by Paul Dame
G.E.T. R.E.A.L. is a solemn promise and a positive path forward for our state by Vermont Republicans focused on improving the quality of life of our people. It is a prescription of policy proposals, and this is part of a series of essays explaining the program.
There has been no bigger source of anxiety among Vermonters under 40 than the concern about finding housing that is within their budget.
In the past five years, there have been several factors making the problem worse. Post-COVID demand has caused a rapid increases in home prices, little to virtually no new housing stock has been able to be built, and rising interest rates have made housing payments for new mortgages more and more difficult. These factors have all put home-ownership out of reach for so many young Vermonters.
Despite a lot of talk about the issue, Democrats have accomplished virtually nothing. The House Committee assigned to this issue has spent its time on a number of other bills that have nothing to do with addressing the greatest crisis in Vermont today. Those meetings have become so unproductive that two of the members have stopped attending the committee meetings.
Gov. Scott and Vermont Republicans have been fighting against the super-majority to actually address the cause of the problem instead of just trying to paper over it with novel spending or new taxes. While Democrats keep trying to solve the same problem with new spending programs, Republicans know that there is no way to genuinely lower the cost of housing without building more of it.
And at the heart of building more is the biggest obstacle, Act 250, and the unpredictable permitting process to build the kind of homes needed to house a workforce that needs to grow.
If developers and non-profits have piles of cash available but they can’t get the permits need to break ground and to get started – then all the spending is done in vain. Vermont is among the most difficult places to get reliable and consistent permitting outcomes thanks to the convoluted Act 250 process. Republicans in the Senate have made a few attempts to break the logjam and provide the reform needed to get housing built. But all of their efforts are routinely dismissed or disintegrated by other committees before the bills make it to the floor.
Act 250 was also designed with Chittenden County in mind, but those rules are having an unfair impact in other more rural parts of the state that have different development needs. So we need regulatory reform that is flexible enough to adapt to the different needs of the different parts of the state.
While building new housing must be the focus to keep up with rising demand, Gov. Scott also proposed to address the issue by rehabilitating some of our current housing stock. You don’t have to drive far to see housing units in Vermont that once were viable but now are dormant and unused. Gov. Scott’s budget has originally included almost $6 million for the VHIP program to bring old housing units back online.
But Democrats radically cut that funding down to just $1 million in order to spend that money on other priorities. Even among the NIMBYs in local government, this is a program that everyone should have been able to support.
The unfortunate reality is that today’s housing crisis is the result of two decades of anti-growth Democrats who just want Vermont to be frozen in time regarding our housing footprints. For the shrinking group of young Vermonters who want to stay here, it gets harder and harder for them to justify the high cost of rents and mortgages based on the manufactured scarcity of housing due to current policy. It is going to take Republicans getting elected and supporting Gov. Scott with modest regulatory reform that can help both the public and private sector spend money efficiently to build the housing that our people need.
Year after year, Democrats keep sticking their head in the sands and are unwilling to reach across the aisle to understand the problem from a Governor who works in construction. If we do not change the balance in the legislature, there is nothing else we can expect other than this problem to continue to get worse and, in turn, harder and harder to fix as we kick the can down the road.
It’s time for the legislature to “Get Real” about what the true obstacle is to building new housing and work on building what our people need as soon as possible, instead of just hoping that those demands will go away.
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Categories: Press Release, State Government
An open letter to VTGOP Chair Dame ;
Hey Paul, the most popular Governor in America is glad Sanders is running again.
Here are Scott’s words from the Vermont Daily Chronicle published yesterday –
Glad Sanders is running again – Also, Scott stopped short of endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ run for a fourth Senate term but acknowledged that senate seniority is good for federal funding for Vermont.
VT has a Pro Life Constitutional candidate for U.S. Senate in Gerald Malloy.
Mr. Malloy has been traveling all over VT meeting with many thousands of Vermonters. Gerald served America for many years and actually wants Vermonters and Americans to do better.
Sanders accomplishments in Congress are having two Post Offices renamed. Sanders has chosen to side with Biden and the squad. Our country is being invaded with the help of Sanders and illegal immigrants are being treated far better than homeless Veterans.
Scott is glad, are you ?
Also Mr. Dame, does getting more Republicans elected that support Scott actually do anything to help Vermonters that have been betrayed a multitude of times by Scott ?
Scott supports H89, abortion to the moment of Birth and sexually mutilating children by destroying their ability to reproduce. Along with 24 VT GOP Representatives that voted for it.
Your Big Tent keeps getting smaller, despite your willingness to bring anyone into the VTGOP.
But Hey ! You can still cheer for the most popular Governor in America.
But, but, but you adore Joe Biden & his policies that created those high interest rates you now have the nerve to squawk about, right? Interest rates under Trump capped out at about 3% – if you were a vet even less. Now we’re seeing near 8 % & they’ve been rising ever since your beloved political hack took office. You & Scott keep voting democrat & then hawk for $$$ for the VT Republican Party. Yeah, right.
Tell us again what a loser Trump is.
Let’s see … Who on the national ticket has EXPERIENCE in building and real estate development?
Keep ignoring him and alienating his base, and keep losing. As planned.
Vermont’s feckless GOP, your talk is cheap ………………. let’s see some action, the only light I see is Gerald Malloy in the Senate.
Vermont needs new blood in DC, it’s time to get rid of Socialist Sanders, Vermont’s barking buffoon, if we are lucky he’ll buy another house this time in NY, they deserve him, we don’t !!
Couldn’t agree more. We also need to get these Housing Authorities under control. The ‘new’ rules every few months is getting out of control and EXPENSIVE, and rent going up what appears from what is being rumored yearly now. One community of low income housing in Springfield VT is now REQUIRED to remove all window A/C’s and get those expensive floor models. I guess the board isn’t touched by massive inflation or limited floor space. How much furniture are these residents going to have to give up to accommodate those massive floor models? A relative of ours is in this position in Springfield. Lots of people in Springfield VT are going to have heat strokes because the ‘board’ won’t back down on another waste of $, one can only ask why and it’s not because the windows wont’ support them, and if that is their argument then perhaps they should require maintenance to install at a small fee to insure they are place properly, but saving low income people $ or giving ‘real solutions’ isn’t part of their agenda, CONTROL over them is. So I see a lot folks going without meds/food, etc, esp those on fixed incomes. I have advised people not to challenge ‘the board’ because they are known for going after people who disagree with their ideas, those who live high on the hill in glass houses and knows what is best for those beneath them. Hope the GOP investigates the board of Springfield Housing Authority. PAUL DAME, WANT TO DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR VT, INVESITAGE THIS AND GET THIS TURNED AROUND FOR THOSE LOW INCOME PEOPLE WHOM MOST ARE WORKING AT LEAST 2 JOBS just to make ends meet. What about you SANDERS, you are always championing the low income people. Best guess is NONE of you will do a thing to help these poor people out.
the federal reserve sets interest rates/// you can now blame pickpocketpowell and grammy smellen yellen for the interest rate scam//// the zero interest operation caused a massive housing price bubble and high rates now will kill the economy/// coming soon more and higher inflation///
This baloney has a ‘REAL’ first name, it’s P – A – U – L. This baloney has a second name, it’s D – A – M – E, as well. It’s a ‘prescription of a policy, a solemn promise, and a positive path’, you see, cause baloney seems to have made its way into the V – T – G – O – P today. 🙂