robert the top skee independent candidate for vermont state senate chipman county i have lived in jericho for the past twenty five years i'm a professor of business administration at st michael's college and chairperson of the partment of business administration i've had over a decade of business experience in commercial banking and export finance i've also served over ten years on the underhill id's school board and have served this chairperson of the chip in the supervisory union executive committee and its negotiations committee and basically a single issue candidate making this state affordable and possible for young adults and young families i fear that everything we value in our state the odors lifestyle the unbelievable sense of community the unique entrepreneurship is at risk unless we face up to the rapid and accelerating rate at which young adults and young families are leaving vermont vermont is basically the oldest state in the country our population is hardly since two thousand by two thousand and thirty there will be twice as many vermonters over the age of sixty five as there will be vermonters under eighteen yes we're a leader in terms of attracting college age students from out of state but once they graduate they don't stay here we have one of the nation's highest rates of vote migration of twenty two to twenty nine year old college educated residents vermont is an extremely tough place for young adults and young families we're already seeing the impact of this in terms of in rome and in our statewide k twelve school system unless we address this issue our ability to fund key state services is at risk we have to tackle the real challenges facing young people in vermont particularly the relative lack of good jobs and the high cost of living we also have to address a reality which many in montpelier are ignoring a policy environment widely seen as hostile to economic activity and job creation i drafted for acts as a roadmap for how vermont can remain economically sustainable full text is on my website robert v t senate dot com they include the i want to be able to afford to live in vermont but don't want to have to live with my parents until i'm forty act which addresses vermont's image among job creators and its impact on our ability to offer better paying jobs for our kids the i want to be able to retire with dignity and not have to work as a greeter at walmart unless i want to act which focuses on vermont's dangerously high unfunded pension and health care obligations the i don't want to have to huddle over a fireplace wearing five sweaters and reading by candlelight and then wait two hours for a bus to get to work because i can't afford it and i could car act which deals with vermont's present and unsustainable energy policies and finally the why don't we do something to soup to boost the successful businesses we already have act which focuses on vermont's real success stories and what we have to do so that they can offer more opportunities to our kids i've held a series of county wide open mike sessions on this issue and i visited over two thousand households across the county to get feedback on this issue the response has been overwhelming i'm asking for your vote on november sixth to become one of the six senators from chipman county so that we can read the wreck the conversation among peel your towards one goal making vermont affordable and possible for more of our kids thank you