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….and why some Vermonters won’t vote for a more frugal Legislature
With the help of guest Rob Roper of Behind the Lines, Guy Page and Paul Bean dive into Vermont’s affordability crisis – what’s causing it, what can be done, and why more hasn’t been done already.
In brief, there are at least five big drivers of Vermont’s affordability crisis:
1. Another big property tax hike expected next year from the Legislature.
2. The Legislature’s Clean Heat Standard, which if implemented will add $1.80 and $2 per gallon to heating oil. The cost of propane and natural gas will rise steeply as well.
3. The Renewable Energy Standard, which will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of electricity in the next decade.
4. The cost of housing, which the Legislature has largely failed to address by streamlining Act 250 regulations, especially in rural areas. Vermont has the fastest growing cost of housing in the nation.
5. More legislated costs and fees, including a 20% increase in DMV fees, relatively new stormwater development fees, and new taxes such as short-term rental and the childcare payroll tax.
Rob, Guy and Paul discuss what Vermonters can do to make Vermont more affordable – in short, vote wisely – and why many Vermonters won’t vote for more frugal legislators.
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Categories: VDC-TV Friday At Four
Paul: ‘Public Schooling’ is NOT supposed to be the cornerstone of the community. That’s a myth. It’s always been a myth. And now that the myth is adversely affecting everyone, financially and through dystopian outcomes, we are finally asking, as Rob just queried – are the schools the problem? Yes. But why? Because voters have abdicated their personal responsibilities. They’ve been ‘bribed’ to do so for years. And now the chickens are coming home to roost.
“The task of weaning various people and groups from the national nipple will not be easy. The sound of whines, bawls, screams and invective will fill the air as the agony of withdrawal pangs finds voice.” – – –Linda Bowles, “The Weaning Process, ” Washington Times, December 20, 1994
At the risk of alienating Rob, I want to thank him and other VTGOP folks for at least beginning to understand that support for Trump is not the automatic losing position it’s made out to be. After all, win or lose, there comes a time to stand on principle.
Trump is a supporter of individualism and self-determination, the Bill of Rights, of free markets (despite what you may think of tariffs), of national sovereignty, of energy independence, and, perhaps most importantly, and in accordance with Article 9 of Vermont’s Constitution, that “… previous to any law being made to raise a tax, the purpose for which it is to be raised ought to appear evident to the Legislature to be of more service to community than the money would be if not collected.”
As Michael J. Fox so eloquently pointed out: ‘I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for, perfection is God’s business.’
Thanks again to Guy, Paul, and Rob, for one of Friday at Four’s best discussions yet.