sarahEpstein Even Deeper
To the Editor:
I hope readers of The Bridge caught its recent (Feb. 18) commentary, “The Epstein Class.” It was one of Bronwyn Fryer’s typically intelligent, interesting, and elegantly written essays. She described the repugnant spectacle of great men and women swarming around Jeffrey Epstein.
Bronwyn correctly, in my opinion, ascribed their blindness, and sometimes their collusion with this monster, to tribalism. Tribalism perverts our understanding, both of our society and ourselves.
Tribalism has deep roots in human nature, the same roots that sprout our obsession with inclusion and exclusion, selection and rejection, who is in and who is out, the normal and the abnormal, the praiseworthy and blameworthy, the prized and the scorned. It brings mischief and misery to us all. This obsession is born in envy.
It’s no psychological gobbledygook to say that, of all the human passions, envy brings the greatest amount of misery to the greatest number of people. It’s not just the ruling passion of Epstein’s powerful parasites, but also the driver of economic growth, overpopulation, and the approaching death of our habitat. It lives and thrives today, even — or especially — in the hearts of Vermont’s community leaders.
Envy has an equally dangerous sister: Envy-fear. Envy-fear plagues fortunate people and their nations. Envy-fear tormented our forager ancestors, who couldn’t enjoy an extra yam, or use a longer hoe, without attracting their neighbors’ evil eyes. Envy-fear makes people sacrifice their blessings, just as our country is sacrificing democracy to autocracy and Vermont is sacrificing its open land and uncrowded towns to growth.
Envy makes us take away; envy-fear makes us give away.
Those who wish to take a deeper dive into these twin evils will want to read “Envious and Deceived,” by J.J. Penniman. It will both shock and comfort you.
Mark Adair, Worcester
Vermont’s Education Crisis: A Quiet Takeover
To the Editor:
Last year, 2025, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 73 that will end up closing small schools, ending choice in nearly 90 towns, and move governance even further from the family. This is going in the wrong direction.
Vermont spends nearly $27,000 per student — among the highest in the nation — yet Vermont student outcomes remain average or below on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). State testing also shows that roughly half of Vermont students are not meeting proficiency standards and nearly 30% are chronically absent.
By contrast, Mississippi spends roughly half as much per student, yet NAEP data show it ranks near the top nationally in 4th-grade reading and leads the country in recent academic gains. In addition, Mississippi offers school choice options, and Act 73 removes choice options.
Rather than examining whether a high-cost system is achieving the desired results, Act 73 continues the trend toward greater consolidation in order to save money. Consolidation does not necessarily guarantee cost savings over time, and my concern is that administrative organization will be prioritized over individual student needs.
At some point, we must ask whether consolidation of districts is truly the answer — or whether the design of the current education system is the deeper problem. Perhaps a conversation that puts students and families first rather than districts and institutions is what we should be talking about. One that allows for education independence for the student and local schools to exist and thrive. One like Student Centered Education: edwatchvt.org/student_centered_education
Retta Dunlap, Woodbury, Executive Director, EdWatch Vermont
How Much Is A Billion Dollars?
To the Editor:
The news is filled every day with stories that mention the term “billion.” Frequently it relates to the personal wealth of individuals or the annual compensation of CEOs. A while back I started asking people to describe a billion dollars without using the word billion. Most people were perplexed and offered no answer. A few said “I don’t know.”
Most of us have a sense of how much is $1 million dollars. It’s the weekly salary of a growing number of professional athletes; or what many hope to earn in 10 or 20 years of work. A few years back, I found myself struggling to grasp CEOs annually earning $100 to $150 million in salary and bonuses. A friend provided context for me when he pointed to a lot on the lake. It was bought by a successful local business person, and up went the buildings — new garage or barn, then the large foundation that became the house, next the tennis courts, a new gate house to replace the old one, and then a pool. All for an estimated $85 plus million. When I drove by that estate, it gave me a sense of $100 million.
One million dollars is a box filled with one thousand $1,000 dollar bills. You open the box, pull out sixty or seventy $1,000 dollar bills, and head down to the dealership to buy a new $70,000 SUV or pickup truck. A billion dollars is one thousand $1,000,000 dollar bills. You open the box, pull out one, and retire for life. At present, it is likely to be one of the more commonly used terms in our culture that has no actual meaning or relevance to most of us.
Russell Frank, Montpelier
Letters to the editor represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of The Bridge. Submit your letter by email to editor@montpelierbridge.com. Preference is given to submissions by those who live in central Vermont, should not exceed 300 words in length, and may be edited for brevity and accuracy.
