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111-691: The Church Street Marketplace is an uncovered outdoor pedestrian shopping and dining mall in Burlington, Vermont , consisting of the four blocks of Church Street between Main and Pearl Streets. The mall was initially conceived in 1958 and was built in 1980-81 to a design by Carr, Lynch Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts . It encompasses about 86 storefronts and is managed by the Church Street Marketplace Commission. Major retailers include five national chain stores as well as local retailers of clothing, home-wares, books, and other goods. It

222-545: A Civil War fraternal group in Burlington. Nine days later, he became U.S. president when President McKinley died. In 1870, the waterfront was extended by construction of the Pine Street Barge Canal. This became polluted over the years and was a focus for cleanup in 2009 under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 's Superfund program. In fact, the entire Burlington waterfront was a derelict wasteland as late as

333-588: A community boathouse to anchor public redevelopment at the waterfront. The land filled into the harbor was eventually redesigned for public use in a decision of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1989. By 1990 the Burlington Bike Path was complete, from Oakledge Park in the south, to the Winooski River in the north. In 2004, Governor Howard Dean obtained funding for construction of a bike bridge across

444-478: A crisis of ideas in mainstream economics and within the economics profession, and call for a reshaping of both the economy, economic theory and the economics profession. They argue that such a reshaping should include new advances within feminist economics and ecological economics that take as their starting point the socially responsible, sensible and accountable subject in creating an economy and economic theories that fully acknowledge care for each other as well as

555-454: A final design scheme by Alexander and Truex: a one-level street mall with replacement and/or improvement of utilities underground, resurfacing of the street, and improvements and appointments along the surface. The new $ 6 million design scheme was approved in early 1980 and construction began on July 7. During the sixteen months of construction, none of the businesses along Church Street changed locations or terminated business and retail sales in

666-505: A four-block pedestrian mall in the heart of the city, is the site of festivals throughout the year. Events such as the "South End Art Hop" and public galleries such as Pine Street Art Works , provide a forum for the visual arts in the South End. A "Festival of Fools" had an estimated 25,000 attendees at the Marketplace in 2009. The "Vermont Brewers Festival" had 9,600 attendees in 2009, and

777-490: A minimum, there's a little 'froth' [in the U.S. housing market]...it's hard not to see that there are a lot of local bubbles". The Economist , writing at the same time, went further, saying, "[T]he worldwide rise in house prices is the biggest bubble in history". Real estate bubbles are (by definition of the word "bubble") followed by a price decrease (also known as a housing price crash ) that can result in many owners holding negative equity (a mortgage debt higher than

888-572: A resolution preventing CFTC from regulating derivatives for another six months — when Born's term of office would expire. Ultimately, it was the collapse of a specific kind of derivative, the mortgage-backed security , that triggered the economic crisis of 2008. Paul Krugman wrote in 2009 that the run on the shadow banking system was the fundamental cause of the crisis. "As the shadow banking system expanded to rival or even surpass conventional banking in importance, politicians and government officials should have realised that they were re-creating

999-665: A series of triggering events that began with the bursting of the United States housing bubble in 2005–2012. When housing prices fell and homeowners began to abandon their mortgages, the value of mortgage-backed securities held by investment banks declined in 2007–2008, causing several to collapse or be bailed out in September 2008. This 2007–2008 phase was called the subprime mortgage crisis . The combination of banks being unable to provide funds to businesses, and homeowners paying down debt rather than borrowing and spending, resulted in

1110-504: A series of urban renewal discussions. During the summer of 1971, a one-day, experimental street fair was held on four blocks of Church Street, and approximately 15,000 persons attended. The success of the street fair was taken as a demonstration of the feasibility of a mall. By late 1971, Patrick Robins, president of the Downtown Burlington Development Association and local architect Bill Truex (then chairman of

1221-757: A sharp drop in international trade , rising unemployment and slumping commodity prices. Several economists predicted that recovery might not appear until 2011 and that the recession would be the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Economist Paul Krugman once commented on this as seemingly the beginning of "a second Great Depression". Governments and central banks responded with fiscal policy and monetary policy initiatives to stimulate national economies and reduce financial system risks. The recession renewed interest in Keynesian economic ideas on how to combat recessionary conditions. Economists advise that

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1332-629: A single storm is 33.1 inches (84.1 cm), which fell January 2–3, 2010. For the Northeastern United States, a heat wave is defined as having three consecutive days of 90 °F (32 °C) or more. There were six such heat waves from 2000–2009. According to the 2020 United States census , there were 44,743 people living in Burlington. The racial makeup of the city was 85.6% White , 4.4% Black or African American , 0.4% American Indian , 4.6% Asian , and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.8% of

1443-525: A strain on resources. About 500 soldiers died of disease, which was always a problem due to poor sanitation in army camps. Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont , where a memorial plaque commemorates them. In a skirmish on August 2, 1813, British forces from Canada shelled Burlington. This is described as either a bold stroke by the British with an ineffectual response from

1554-510: A tool for taking excessive risks. Examples of vulnerabilities in the public sector included: statutory gaps and conflicts between regulators; ineffective use of regulatory authority; and ineffective crisis management capabilities. Bernanke also discussed " Too big to fail " institutions, monetary policy, and trade deficits. There are several "narratives" attempting to place the causes of the recession into context, with overlapping elements. Five such narratives include: Underlying narratives #1–3

1665-542: A worldwide market and is based in neighboring South Burlington. Vermont Teddy Bear Company , whose founder started on a cart on a Burlington street, now ships custom teddy bears worldwide and is based in nearby Shelburne . Corporate headquarters located in Burlington include Burton Snowboards , Bruegger's , Lake Champlain Chocolates, Rhino Foods , and Seventh Generation Inc. In 2017 , Burlington had $ 591.7 million in retail sales . The Church Street Marketplace ,

1776-413: Is a hypothesis that growing income inequality and wage stagnation encouraged families to increase their household debt to maintain their desired living standard, fueling the bubble. Further, this greater share of income flowing to the top increased the political power of business interests, who used that power to deregulate or limit regulation of the shadow banking system. Narrative #5 challenges

1887-580: Is also a community center, a cultural resource for newly arrived immigrants to the Burlington area, and the city's only free public access computer center. Many of Burlington's historic buildings and sites have been recognized by their inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In addition to 28 buildings, three shipwrecks and the Burlington Breakwater, the city encompasses 17 historic districts. Churches in Burlington include

1998-490: Is an annual event presented by the South End Arts and Business Association. Artists join businesses, artist studios, and galleries, which in turn open their doors to the public throughout the post-industrial section of Burlington, known as the "South End". The first Art Hop in 1993 had a little more than thirty artists and a dozen sites participating. In 2008, over 600 artists showcased their works in over 100 sites throughout

2109-527: Is located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Canada–United States border and 95 miles (153 km) south of Montreal . As of the 2020 U.S. census , the population was 44,743. It is the least populous city in the 50 U.S. states to be the most populous city in its state . A regional college town , Burlington is home to the University of Vermont (UVM) and Champlain College . Vermont's largest hospital,

2220-587: Is the site of festivals throughout the year. Events such as the South End Art Hop and public galleries such as The Firehouse Gallery provide a forum for the visual arts. The American Planning Association named the Church Street Marketplace one of America's "Great Public Spaces" for 2008. The marketplace is also home to dozens of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. The concept of the Church Street Marketplace originated as early as 1958 as part of

2331-463: Is the timing. Subprime lending increased from around 10% of mortgage origination historically to about 20% only from 2004 to 2006, with housing prices peaking in 2006. Blaming affordable housing regulations established in the 1990s for a sudden spike in subprime origination is problematic at best. A more proximate government action to the sudden rise in subprime lending was the SEC relaxing lending standards for

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2442-547: Is well-distributed throughout the year, but the summer months are the wettest. The city's location east of Lake Champlain sometimes accounts for localized snow squalls , producing up to 13 inches (33 cm) in 12 hours on rare occasions. Annual snowfall averages 86 inches (218 cm), but this figure can fluctuate greatly from one year to another. Temperature extremes have ranged from −30 °F (−34 °C) on January 15, 1957, and February 12, 1979, to 101 °F (38 °C) on August 11, 1944. The most recorded snowfall from

2553-503: The American Enterprise Institute , which advocates for private enterprise and limited government, have asserted that private lenders were encouraged to relax lending standards by government affordable housing policies. They cite The Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, which initially required that 30 percent or more of Fannie's and Freddie's loan purchases be related to affordable housing. The legislation gave HUD

2664-909: The Champlain Canal in 1823, the Erie Canal in 1825, and the Chambly Canal in 1843. Wharves allowed steamboats to connect freight and passengers with the Rutland & Burlington Railroad and the Vermont Central Railroad . Burlington became a bustling lumbering and manufacturing center – for some time the third largest lumber market in the world – and was incorporated as a city in 1865. Its Victorian-era prosperity left behind much fine architecture, including buildings by Ammi B. Young , H.H. Richardson , and McKim, Mead & White . On September 5, 1901, U.S. vice president Theodore Roosevelt spoke to

2775-710: The Church Street Historic District , which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, however several of the buildings located on Church Street – including City Hall, Ethan Allen Engine Company No. 4 , the Chittenden County Trust Company Building (#123), and the McAuliffe Building (#117) – are part of the City Hall Park Historic District . Two other buildings on Church Street,

2886-478: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission , put forth a policy paper asking for feedback from regulators, lobbyists, and legislators on the question of whether derivatives should be reported, sold through a central facility, or whether capital requirements should be required of their buyers. Greenspan, Rubin, and Levitt pressured her to withdraw the paper and Greenspan persuaded Congress to pass

2997-662: The IMF criteria for being a global recession only in the single calendar year 2009. That IMF definition requires a decline in annual real world GDP per‑capita . Despite the fact that quarterly data are being used as recession definition criteria by all G20 members , representing 85% of the world GDP , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided—in the absence of a complete data set—not to declare/measure global recessions according to quarterly GDP data. The seasonally adjusted PPP ‑weighted real GDP for

3108-704: The Masonic Temple (#1) and Richardson Place (#2), as well as the Unitarian Church on Pearl St. are part of the Head of Church Street Historic District , which was listed in 1974. In addition, the Montgomery Ward Building (#52-54) is separately listed on the NRHP. Notes Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County . It

3219-547: The UVM Medical Center , is within the city limits. The City of Burlington owns Vermont's largest airport, the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport , located in neighboring South Burlington . In 2015, Burlington became the first city in the U.S. to run entirely on renewable energy . Two theories have been put forward regarding the origin of Burlington's name. The first is that it

3330-515: The crime of apartheid . The American Jewish Committee condemned the resolution as "deceptive and one-sided" and criticized it for its sole focus on Israel. A coalition of local rabbis and community groups condemned the resolution as well, citing the timing of the vote during the Jewish High Holy Days , between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur , and fears that the resolution would fuel antisemitism . Former mayor Miro Weinberger called

3441-592: The "Giant Pumpkin Regatta and Festival" had 5,000 attendees that same year; Saturday Night Live satirized the event. One of the largest year-round farmers' markets in the state of Vermont is located in the city. Dragon boat races to benefit charity have been held in Lake Champlain in August since 2006. In 2009, there were approximately 2,000 participants on 86 teams. An annual First Night community celebration of

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3552-429: The 19th and early 20th centuries, the current banking panic is a wholesale panic, not a retail panic. In the earlier episodes, depositors ran to their banks and demanded cash in exchange for their checking accounts. Unable to meet those demands, the banking system became insolvent. The current panic involved financial firms "running" on other financial firms by not renewing sale and repurchase agreements (repo) or increasing

3663-416: The 19th century. Yet, over the past 30-plus years, we permitted the growth of a shadow banking system – opaque and laden with short term debt – that rivaled the size of the traditional banking system. Key components of the market – for example, the multitrillion-dollar repo lending market, off-balance-sheet entities, and the use of over-the-counter derivatives – were hidden from view, without

3774-526: The Americans or as a weak sally by the British, which was rightly ignored by the Americans. The cannonade lasted about 10 minutes and caused no casualties. The American troops involved were commanded by Naval Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough , later a hero of the Battle of Lake Champlain . The town's position on Lake Champlain helped it develop into a port of entry and center for trade, particularly after completion of

3885-480: The City sponsored round table discussions and both local citizens and merchants responded negatively to the idea of a two-level mall. The Steering Committee decided to drop the two-level scheme, and a new plan was devised. The new plan included bringing the street level up to the sidewalk level, resurfacing the street with brick, adding canopies and shelters, closing the street to cars on the two central blocks, and implementing

3996-433: The City's Planning Commission) recognized the potential of the mall. With their guidance, a second, week-long street fair was held along Church Street in the summer of 1972. Traffic was rerouted from four blocks of Church Street to the parallel streets, extra transit was added for the week and short-term physical modifications (such as adding trees, benches, and booths) were made on the street. Merchants were allowed full use of

4107-774: The College Street Congregational Church ( United Church of Christ ), The Burlington Church of Christ, and the non-denominational Church at the Well. The Conservative Ohavi Zedek synagogue is also located in the city, and there is an active Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Synagogues in Burlington include the Chabad of Vermont, Ohavi Zedek, Ahavath Gerim, Ruach HaMaqom, and Ohavi Zedek Chavurah. The Howard Mortuary Chapel in Lakeview Cemetery

4218-537: The FCIC Republican minority dissenting report also concluded that U.S. housing policies were not a robust explanation for a wider global housing bubble. The hypothesis that a primary cause of the crisis was U.S. government housing policy requiring banks to make risky loans has been widely disputed, with Paul Krugman referring to it as "imaginary history". One of the other challenges with blaming government regulations for essentially forcing banks to make risky loans

4329-521: The Federal Reserve has been widely discussed, the main point of controversy remains the lowering of the Federal funds rate to 1% for more than a year, which, according to Austrian theorists , injected huge amounts of "easy" credit-based money into the financial system and created an unsustainable economic boom. There is an argument that Greenspan's actions in the years 2002–2004 were actually motivated by

4440-416: The Federal Reserve. Further, American International Group (AIG) had insured mortgage-backed and other securities but was not required to maintain sufficient reserves to pay its obligations when debtors defaulted on these securities. AIG was contractually required to post additional collateral with many creditors and counter-parties, touching off controversy when over $ 100 billion of U.S. taxpayer money

4551-675: The G20‑;zone, however, is a good indicator for the world GDP, and it was measured to have suffered a direct quarter on quarter decline during the three quarters from Q3‑2008 until Q1‑2009, which more accurately mark when the recession took place at the global level. According to the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (the official arbiter of U.S. recessions) the recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, and thus extended over eighteen months. The years leading up to

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4662-466: The Great Recession that began in the U.S. officially in December 2007 and lasted until June 2009, thus extending over 19 months. As with most other recessions, it appears that no known formal theoretical or empirical model was able to accurately predict the advance of this recession, except for minor signals in the sudden rise of forecast probabilities, which were still well under 50%. The recession

4773-456: The Heart, where patients have access to art supplies and devoted volunteer time. The Fletcher Free Library was established in 1873, endowed by Mary Martha Fletcher , the daughter of a local businessman, but outgrew its initial building on Church Street by 1901. A new building was constructed in 1901–04 with funds provided by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie , making it the first of

4884-895: The North Avenue Alliance Church, First Baptist Church, First Congregational Church, the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul , the First United Methodist Church, Christ Church ( Presbyterian ), the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph —the episcopal see for the Diocese of Burlington , the First Unitarian Universalist Society, Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Church ( Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ),

4995-448: The South End of Burlington. The event takes place on the Friday and Saturday following Labor Day in September. The city has an art department, Burlington City Arts, which serves many roles including cultural planning, education, showing contemporary art and hosting cultural events at The BCA Center . Burlington City Arts also runs a program in collaboration with UVM Medical Center, Art from

5106-738: The Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy," dated November 15, 2008, leaders of the Group of 20 cited the following causes: During a period of strong global growth, growing capital flows, and prolonged stability earlier this decade, market participants sought higher yields without an adequate appreciation of the risks and failed to exercise proper due diligence. At the same time, weak underwriting standards, unsound risk management practices, increasingly complex and opaque financial products, and consequent excessive leverage combined to create vulnerabilities in

5217-544: The US, from $ 106,591 to $ 68,839 between 2005 and 2011. The US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission , composed of six Democratic and four Republican appointees, reported its majority findings in January 2011. It concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: There were two Republican dissenting FCIC reports. One of them, signed by three Republican appointees, concluded that there were multiple causes. In his separate dissent to

5328-478: The United States, and 21% in Denmark. Household defaults, underwater mortgages (where the loan balance exceeds the house value), foreclosures, and fire sales are now endemic to a number of economies. Household deleveraging by paying off debts or defaulting on them has begun in some countries. It has been most pronounced in the United States, where about two-thirds of the debt reduction reflects defaults." The onset of

5439-540: The Winooski River, allowing the bike path to be extended four miles out into the lake on the old railroad causeway to the Champlain Islands, now known as the Island Line Trail. In 1978, the ice cream enterprise Ben & Jerry's was founded in Burlington in a renovated gas station. It became a national brand, with retail outlets in numerous cities. The local bicycle advocacy that emerged from this effort led to

5550-513: The academic definition, the recession ended in the United States in June or July 2009. Journalist Robert Kuttner has argued that 'The Great Recession' is a misnomer. According to Kuttner, "recessions are mild dips in the business cycle that are either self-correcting or soon cured by modest fiscal or monetary stimulus. Because of the continuing deflationary trap, it would be more accurate to call this decade's stagnant economy The Lesser Depression or The Great Deflation." The Great Recession met

5661-411: The area for display of retail goods and special events were planned. It was estimated that 50,000 persons attended during the week. An enclosed shopping mall, Burlington Square (now Burlington Town Center ), opened on the Church Street Marketplace in 1976. The mall was anchored by a Macy's department store. In 2014, another flagship, an LL Bean store, opened. On February 2, 2022, it was announced that

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5772-483: The area showed no decline. Construction was completed in the fall of 1981. From the completion of the Marketplace through the year 2010, retail occupancy had remained above 90% and had held steady even in the midst of the Great Recession . In September 2010, it had 91.7% occupancy with 7 ground-floor vacancies. 90% is more typical. The vacancy rate peaked at 11% in December 2009. The mall is largely co-extensive with

5883-575: The arts on New Year's Eve was founded in 1983 with funding from the National Endowment on the Arts and Vermont Council on the Arts. It ran for 35 years before shutting down in 2018. Drag troupe, the House of LeMay , hosts the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball" which raises funds for HIV/AIDS-related organizations. The Emily Post Institute , an etiquette organization, is headquartered here. The city has, over

5994-460: The bailout measures started under the Bush administration and continued during his administration as completed and mostly profitable as of December 2014 . As of January 2018 , bailout funds had been fully recovered by the government, when interest on loans is taken into consideration. A total of $ 626B was invested, loaned, or granted due to various bailout measures, while $ 390B had been returned to

6105-517: The bailouts. In 2008, TARP allocated $ 426.4 billion to various major financial institutions. However, the US collected $ 441.7 billion in return from these loans in 2010, recording a profit of $ 15.3 billion. Nonetheless, there was a political shift from the Democratic party. Examples include the rise of the Tea Party and the loss of Democratic majorities in subsequent elections. President Obama declared

6216-694: The city council to "express its solidarity with the Palestinian people, condemn anti-boycott legislation, and endorse the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for nonviolent pressure on Israel." The authors' stated reasons for introducing the resolution were Israeli settlements in the West Bank, an ongoing "military siege and an economic blockade" of Gaza , and US military aid to Israel. They also cited reports by Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem that find Israel guilty of

6327-460: The city's bond credit rating at Aa3, "high" quality. The largest employers in the city, and the state overall, are the University of Vermont Medical Center and the University of Vermont , employing over 8,200 and 4,125 people, respectively. Other companies in Burlington include Blodgett Ovens, one of the oldest and largest commercial oven companies in the country, which manufactures restaurant equipment. General Electric develops software for

6438-453: The crisis were characterized by an exorbitant rise in asset prices and associated boom in economic demand. Further, the U.S. shadow banking system (i.e., non-depository financial institutions such as investment banks) had grown to rival the depository system yet was not subject to the same regulatory oversight, making it vulnerable to a bank run . US mortgage-backed securities , which had risks that were hard to assess, were marketed around

6549-668: The crisis) and vulnerabilities (i.e., structural weaknesses in the financial system, regulation and supervision) that amplified the shocks. Examples of triggers included: losses on subprime mortgage securities that began in 2007 and a run on the shadow banking system that began in mid-2007, which adversely affected the functioning of money markets. Examples of vulnerabilities in the private sector included: financial institution dependence on unstable sources of short-term funding such as repurchase agreements or Repos; deficiencies in corporate risk management; excessive use of leverage (borrowing to invest); and inappropriate usage of derivatives as

6660-442: The current value of the property). Several sources have noted the failure of the US government to supervise or even require transparency of the financial instruments known as derivatives . Derivatives such as credit default swaps (CDSs) were unregulated or barely regulated. Michael Lewis noted CDSs enabled speculators to stack bets on the same mortgage securities. This is analogous to allowing many persons to buy insurance on

6771-406: The downtown bus loop which would enable buses to cross Church Street at two intersections. The one-level plan was approved by city voters later that year. C. E. Maguire, Inc., of New Britain, Connecticut, was hired to supervise the architectural/engineering work. That firm assumed all engineering tasks and contracted Carr & Lynch Associates of New York City as architects. Design work was based on

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6882-517: The downturn. In advanced economies, during the five years preceding 2007, the ratio of household debt to income rose by an average of 39 percentage points, to 138 percent. In Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, debt peaked at more than 200 percent of household income. A surge in household debt to historic highs also occurred in emerging economies such as Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania. The concurrent boom in both house prices and

6993-608: The economic crisis took most people by surprise. A 2009 paper identifies twelve economists and commentators who, between 2000 and 2006, predicted a recession based on the collapse of the then-booming housing market in the United States: Dean Baker , Wynne Godley , Fred Harrison , Michael Hudson , Eric Janszen , Med Jones Steve Keen , Jakob Brøchner Madsen , Jens Kjaer Sørensen, Kurt Richebächer , Nouriel Roubini , Peter Schiff , and Robert Shiller . By 2007, real estate bubbles were still under way in many parts of

7104-405: The economic headwinds that slowed the recovery: On the political front, widespread anger at banking bailouts and stimulus measures (begun by President George W. Bush and continued or expanded by President Obama ) with few consequences for banking leadership, were a factor in driving the country politically rightward starting in 2010. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was the largest of

7215-401: The factors most important to the success of a mall included responsibility for operation and maintenance, design on a pedestrian scale, offering community uses along various parts of the mall, and inclusion of a transit system compatible with the mall's design. In August 1977, city officials signed a $ 304,000 design and architectural contract with the Burlington firm Alexander and Truex to develop

7326-471: The fall of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, a major panic broke out on the inter-bank loan market. There was the equivalent of a bank run on the shadow banking system , resulting in many large and well established investment banks and commercial banks in the United States and Europe suffering huge losses and even facing bankruptcy, resulting in massive public financial assistance (government bailouts). The global recession that followed resulted in

7437-450: The following recovery weaker. Robert Reich claims the amount of debt in the US economy can be traced to economic inequality , assuming that middle-class wages remained stagnant while wealth concentrated at the top, and households "pull equity from their homes and overload on debt to maintain living standards". The IMF reported in April 2012: "Household debt soared in the years leading up to

7548-472: The formation of the non-profit Local Motion. They now run a bike ferry during the summer to get bicycles across a 200 yard gap in the railroad causeway, so they can get all the way out to the Lake Champlain islands. In 2021, following the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis , the city council scheduled a vote on a "Resolution In Solidarity with the Palestinian People" for September 13. The resolution called on

7659-503: The four Carnegie libraries in Vermont. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Walter R. B. Willcox of Burlington, who won a competition to receive the commission. The building had major settling problems in 1973 where it had been built over a former railroad ravine, which had been improperly filled in, and the library's collection was moved elsewhere. The possible razing of the building

7770-568: The healthcare industry in South Burlington at the former headquarters of IDX Systems , which it purchased in 2006. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products division employ 450 workers locally. A solely owned subsidiary, the division is based here. Dealer.com, a leading automotive internet marketing company, employs over 700 people. Ben & Jerry's began in 1978 when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first ice cream scoop shop in an old gas station in Burlington and now has

7881-467: The inflow of investment dollars required to fund the U.S. trade deficit was a major cause of the housing bubble and financial crisis: "The trade deficit, less than 1% of GDP in the early 1990s, hit 6% in 2006. That deficit was financed by inflows of foreign savings, in particular from East Asia and the Middle East. Much of that money went into dodgy mortgages to buy overvalued houses, and the financial crisis

7992-533: The kind of financial vulnerability that made the Great Depression possible – and they should have responded by extending regulations and the financial safety net to cover these new institutions. Influential figures should have proclaimed a simple rule: anything that does what a bank does, anything that has to be rescued in crises the way banks are, should be regulated like a bank." He referred to this lack of controls as "malign neglect". During 2008, three of

8103-568: The largest U.S. investment banks either went bankrupt ( Lehman Brothers ) or were sold at fire sale prices to other banks ( Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch ). The investment banks were not subject to the more stringent regulations applied to depository banks. These failures exacerbated the instability in the global financial system. The remaining two investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs , potentially facing failure, opted to become commercial banks, thereby subjecting themselves to more stringent regulation but receiving access to credit via

8214-581: The main headline is that all sorts of poor countries became kind of rich, making things like TVs and selling us oil. China, India, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia made a lot of money and banked it." Describing the crisis in Europe, Paul Krugman wrote in February 2012 that: "What we're basically looking at, then, is a balance of payments problem, in which capital flooded south after the creation of the euro, leading to overvaluation in southern Europe." Another narrative about

8325-462: The majority and minority opinions of the FCIC, Commissioner Peter J. Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) primarily blamed U.S. housing policy, including the actions of Fannie and Freddie , for the crisis. He wrote: "When the bubble began to deflate in mid-2007, the low quality and high risk loans engendered by government policies failed in unprecedented numbers." In its "Declaration of

8436-561: The mall would close for good. Five years were spent debating the merits of a variety of mall designs. During the spring and summer of 1977, the Mayor, the Director of City Planning, Chairman of the Steering Committee, and architects traveled to several other cities that had built auto-restricted malls, such as Portland, Minneapolis, and Providence. From these exploratory trips, they decided that

8547-521: The mid-1980s, with rail yards, industrial uses and 90 oil storage tanks crowding the 60 acres of shoreline filled into the harbor during the lumbering era. In 1980 two 18 story luxury condominium towers were proposed for the waterfront, just north of College Street. Opposition to that proposal led to the formation of the Citizens Waterfront Group to advocate for a bike path along the shore instead. In 1987 former Mayor Bernie Sanders proposed

8658-756: The mouth of the Winooski River along the lake shore, and rises from the water's edge to a height of 300 feet (91 m). A large ravine in what is now downtown was filled in with refuse and raw sewage in the 19th century to make way for further development. Burlington is characterized by its neighborhoods, which are generally recognized as follows: Burlington has a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), with cold winters and humid summers. The monthly daily average temperatures range from 21 °F (−6.1 °C) in January to 72 °F (22.2 °C) in July. The annual precipitation of 43 inches (1,092 mm)

8769-662: The need to take the U.S. economy out of the early 2000s recession caused by the bursting of the dot-com bubble : although by doing so he did not avert the crisis, but only postponed it. Another narrative focuses on high levels of private debt in the US economy. USA household debt as a percentage of annual disposable personal income was 127% at the end of 2007, versus 77% in 1990. Faced with increasing mortgage payments as their adjustable rate mortgage payments increased, households began to default in record numbers, rendering mortgage-backed securities worthless. High private debt levels also impact growth by making recessions deeper and

8880-456: The new design for the project. A design for Church Street was unveiled in March 1978, which encompassed a two-level scheme, with a lower level below the street level, connecting to adjacent buildings through their basements. The lower level would add 80,000 square-feet of retail space to the City's total with no new construction, and provide 20,000 square feet of city-owned retail space. In March 1979,

8991-535: The obligation and defaulted; U.S. taxpayers paid over $ 100 billion to global financial institutions to honor AIG obligations, generating considerable outrage. A 2008 investigative article in The Washington Post found leading government officials at the time (Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan , Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin , and SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt ) vehemently opposed any regulation of derivatives. In 1998, Brooksley E. Born , head of

9102-484: The origin has been focused on the respective parts played by public monetary policy (notably in the US) and by the practices of private financial institutions. In the U.S., mortgage funding was unusually decentralised, opaque, and competitive, and it is believed that competition between lenders for revenue and market share contributed to declining underwriting standards and risky lending. While Alan Greenspan's role as Chairman of

9213-530: The planet. Though no one knew they were in it at the time, the Great Recession had a significant economic and political impact on the United States. While the recession technically lasted from December 2007 – June 2009 (the nominal GDP trough), many important economic variables did not regain pre-recession (November or Q4 2007) levels until 2011–2016. For example, real GDP fell $ 650 billion (4.3%) and did not recover its $ 15 trillion pre-recession level until Q3 2011. Household net worth, which reflects

9324-471: The popular claim (narrative #4) that subprime borrowers with shoddy credit caused the crisis by buying homes they couldn't afford. This narrative is supported by new research showing that the biggest growth of mortgage debt during the U.S. housing boom came from those with good credit scores in the middle and top of the credit score distribution—and that these borrowers accounted for a disproportionate share of defaults. The Economist wrote in July 2012 that

9435-403: The population was below the poverty threshold . The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $ 338,100. Burlington's economy centers on education, health services, trade, transportation, and utilities, and some manufacturing. In February 2023 , the city had an unemployment rate of 2.1%. Mean annual wages were $ 63,180 in 2022 ; the state was $ 59,190. As of 2019 , Moody's set

9546-473: The population. There were 17,174 households and the average number of persons per household was 2.16. According to the American Community Survey for 2017–2021, the median income for a household in the city was $ 59,331. Among workers with full-time, year-round work, males had a median income of $ 50,552 versus $ 38,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 34,054. About 23.8% of

9657-512: The power to set future requirements. These rose to 42 percent in 1995 and 50 percent in 2000, and by 2008 a 56 percent minimum was established. However, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) Democratic majority report concluded that Fannie & Freddie "were not a primary cause" of the crisis and that CRA was not a factor in the crisis. Further, since housing bubbles appeared in multiple countries in Europe as well,

9768-410: The protections we had constructed to prevent financial meltdowns. We had a 21st-century financial system with 19th-century safeguards. The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (1999), which reduced the regulation of banks by allowing commercial and investment banks to merge, has also been blamed for the crisis, by Nobel Prize –winning economist Joseph Stiglitz among others. Peter Wallison and Edward Pinto of

9879-402: The recession have been described as a symptom of another, deeper crisis by a number of economists. For example, Ravi Batra argues that growing inequality of financial capitalism produces speculative bubbles that burst and result in depression and major political changes . Feminist economists Ailsa McKay and Margunn Bjørnholt argue that the financial crisis and the response to it revealed

9990-488: The recovery was that both individuals and businesses paid down debts for several years, as opposed to borrowing and spending or investing as had historically been the case. This shift to a private sector surplus drove a sizable government deficit. However, the federal government held spending at about $ 3.5 trillion from fiscal years 2009–2014 (thereby decreasing it as a percent of GDP), a form of austerity . Then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke explained during November 2012 several of

10101-461: The repo margin ("haircut"), forcing massive deleveraging, and resulting in the banking system being insolvent. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported in January 2011: In the early part of the 20th century, we erected a series of protections – the Federal Reserve as a lender of last resort , federal deposit insurance, ample regulations – to provide a bulwark against the panics that had regularly plagued America's banking system in

10212-419: The resolution "inappropriate and counterproductive." In a 6–5 vote, the council decided to withdraw the resolution. In 2023, three Palestinian-American students were shot and injured in an incident during Thanksgiving break. The city of Burlington is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain , north of Shelburne Bay. It was built on a strip of land extending about 6 miles (9.7 km) south from

10323-496: The same house. Speculators that bought CDS protection were betting significant mortgage security defaults would occur, while the sellers (such as AIG ) bet they would not. An unlimited amount could be wagered on the same housing-related securities, provided buyers and sellers of the CDS could be found. When massive defaults occurred on underlying mortgage securities, companies like AIG that were selling CDS were unable to perform their side of

10434-518: The stimulus measures such as quantitative easing (pumping money into the system) and holding down central bank wholesale lending interest rate should be withdrawn as soon as economies recover enough to "chart a path to sustainable growth ". The distribution of household incomes in the United States became more unequal during the post-2008 economic recovery . Income inequality in the United States grew from 2005 to 2012 in more than two thirds of metropolitan areas. Median household wealth fell 35% in

10545-649: The stock market meant that household debt relative to assets held broadly stable, which masked households' growing exposure to a sharp fall in asset prices. When house prices declined, ushering in the global financial crisis, many households saw their wealth shrink relative to their debt, and, with less income and more unemployment, found it harder to meet mortgage payments. By the end of 2011, real house prices had fallen from their peak by about 41% in Ireland, 29% in Iceland, 23% in Spain and

10656-490: The system. Policy-makers, regulators and supervisors, in some advanced countries, did not adequately appreciate and address the risks building up in financial markets, keep pace with financial innovation, or take into account the systemic ramifications of domestic regulatory actions. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke testified in September 2010 before the FCIC regarding the causes of the crisis. He wrote that there were shocks or triggers (i.e., particular events that touched off

10767-492: The top investment banks during an April 2004 meeting with bank leaders. These banks increased their risk-taking shortly thereafter, significantly increasing their purchases and securitization of lower-quality mortgages, thus encouraging additional subprime and Alt-A lending by mortgage companies. This action by its investment bank competitors also resulted in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac taking on more risk. The financial crisis and

10878-515: The value of both stock markets and housing prices, fell $ 11.5 trillion (17.3%) and did not regain its pre-recession level of $ 66.4 trillion until Q3 2012. The number of persons with jobs (total non-farm payrolls) fell 8.6 million (6.2%) and did not regain the pre-recession level of 138.3 million until May 2014. The unemployment rate peaked at 10.0% in October 2009 and did not return to its pre-recession level of 4.7% until May 2016. A key dynamic slowing

10989-453: The word "recession" exist: one sense referring definitively to "a period of reduced economic activity" and ongoing hardship; and the more allegoric interpretation used in economics , which is defined operationally , referring specifically to the contraction phase of a business cycle , with two or more consecutive quarters of GDP contraction (negative GDP growth rate) and typically used to influence abrupt changes in monetary policy. Under

11100-486: The world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At the time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that it was the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression . The causes of the Great Recession include a combination of vulnerabilities that developed in the financial system, along with

11211-660: The world, especially in the United States , France, the United Kingdom , Spain , the Netherlands, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand , Ireland , Poland , South Africa , Greece , Bulgaria , Croatia , Norway , Singapore , South Korea , Sweden , Finland , Argentina , the Baltic states , India , Romania , Ukraine and China . U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in mid-2005 that "at

11322-454: The world, as they offered higher yields than U.S. government bonds. Many of these securities were backed by subprime mortgages, which collapsed in value when the U.S. housing bubble burst during 2006 and homeowners began to default on their mortgage payments in large numbers starting in 2007. The emergence of subprime loan losses in 2007 began the crisis and exposed other risky loans and over-inflated asset prices. With loan losses mounting and

11433-739: The years, supported several local bands and has launched a handful of national acts. The most famous of these is Phish , which originated at UVM in 1983. Other acts with ties to the city include Matisyahu , Kat Wright , Strangefolk , The Essex Green , RAQ , James Kochalka , The Jazz Mandolin Project , Pork Tornado , Anaïs Mitchell , Greg Davis , Koushik , Grace Potter and the Nocturnals , Dispatch , Prydein , Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello , Noah Kahan , Morgan Page , KT Tunstall , Rubblebucket , The Vacant Lots , Drowningman , 99 Neighbors , Greg Freeman, and Twiddle . The "South End Art Hop"

11544-466: Was awarded by New Hampshire colonial governor Benning Wentworth on June 7, 1763, to Samuel Willis and 63 others. In the summer of 1775, settlers began clearing the land and built two or three log huts, but the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War delayed permanent settlement until after its conclusion. The town was organized in 1785. In 1808 the world's first lake-going steamboat

11655-553: Was built in 1882 as a gift to the City of Burlington from Hannah Louisa Howard, a local philanthropist. A native of the city, she was the daughter of John Howard, a successful Burlington hotelier. The chapel was designed in the High Victorian Gothic style by Alfred Benjamin Fisher, on cemetery grounds designed by E. C. Ryer in 1871. Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around

11766-484: Was built in Burlington. The War of 1812 was unpopular in Vermont and the rest of New England , which had numerous trading ties with Canada. Neither Vermont nor other New England states provided militia units or financial support. Vermont voters supported the Federalist Party , which opposed the war. At one point during the war, the U.S. had 5,000 troops stationed in Burlington, outnumbering residents and putting

11877-476: Was named after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington , and the second is that the name honors the politically prominent and wealthy Burling family of New York. While no Burling family members are listed as grantees of the town, the family held large tracts of land in nearby towns, some of which were granted on the same day as Burlington. One of the New Hampshire grants , the land that was developed as Burlington

11988-535: Was not felt equally around the world; whereas most of the world's developed economies , particularly in North America, South America and Europe, fell into a severe, sustained recession, many more recently developing economies suffered far less impact, particularly China , India and Indonesia , whose economies grew substantially during this period. Similarly, Oceania suffered minimal impact , in part due to its proximity to Asian markets. Two interpretations of

12099-453: Was paid out to major global financial institutions on behalf of AIG. While this money was legally owed to the banks by AIG (under agreements made via credit default swaps purchased from AIG by the institutions), a number of Congressmen and media members expressed outrage that taxpayer money was used to bail out banks. Economist Gary Gorton wrote in May 2009 Unlike the historical banking panics of

12210-640: Was stopped by a citizens' committee, which successfully had it added to the National Register of Historic Places , and a grant allowed the stabilization and repair of the building. A new modern addition was completed in 1981. The largest public library in Vermont, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places , the Fletcher Free Library had a budget of over $ 1 million in 2002. It circulated more books, had more visitors, and had more computers, than any other library in Vermont. In addition to its primary services as Burlington's public library, it

12321-402: Was the result." In May 2008, NPR explained in their Peabody Award winning program " The Giant Pool of Money " that a vast inflow of savings from developing nations flowed into the mortgage market, driving the U.S. housing bubble. This pool of fixed income savings increased from around $ 35 trillion in 2000 to about $ 70 trillion by 2008. NPR explained this money came from various sources, "[b]ut

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