The Burlington Daily Mentioner’s business correspondent Wichita Garrett wraps up his eight year series on Vermont’s long suffering Republican captains of industry. I quote at length below:  

“Homegrown Vermont Widget manufacturer E.J.Fudd is in the news once again. He announced today that after 42 years he was closing his manufacturing facility in Vermont.  Fudd’s Vermont Widget Co. will be shifting its production to the small Balkan country of Symkaria where he claims it’s cheaper to do business. Fudd started the widget business in his garage in 1968 and rapidly expanded as the Vermont widget caught on nationwide in the mid 1970s.  

Commenting on the reasons for the move, Mr. Fudd said.

‘It makes the most economic sense to pwoduce all of ouw high-end widgets in Symkawia.’ Fudd added “But simpwy put, it costs us significantwy more to pwoduce a widget in Vewmont than we are capabwe of selwing it for, and sadwy, this is not sustainabwe in the cuwwent economy

Vermont Widget’s closing in June will leave 53 workers without jobs. Fudd’s departure will leave approximately 200 design jobs at its Burlington world headquarters, enabling them maintain the Vermont Widget cache.

When asked for a reaction, Governor Douglas said  ‘It’s a sad chapter in the ever-changing global marketplace,’ he predictably added that Vermont has “some costs that are particularly troubling to manufacturers, including taxes and health care”.”

The good Governor and The Daily Mentioner fail to note that the small socialist country of Symkaria has state-provided universal health care. The Symkarianis also enjoy high speed broadband throughout the nation and unlike Vermont’s crumbling roads and bridges they maintain a modern transportation infrastructure.    

The Mentioner’s Garrett continues:  

“The wealthy Elmer J. Fudd, no stranger to tax related controversy, made news last year when he and his wife changed their residency from Vermont to Florida due to what he claimed were inordinately high upper bracket taxes. He published a long emotional and rambling letter at the time:  

‘My wife, Mawrie and I have abandoned Vewmont. Dewe is no more painfuw decision for two 6th genewation native Vermontews than to give up wesidency in the state where we waised ouw famiwy and gwown a successfuw business.  

The wegiswature has stolwen Vewmont fwom the peopwe who wive hewe and then compwetewy destwoyed it. If Vewmont continues with its curwent tax powicy, thewe will soon come a time when the wealthy awe gone. In my opinion, we awe awweady  halfway there and the wecent proposed wegiswation onwy acelewates the fwight of the wealthy.  That’s why my wife and I are sadwy weaving our former home state that now seems intent destwoying itself.’ ”