by Alison Despathy

Recently my homeschool civics class spent the day at the statehouse. We prepped well. In class, we talked about political parties, supermajority, constitutional republic versus democracy, inalienable rights, Declaration of Independence, oaths, limited government, good bills versus bad bills, propaganda, the importance of your voice, bravery, integrity and the significance of debate and asking questions. My students love debating and I made sure to squash the yelling and name calling early on- so far so good. Still so much ground to cover but the foundation is forming.

About 25 of us met under the golden dome. Here is how the day aligned. It was a busy day, all was a bustle with several school groups, an environmental activists press conference and then the usual characters including legislators, lobbyists and staff cruising around.

First stop landed us right up in the balcony with the House floor in full session. H.363 was the mane event. No pun intended, this bill which passed the House intends to prohibit discrimination based on hair types and styles associated with a particular race. Representative Canfield asked great common sense questions about hair, helmets and safety that I was glad the students heard. Common sense tends to be rare these days as the supermajority plows ahead with their financially burdensome agenda.

My students were in awe with the process- many want to go back and check out more deliberation. I told them they may have to hold me back depending on the bills that make their way to the floor for a vote. I actually cringe with that thought but will continue to hold high hopes.

From here, we waited while the legislators finished up and headed our way. I was able to round up Representatives Higley, Wilson, and Parsons. They were willing participants and took time to share their experience at the statehouse and what it is like to be in the minority party at this time.

Fortunately with this crew, they kicked off the day right as they discussed the Constitution and the significance of our Constitutional Republic, the role of an elected public servant to serve their constituents and the time and care this work involves. They discussed goals to do their best to help pass laws that are sound and serve the people. A feat proving difficult with a supermajority often unwilling to seek input from those in the minority party.

The record levels of compromised legislation recently coming from the supermajority is a grave concern for many Vermonters. Act 127 is a prime example due to its unnecessary complexity, inherent deceit of false student numbers that skew true costs per pupil and its accompanying tremendous tax burden that has many Vermonters worried sick. Temporary amelioration prevailed but the stage is set for continued problems with education funding. An overhaul is clearly needed to fix this broken, failing, monopolized system.

Following this same trend, the Renewable Energy Standard (H.289) is yet another high risk, financially burdening piece of legislation favored by the supermajority. The Department of Public Service estimated this RES will cost Vermonters one billion dollars in electric ratepayer increases in the next decade. An alternative was offered that is significantly less in cost and achieves the same goals, yet it has been ignored.

This fact is astounding and has many in uproar because the cost impact has not been thoroughly discussed. H.289 is cruising through the house with a complete lack of scrutiny on actual economic impacts. H.289 was just voted out of House Appropriations and will make its way to the House floor for a vote. Hopefully Vermonters will wake up to the reality of the supermajority issue and the risk it continues to present to Vermonters and our ability to afford to live here.

Between Act 127, Act 18 (the UN-affordable Heat Act), and the current RES (H.289) moving through the house, Vermonters will unnecessarily and increasingly continue to struggle to pay significantly more for taxes, electric rates, and heating fuel due to these regressive programs. Collateral damage includes greater costs for the majority of products in Vermont, small business closures, higher housing costs and financial struggles for all including elders who will need to move or postpone retirement in order to afford Vermont. This is the real problem that the supermajority has created and Vermonters will continue to bear this burden until balance is restored in the statehouse.

Moving along, we met with Representative Sammis, the only Libertarian to hold office in the entire country. Sammis has a great voting record and will always uphold the rights of the people and make his voice heard on the House floor. His respect for the Constitution came shining through to my students as I hoped it would.

Sammis resides on the Commerce and Economic Development committee. Chair Marcotte kindly welcomed us into the committee and walked us through the bill process and let my students ask questions. Many were curious about the data privacy bill in play. Data markets offer high profits and these students know that children’s data is a highly sought after commodity. Investors, organizations and even ‘charities’ will stop at nothing to gather up children’s data to increase profits. This is evident in the United Way bill, H.816 as well as companies like the NFL who want to “invest” in children’s mental health through the use of devices, mandatory screenings and platforms that suck data from kids for profit to enrich impact investors.

While in committee, we also noticed that Representative Donahue’s cash bill (H.527) was on the wall, we had debated this bill in class. After an in-depth, intense deliberation, my students voted that it should pass. The determining factor was that cash is legal tender and it cannot be shut off, blocked or erased as digital money can and has been. Currently the Senate version of this cash bill is under discussion.

At noon we landed at the press conference which focused on Banning/Reducing PFAS (forever chemicals) and neonicotinoid pesticides. John Brabant and James Ehlers of Vermonters for a Clean Environment spoke in support of these bills. Marguerite Adelman of the Vermont PFAS/Military Poisons Coalition discussed the fact that some countries are already taking action to do the right thing and Vermont needs to join them.

Most of my students grow food with their families and are very connected with the land and nature. This press conference was a great opportunity for them to learn how activism works and what is possible when people care and desire to make a difference and let their voices be heard. Besides learning so much, my students even made it on WCAX.

Our next stop landed us in the cafeteria to reconnect with Representative Higley who kindly shared some copies of both the US and Vermont Constitution. He explained his work over the past 16 years as a representative and discussed his bill H.74.

Hands down, H.74 is the bill that would make the most difference to set Vermont on the right course. H.74 repeals the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and shifts the carbon emission reductions to goals versus requirements. This action would prevent the highly impulsive, expensive energy policy coming through the legislature. Current policy does nothing to benefit the environment, instead it hijacks the thermal sector and creates the largest virtue signaling campaign accompanied with increased costs for products that are not luxury items.

H.74 would effectively remove this colossal GWSA problem and relieve the pressure valve in order to ensure Vermont’s energy and environmental policy are economically viable and effective in achieving beneficial environmental impacts.

Next on the schedule, Representative Brumstead worked through her Civics bill (H.455) and shared her goals which include ensuring that Vermont students can answer the questions on the US citizenship test and encouraging civic engagement and informed and participatory constituents.

Our last stop was with Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman. Despite the fact that we do not agree on anything under the sun, we have always been able to respectfully debate. During our meeting he talked about the roles of the LG, including the ultimately bureaucratically named Committee on Committees, his previous time as a Legislator as well as his Banned Book Tour, which I would love to balance out with a few additional books, but alas it is his list .

Lo and behold, I even found something we agree on, “Leave the trappers alone.” I never knew he supported trapping in Vermont. As an organic farmer, his reasoning stems from population/predator control. I will take it, this is great news. Hunters and trappers have been harassed for years by many of the current legislators so maybe this signifies movement in the right direction. Now if they would only leave the coyote hunters alone and vote down S.258.

The next day, while at the statehouse to present testimony in opposition to S.236 and keep an eye on S.151, the dangerous minor consent bill, I was able to thank the legislators who took the time to talk with my students. It was here that I received one of the most significant pearls of wisdom from Representative Higley. It truly sums up the difference between a worthy and honorable legislator, versus the dangerous kind. He said that some legislators will talk about their vision and how this is critical to have in order to implement a plan for all. However, he then explained his approach which is based on working to ensure people can create and move towards their own vision by the work he does to uphold and protect the rights of the people and maintain open paths and options, versus forcing one’s vision on others.

This is truly the fundamental difference between a great statesman and a social engineer. Those who want to force their version of “right reality” on the people versus those who honor the differences and work to ensure that each of us holds the opportunity to make decisions and achieve our unique goals. I shared this with my students, it was a significant lesson for all of us. Vermont needs more statesman and less social engineers hellbent on spending Vermonters hard earned money and making decisions for us.

This week in civics we looked at the Vermont Youth Council agenda. We wondered if the agenda came from the kids or was handed to them by adults. It does seem to perfectly align with the supermajority agendas. We debated about whether 16 year-olds should vote or not. Without my influence, they determined that 16 year-olds should not be able to vote. Their reasoning was based on thoughts of their 16 year old siblings and friends which led to their overwhelming opinion that 16 year-olds should absolutely NOT be voting. Additional concerns included dangerous trends, marketing, peer pressure, propaganda and immaturity. They are a smart crew.

These homeschoolers give me hope for the future and I believe they will continue to stay informed. Maybe even some will choose to enter the political arena and help our country and humanity hold on to the gift of liberty that we have received and must continue to secure. Activists for freedom and our Constitution would be quite refreshing. My intention is to try and help them understand the responsibility this gift demands of constant vigilance by the people to hold onto a just society free from tyranny. It was a great visit and many thanks to all of the legislators we met and spoke with during our time at the statehouse. We are hoping for a ‘Guy Page special statehouse tour’ next visit while we hope the bills that make it to the floor for a vote are worthy and not regressive, invasive or destructive. Is that asking too much?

The author is a clinical nutritionist in St. Johnsbury.