Dunsmore: Tea party with fancy china
I believe what we are seeing in American politics today is less anger than confusion. I’m not trying to impugn the authenticity of Tea Party members. But it’s a fact that they are not starving; very few are unemployed; their children are not being drafted to fight in unpopular wars; and income taxes are historically low.
In Bennington, Shumlin accuses Dubie of launching “Horton” style ads
Dubie said Shumlin’s plan to cut Corrections includes the early release of convicted pornographers and drug dealers; Shumlin accused Dubie of running a “Willie Horton campaign” focused on fear-mongering.
McClaughry: The renewable industrial complex
So here it is in a nutshell. Shut down the nuclear plant. Impose higher costs on fossil fuel electricity. Hand out grants and tax credits to subsidize producers to produce higher priced renewable energy. Require the utilities to buy that energy at prices up to six times that of nuclear electricity. If this isn’t enough, have the state borrow to keep the game going.
Coates: Vermont's expanding pension crisis
The majority of Retirement Commission members voted to stay with the current, unsustainable program in which the average public sector employee enjoys a level and certainty of retirement and health benefits that is significantly more than the average private sector employee—the very same employee who must pay for the public sector benefit. If the Commission had instead decided to switch to a defined contribution plan at least for new state and teacher hires it would have succeeded in taking a major step to reduce Vermont ‘s fiscal risk.
Evslin: The SmartGrid is the Internet of energy
In Vermont, only 16% of household energy is delivered as electricity; 53% is delivered as home heating fuel; 31% as gasoline for transportation (more detail here). We care about reducing our heating bill; we care about the cost of gas; we don’t care nearly as much about the monthly electric bill.
Sanders: Vtel, USDA to answer questions about broadband access
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. This is the year 2010, and Vermonters from every walk of life understand that it is absurd that in Vermont we still do not have universal, high-quality, affordable broadband service. They understand, as I do, that if business is going to thrive, create jobs and [...]
Peltz: Regional education district redux
Last December I hosted a facilitated gathering of educators to answer the question: how can we preserve and improve the quality of education with continued cutbacks and likely consolidation? What emerged from this group became the core principle of H.66 and Act 153: provide incentives for local voluntary mergers.
Zenie: Why I'm not running for a House seat
Working at the Statehouse I found that the other legislative members are filled with great ideas and a strong desire to do good work for the people of Vermont. Where I had difficulty was that some of the members cared more about how to get re-elected then about how to make Vermont a better place to live. This guiding principle on getting re-elected translates to policy making where the emphasis is more on emotional and non-strategic issues rather than pragmatic and visionary policy making
Hoffer: There he goes again
Mr. Dubie is undoubtedly referring to Census data for state level property taxes. As has been reported many times (and as Mr. Dubie well knows), Vermont is the only state in the country that has shifted education costs to a statewide property tax. As a result, statewide comparisons for this particular measure are meaningless.
Spaulding: Leaders need to coalesce around a strategic economic plan
In this election year, it will be helpful if candidates do not paint themselves into corners by taking any options off the table for bringing the state into budgetary balance. We may well need a combination of further spending reductions, revenue enhancements and judicious use of reserves to get the job done.
