To the Editor:

Rep. Dave Yacovone proposes to levy a special tax on those who earn over $500K annually. I must say that his idea is profoundly disturbing.

I wonder if most folks realize or are even aware of how Rep. Yacovone’s idea betrays a fundamentally Marxist ideology which has so pervasively and insidiously infiltrated much of modern legislative policy and political thought. 

The beauty and liberty of the American republic is that this a land of equal (and let’s not conflate “equality” with “equity”) opportunity for every person. If one is willing to be industrious, creative, and diligent, as the work ethic of so many Vermonters is, he or she is rewarded with the opportunity to generate more wealth. Why then would Rep. Yacovone unfairly discriminate against some whose hard work and creativity has allowed them to earn higher incomes than some other folks? And who is he, or anyone else, for that matter, to apply some subjective metric to determine at which arbitrary level one’s income reaches the “too high” ceiling and must now be penalized? 

By placing state-imposed limits on what people earn through onerous—and dare I say here, inequitable—taxes, how is he not following the same Marxist playbook which regards people who earn more money as the “oppressors” who must somehow be punished for “oppressing” those who earn less money? Does he not realize how this type of ideological and economic state overreach can disincentivize creativity, industriousness, and excellence?

The ability to make choices is one of the hallmarks of a free society which recognizes our inherent human dignity, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. Poor choices will typically not be rewarded in a competitive free market society, but responsible choices generally will be. Not always, perhaps, but at least we are free to take the risks.

Does Rep. Yacovone really think his proposal to assess a special tax is going to be very attractive to Vermont residents or those considering moving here who earn over $500K? Why would these higher wage earners want to stay or move here when they know he has designs on some of their earnings as a means to inequitably pay for whatever he deems important? Does not this kind of cavalier and myopic proposal spring from the same ideological seedbed whose grotesque fruit revealed itself in the horrors of the abysmally bleak societies of Communist China and the Soviet Union?

-Martin Green, Morrisville

Dear Gov. Scott,

Several news stories concern me about the upcoming meeting at the White House of the National Governors Association. The first I read indicated Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland was disinvited from the meeting. Another news report indicated Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado was also disinvited. As a result of these two snubs, Gov. Andy Bashear of Kentucky said he would not attend. Further, it now appears only Republican governors are invited.

My understanding is this annual meeting/dinner, hosted by the President, is always non-partisan and offers a chance for all the governors to interact across party lines. In this day and age, that is an opportunity to not lose.

I encourage you to speak out about this and, if the White House holds fast and declines to invite all governors, to announce you will not attend.

All Americans need to be represented.

-Ross Connelly, Hardwick

To My Fellow Readers on the “Bad Bunny” Backlash:

I’d like to take this opportunity to bring up some issues.  Yes, I watched the super bowl half time show.  I watched the show with my daughter and also a fluent Spanish speaking person next to me.

There were no explicit lyrics.  I wanted to double check, so we watched a recorded version again this evening.  Again, we found nothing horrible.  

So what was the problem?

The biggest mistake Bad Bunny made was to get political at the Grammy’s when he said “No ICE.”  Anyone who values a civil society should value law and order.  One of the true purposes of any government is to uphold law and order.  I can understand the concern about federal law enforcement.  If any of the claims about unwarranted search and seizure were true, we should all take pause.  But the claims seem to be false.  All instances I’ve heard about had warrants signed by judges.

Another mistake the artist made was to get political about the electric grid in Puerto Rico.  The federal government sent billions of dollars (“Estimated repairs for infrastructure damages were estimated to be a staggering $100 billion…” https://www.energy.gov/gdo/puerto-rico-grid-recovery-and-modernization) to the territory to fix the power infrastructure after those devastating hurricanes in 2017 .  Why couldn’t the Puerto Ricans get the job done?  Did they expect me to come down there and do the physical work myself?  It seems like either bureaucratic corruption or lack of trained line-men are to blame

At the end of the performance, he made another statement.  He brought up the names of all the American countries.  Was it political?  No, it is a fact that there are many other countries in America besides the USA.  It’s a good thing for us to understand.  We should all be proud to American, and it would be great if all of the America’s are united in spirit and pride.  The New World united, most of which are Christians.  I’m not sure if the statement was appropriate for an NFL Football game that’s particular to the United States.  But hey, I’ve heard they are trying to expand the league to other countries.  Maybe they were watching, but I doubt as many as watch “real” football (soccer).

Other than his political content, I think Bad Bunny is a great artist.  His Regaton music style, interspersed with some Salsa from Lady Gaga, was fun to listen to.  Unlike the POTUS’s comments, I found the dancing to be interesting.  A few of the choreographic moves were visually dramatic without special effects.

There is one lesson from all this that we should remember: there is a reason we insist on one language in our nation.  The problem with multiple languages is that if someone say’s something in a different language, suspicion and fear creeps in.  We should insist that new immigrants learn our language.  Communication is vital for unity.

-Seth Adam Manley