Letters to the Editor (4/22/26)

No ‘Algorithmic Price-Fixing’

[Re “We’ve Got Receipts: Dining Out Has Gotten More Expensive. Two Decades of Restaurant Tabs Prove It,” April 1]: There’s a major reason food (and a lot of other things) has gotten so expensive: “greedflation,” aka big corporations raising prices just because they can. The driver is massive industry consolidation over the past few decades, with little to no pushback from federal regulators (other than a few glorious years with Lina Khan at the helm of former president Joe Biden’s Federal Trade Commission). We are now at the point where a handful of giant companies control the market for many essential goods and services.

Combine this with the rise of “algorithmic price-fixing” across many industries, and what you get is functional monopolies where restaurant owners and pretty much every other local business see their prices go up in lockstep. “Algorithmic price-fixing” is the no-bullshit name for what is more delicately known as “pricing consultancies,” where an industry-specific data broker receives proprietary data from the major players in that industry, then gives them all “individualized” pricing recommendations that just so happen to result in all of them raising their prices.

One example: A data broker called (no joke) PotatoTrac receives detailed pricing data from the four companies that control 97 percent of the frozen potato products market, then advises them all on pricing. The result has been a doubling in the price for a serving of fries in the past 10 years — exactly in line with the price increases documented in your article.

California recently banned algorithmic price-fixing. Vermont should do the same. The survival of our local businesses depends on it.

Jason Van Driesche

Burlington

Prevent Tax Delinquency

[Re “Tax Burdened: Education Reform Won’t Address Property Tax Rates for Years. As Delinquencies Rise in Pockets of Vermont, Leaders Seek Both Short- and Long-Term Solutions,” April 8]: Unpaid property taxes are a huge issue — and these unpaid taxes affect every member of the community. Yet it is critical to understand this situation from another perspective. A family earning $100,000-plus is different than a couple who lives on Social Security income exclusively. In many cases these are people living in homes that have been in a family for years — and yet, these homes, as noted in the article, are increasingly falling into delinquency.

In many cases, the residents are in fact living in poverty or slightly above poverty-level incomes. Which brings me to my point. Due to their income status, these people may not pay federal or state taxes, which means they may not be fully aware of the Homestead Declaration and Property Tax Credit Claim options. In addition, due to their financial situation, they may not own a computer — especially if they are seniors — and therefore can’t easily file these forms.

I became aware of this situation in Windsor. When I did, I reached out to our town manager to suggest that perhaps a volunteer force could be put in place to provide assistance. There was no interest. Every town has JPs who could provide assistance to residents at no cost to file for these benefits.

The other issue unique to Vermont is “Yankee pride.” We need to make these services easily available and perhaps this problem can be averted before delinquency happens.

Sally Laurent

Windsor

‘Property Taxes Are Obsolete’

[Re “Tax Burdened,” April 8]: Property taxes are obsolete. They were fine when a person’s income came from their house and lands. In the 21st century, this is no longer true, and funding schools this way ends up pitting our seniors against our children. Instead of trying to rejigger property taxes to take income into account, let’s just replace at least our education property taxes with income taxes.

There’s a bill “on the wall” in Senate Finance, S.104, that would do just that. Or we can simply decide that the “buydown” is such a good thing that we should keep doing it and increase it every year, not depending on surplus revenue but making it part of the budget. Yes, income taxes would have to go up, but I expect that most Vermonters would be fine with that as they watch their property taxes fade into the depths of history where they belong.

Steve Gaarder

Burlington

Pavement Problem

Studs are big part of the road problem [“Roads in Ruins: Lawmakers Seek Alternate Routes as Rising Costs and Stagnant Funding Have Left Vermont’s Roads Crumbling,” April 15]. Having recently moved here from the Adirondacks, I was disappointed at the poor quality of many asphalt roads.

Northern Vermont and the Adirondacks both get lots of snow and ice and have significant elevation changes. But one thing’s different: Many fewer vehicles with studs in the winter there, and none in the summer.

New York motor vehicle law penalizes stud usage after April 30. Vermont currently allows them year round. That omission costs all Vermont taxpayers dearly.

Studs are tungsten carbide, which is much harder than asphalt. So, although in the winter they slightly damage the pavement, in the summer they absolutely destroy the soft, warm asphalt, especially under the heavier weight of EVs and trucks. Evidence is the two deep tracks you see on secondary road pavement in Vermont.

A good potential solution is a 2023 bill (H.162) proposing stud use from November 1 to May 15, with exceptions for certain vehicles. As of now, the bill has not been enacted into law, so the current regs allowing year-round stud use remain in effect.

If you want to extend the life of roads in Vermont, call your legislators and ask them to move this bill forward.

Bill Dutcher

Shelburne

Corrections

Last week’s cover story, headlined “A Dream Deferred,” contained an incorrect address for the website that was created for submitting proposals for the former Green Mountain College campus. It is greenmountain collegerfp.com.

Last week’s Vermont Cannabiz Guide incorrectly listed the name of the cannabis dispensary in Hardwick. It is the Wick.