Editor’s note: This commentary is by Eric LaMontagne, who is the executive director of Campaign for Vermont.
[O]ne day you jump into your car and turn the key. After 10 seconds of chugging over, the engine finally catches and with a big puff of blue-black smoke and a din that sounds like an asthmatic lion, off you go. Fifteen minutes later, as you sit on the side of the interstate listening to the tick-tock of your emergency flashers and waiting for AAA, it becomes undeniably clear: It’s time for a new car.
What’s the first thing you do? Do you call a friend to take you directly to the dealership where you readily commit to five or more years of payments for whatever vehicle the salesperson says you should buy? Hopefully not. Other than a house, buying a car is just about the biggest purchase you can make. Hopefully you run through a detailed checklist, answering questions such as “How much will this cost me to own?”, “Will this do what I need it to do?”, “How does this compare to the other cars available?”, “Am I getting my money’s worth?”, “Can this fit in with my other bills and obligations?”, and “Can I really afford this?”
But you don’t need me to tell you this. You already know that you should always take an honest, pragmatic and end-to-end look at large spending decisions. It’s simple personal financial responsibility.
So why is there not a system in place requiring our lawmakers to ask the same questions when considering measures to raise and spend our money?
It is time for Montpelier to establish a universal checklist to prove that decision-makers are honoring their fiduciary duty to those providing the cash. This checklist would be a prerequisite to any government action that impacts Vermonters’ finances in a meaningful way. It needs to be a clear-cut system of standardized and direct questions, which in answering creates an end-to-end view of spending measures. It must outline basic elements of financial responsibility, showing clearly what a revenue or spending bill will accomplish, how it will help our state, and how it will impact the people paying for it. Answers would be subject to public record, reinforcing transparency and accountability between our lawmakers and the citizens they serve.
If I may, some proposed questions:
• Who will be most impacted by the cost of this legislation?
• What data exists to show that the benefits outweigh the costs?
• How much will this measure cost those who will be paying for it, and is it a cost they can afford?
• How does this stack with the money Vermonters are already paying, and how does it fit in with other proposed spending measures being considered?
• Does solid data and a detailed plan exist so that Vermonters can be confident that the money will achieve its goal?
• What metrics will be used to show the return on our investment?
• Who is responsible for ensuring efficacy if this legislation is approved and how will they be held accountable?
Answering a list of questions such as these should be a requirement of any Senate or House committee seeking to pass any legislation that will have an impact on Vermonters’ bank accounts. Failure to do so should prevent it from being presented for a floor vote.
Lawmakers have many reasons to support this. This is a tool that would serve to strengthen the argument for a potential law or show that it is not ready to be brought to a vote. It would present a picture of how a revenue or spending bill fits in our current obligations, and allow for that bill to be seen in context with any other new legislation being considered. Additionally, this would help Vermonters understand why a bill is written as it is, explain why something is important even though it might not directly impact all taxpayers, and provide transparency that will build trust.
A universal financial responsibility checklist shows that our legislators are truly taking the time to care about Vermonters and the future of our state. Only one question persists: Will they have the fortitude to hold themselves accountable?
