get some things at BJs or Walmart.

However, I do think the big box stores DO put the Mom and Pop places out of business or severely cut into their chances of making a living. Okay, so it's great for the consumer to have Best Buy or Walmart or Circuit City within 2 miles but that only makes the local electronics guy say 'why bother?'
One of the reasons we didn't move to Littleton, NH was that I didn't like the one supermarket (and one Walmart). Too little to choose from meant if they wanted to sell something at a high price you were either forced to buy it or do without..

[tkln]

Near me, there are some mom and pop hardware stores, but I'll be perfectly honest - as much as I hate Home Depot or Lowe's, 9 times out of 10 I'm heading in that direction. Not because of prices but mostly because they are open late and I can go after dinner or whatever...I hate going there because you can never find someone to help (at least in the ones on LI, as I'm sure Gypsy and others can confirm), the only lines that are open are the self checkout ones (do I get a discount for doing someone else's job????) and all the signs are in in English AND Spanish. That irks me to no end. I think it's a nationwide thing too, as I think I've seen it in the HD in Burlington.

Unfortunately, the only time I can hit the mom and pop stores are on the weekends, and then there's no parking.

[GypsySoul22]

Tlkn--customer service in stores on Long Island is pretty much dead. Try walking around and asking questions at Best Buy, for example. You will get a dead stare and a 'I dunno or I never heard of that,' from your 17 year old customer service desk person. Then he or she will go back to chilling out.

If you complain about service (anywhere in the country) you hear "So and so is only making $7/8/whatever dollars an hour...why SHOULD they hustle?"

The self service thing HAS gotten out of hand in supermarkets down there as well (at our old Pathmark you were lucky to find 1 or 2 'full service' lines.)

Up here you get a checker AND bag person (most of the time) though they are much slower than I'd like.

[68vette]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

No they don't. They dissappear.

In my experience living in several states they do survive. Berlin and Williston are two good examples here in Vermont. The prices may be better, but often times I go with what is convenient. Many people do the same.