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Worries about the damage Democrats will do in January if re-elected this November
By Rob Roper
Governor Scott took the gloves off at his Thursday press conference, calling out the Democrat Supermajority not just over the sticker-shock cost estimates for their cherished Clean Heat Standard (Act 18), but also their lack of transparency and honesty over the past year and a half of the program’s development.
Scott said, “The cost estimates for the legislature’s Clean Heat Standard [$10 billion in total, meaning a likely carbon credit fee of $1.78 to $4.03 per gallon of heating oil and kerosene and $0.95 to $2.12 for propane] are alarming. [Uh, yeah.] All along the way we asked the legislature to fully consider the impact of the Clean Heat Standard and be honest about the costs and complications.” They have not.
Of course, questions and concerns about the cost and logistics of implementing a mandatory Carbon Credit system for the thermal sector have been swirling since the idea of a Clean Heat Standard was first floated three years ago. Many people with a variety of relevant expertise testified before House and Senate Committees that completely transforming how we heat our homes and businesses, make hot water, and cook our food was going to be wildly expensive, incredibly disruptive, and logistically difficult if not impossible because, duh.
The Democrats and Progressives in the legislature smugly ignored these warnings and actively suppressed any public discussion or debate about the price, who will pay, the regressive nature of the carbon tax aspects of the law, and the actual feasibility around how such a program could work. They were – and still are – aided and abetted in this public information blackout by a (mostly) compliantly biased Montpelier press corps. (Initially I accidentally typed “corpse,” and maybe should have left that as a more accurate descriptor.)
Scott blasted this disinformation-by-non-information tactic, pointing out, “We’ve now spent more than a year working on a legislative mandated policy before we knew what it would cost, if it would work, or if we could even do it. And it turns out we probably can’t.” And here he made the comparison to the dirt dart that was Single Payer Healthcare. (Just as I did earlier this week! Is Governor Scott a closet BTL fan? If so, he should become a paid subscriber!) “We should learn from the mistakes of the past,” he said implying that the advocates not only screwed up their signature climate legislation but did so because they’re kind of dim to begin with. “Vermonters deserve better.” And there’s the smack!
If you’re regular reader of Behind the Lines (like the Gov?), you know by now the details surrounding the Clean Heat Standard policy. But the new and interesting development here is that Governor Scott – arguably the most popular governor in the country — looks like he’s ready and willing to play some political hardball. And not just regarding the Clean Heat Carbon Tax. Scott also went on offense with, “We can’t forget about the Renewable Energy Standard, another bill the legislature passed over my veto which will raise electrical rates, costing Vermonters millions of dollars,” and rifled off a list of other legislation the Supermajority passed to make life less affordable including “historic property tax increases, higher DMV fees, a new payroll tax, and so much more….”
But the key line he delivered was this: “Now that there’s an election around the corner it seems some legislators have second thoughts [about the Clean Heat Standard]. But I’m concerned about what they’ll do in January when the election is over.” Now, this was in an official press conference not a campaign rally so a certain level of non-partisan restraint was required but you don’t need a translator to get the message: Don’t trust ‘em! Vote ‘em out in the November election so they can’t come back in January and jack up your home heating bill.
Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank. This article reprinted with permission from Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics, robertroper.substack.com
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Categories: Commentary
It has become clear that we can’t afford the Democrats any longer. Property taxes are already up 14% and will go up another 7% next round. That is not even mentioning the carbon taxes they are planning to levy and the doubling of their salary and benefits that is still in the pipeline. The solution is simple, Vote them out.
Doubtful we can afford phil scott either, but here we are. scott’s gentle tone and demeanor- the “go along to get along” attitude have done nothing to slow the insatiable elitist super-majority thirst for power and the dollars required to keep power. The Vermont state budget has ballooned 50% in scott’s tenure as governor,
Health care premiums beyond that, making “affordability” a low priority of the legislature and the governor. I suppose had shumlin stayed on as governor, we’d be looking at 100%+ increases in state spending and 150+ in health care- but we’d be looking at it from our residences far away from Vermont.
It remains to be seen how many will adopt that idea after Nov. 5th…
@pikevt: Phil can’t even be termed a RINO. He’s a bought and paid for shill.
As far as voting the schills…good luck with that. We-The-People lost our votes decades ago. They came, they saw, they conquered. They do whatever they want.
THE MILITARY is the only way.
The take away from this article, for me anyway, is that the super majority is well aware of what they are doing to Vermont. And they flat out just don’t care. It doesn’t matter to them that people will not be able to heat their houses, it doesn’t matter that Vermonters who have owned a family home for generations will probably be forced to sell out. The Governor’s message is clear….if we vote these people back into office….we deserve what we get. He is trying to warn us that this bunch is hell bent on running the middle class out of the state. We are of no use to them.They need the wealthy who can afford to pay the high prices for electric, fuel and taxes. They need the low income population in order to keep those government subsidies coming in. And they absolutely need to keep those big business lobbyists happy. Special interest groups are their bread and butter. It is us they don’t need.
Anyone else watching the real estate ads? There sure are a lot of million dollar homes for sale. Have the wealthy, second homeowners decided to get out while the getting is good? They can certainly build their vacation mansions in another state that doesn’t tax them for everything except breathing Vermont air. I’m not sure who will buy the mansions though since anyone who does their research before making a purchase in Vermont will probably choose a more affordable state. I’m not sure that this was the desired affect that the majority wanted, but it is certainly a harbinger of things to come. This is “do or die” time for our state. We either shut this down now or we leave because we can’t afford to live here anymore. Please….do not vote for any super majority incumbents, we cannot afford them. Heed the Governor’s warning and vote to save Vermont. Right now, we have candidates who actually want to help Vermont out of this mess. We have new choices. I don’t (and never have) voted along party lines, I have always tried to vote for the person I hope will actually serve our state. Aren’t we tired of not being heard in Montpelier? The super majority has deserted us…they flat out ignore us. How much louder could we have been regarding the school taxes? But…hey, they will form a committee. That was the crumb they threw us. We are not being represented and it is time to get our voices back.
VERMONT DESERVES BETTER.
Hey Governor Scott and you thought you could deal with this progressive ” Stupid Majority ” They don’t care about you and the citizens of the state, all they care about
is there agenda because they are power-hungry fools …….
All they understand is if the citizens of the state make a stand and vote these clowns out, yes fire these fools !!
Wake up people
Govie blew up the transmission of his political agenda with the lock down and forced vax shot. They all belong in jail.
It is up to Vermonters who really care about their state and its people to save their state! VOTE like your livelihood depends on it, because it does. End the craziness in Montpelier! Get all the Globalists, Marxists, or whatever you may call them Out of our Capitol.
If the “social benefits” of the Clean Heat Act are some $10,000,000,000 then the state should take financing to pay for it based on the “futures” value of all these savings. The savings are intangible at best.
The social benefits are like the super duper high CO2 in the atmosphere. You can’t see it but it must be there!
More blah blah blah from the governor. Where specifically is he endorsing specific candidates? No where, same thing he’s been doing since he was elected. If he was really serious about getting help he would have been out there stumping for candidates! He would have shown his face every year at the VT GOP meeting. Sorry Gov too little too late!