Wilson: Lawmakers exercise ‘abusive power with glee’
by Rep. Charles Wilson
As a result of legislation in the works in the Vermont House and Senate, we will all be affected with the rising cost of new taxes in order to just keep living. To start, DMV fees will go up by approximately 20%.
H.483 (passed by House, now in Senate) increases property taxes for education. Universal school meals will skyrocket the cost of education as the quality of that education, will continue to be in question.
H.158, The new “bottle bill,” may look to be a good idea, but the hidden details to redemption centers and required industry oversight will be very expensive to implement.
H.480 will change farming from traditional to more diversified/popular methods growing more (value added) cannabis instead of food, and government expenditure will be substantial. Will higher food prices result?
S.5, The Affordable Heat Act, and the climate-carbon fascination will mean future potential lawsuits to the GWSA. This bill will inflate expenses to an unbearable level, increased taxes and costs with more undue stress and fear to Vermonters.
Bills H.30, H.467 and H.85, all relating to outdoor recreation and trail accessibility, are too costly for the state currently. Why couldn’t the tourists who come and use the land, help pay for this?
Again, the super majority in both the House and Senate, both on the floor and in committee, quickly and easily, overthrow Republican Amendments and pass with delight what they want, Constitutional or not.
What is popular now does not always make things right.
It is becoming so clear that the Democratic/Progressives want to control everything: healthcare, wages, vehicles, food, guns, our children, religion, lightbulbs and even straws!
Where is American free enterprise in all this? It is right for citizens to live free in a lawful fashion, and should never be coerced or forced into anything. The pressure on having to buy electric vehicles for example, in spite of the U. N’s Climate Agenda and the Paris Accord, should have no authority over our Constitutional Republic.
When will Vermonters realize the debt to all these new bills will greatly affect generations of our children’s futures? Homelessness is increasing at an alarming rate, threatening the very stability of our state to accommodate our young families. Will we then see the “glee” in the faces of this Legislature?
The author is a Lyndon resident, former House representative for Caledonia-3, and a Republican. He sat on the Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency and Forestry.