This commentary is by Hayden Dublois who lives in Manchester, and is a political commentator and strategist who writes a biweekly op-ed column for the Manchester Journal. He is an economics student at Middlebury College. He was the Bennington County coordinator for Scott Milne’s campaign for governor in 2014.
[B]randon Batham, chairman of the Windham County Democratic Committee, suggested in a recent commentary piece that “young Vermonters should be proud of the work that was accomplished during this last session … under Democratic leadership.” As a young Vermonter myself, I consider “disappointed” to be a more apt description than “proud.”
Several of the few “accomplishments” that Mr. Batham attributes to Democratic leadership were actually bipartisan (such as the education reform bill and the water bill) or headed up by Republicans (such as the removal of the philosophical exemption for vaccines). The passage of the Economic Development Bill (S.138) which Mr. Batham attributed to the Democratic leadership, was actually spearheaded by Sen. Kevin Mullin (a Republican) and introduced by the bipartisan Senate Economic Development Committee. In fact, many of its key components (a tax credit for firms that create high-paying jobs, land use reform, and a tax credit to individuals who invest in Vermont small businesses) were killed by the Democratic leadership of the Senate Finance and Senate Natural Resources committees. Other components of the bill — such as a down-payment assistance program to young Vermonters buying their first home — were significantly watered down by Democratic committee leadership.
Many Democratic bills were borderline insulting to young Vermonters. H.93, sponsored by a Democratic state representative (and backed up by a long list co-sponsors, nearly 90 percent of whom were Democrats), would have banned Vermonters aged 18 to 20 from purchasing any tobacco products whatsoever. Apparently, the Democratic leadership has no problem with young adults serving overseas in combat, but purchasing a cigar crosses the line. Or how about H.88, which would have established a 4 percent payroll tax levied directly on Vermont workers (on top of a proposed 8 percent payroll tax on Vermont employers). As a young Vermont worker myself, I can safely say that a new payroll tax would have only added to the growing cost of living in Vermont.
With regards to the state as a whole, full-time employment has fallen by an estimated 2,000 persons since Gov. Shumlin took office, while the workforce has shrunk by 6,850 workers over the same time period (according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
More importantly, Gov. Shumlin and the Democratic leadership failed to address the structural financial difficulties our state faced. According to former Tax and Finance Commissioner Tom Pelham, at the beginning of the session the Legislature faced a $113 million budget gap, the product of irresponsibly spending at a rate of 5 percent while the economy only grew at about 3 percent. As a response, the Democratic Legislature used about $25 million in one-time funds to balance the budget, thereby kicking the can down the road and further burdening next year’s budget process. Another $32 million was dealt with by levying new or raising existing taxes and fees. What’s worse is that individuals making between $25,000 and $50,000 annually (including many young Vermonters) will face the highest tax increases of any other income range thanks to the budget and revenue bills. This is hardly a “responsible revenue and appropriations package” as Mr. Batham suggests.
The figures are even less forgiving to the Democratic leadership in the Legislature and the governor’s office when one takes a view beyond the past legislative session. The case is especially troublesome in Mr. Batham’s (and my own) part of the state: Southern Vermont (this according to figures from the recent VTDigger forum in Manchester). From 2009 (the deepest point of the recession) to 2014 (three years after Gov. Shumlin took office, and a decade after the Democrats took complete control of the Legislature), the number of young Vermonters living in Bennington County declined by a shocking 19 percent. Over the same period, the number of Bennington County residents living in poverty has increased by 16.5 percent, while median household income remains far below the state average. Finally, the average number of visitors to the welcome center in Windham County has declined by more than 25 percent. With regards to the state as a whole, full-time employment has fallen by an estimated 2,000 persons since Gov. Shumlin took office, while the workforce has shrunk by 6,850 workers over the same time period (according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
I certainly agree with Mr. Batham’s urging of young Vermonters to involve themselves in state politics and seek elected office, but his analysis of the Democratic majority’s record in Montpelier is far removed from reality. Vermont was recently ranked the fifth worst state to make a living (according to USA Today) and the eighth worst state for business (according to Forbes). If Mr. Bentham is proud of that record — the record of the three-term Democratic governor and decade-long Democrat-controlled Legislature — then I suggest he ought to reassess his priorities and his definition of what constitutes an “accomplishment.”
