A socialist author warns fellow believers to get ready for a long, hard slog.
McClaughry: Thomas Jefferson and public debt
Thomas Jefferson would abhor the large-scale printing of paper money by our current federal government.
McClaughry: Holding legislators accountable
McClaughry expounds upon the virtues of single-member districts.
Left eager for another Sedition Act
Today the militant Left is keen to revive a Sedition Act to imprison anyone who gets too far out in front spreading “misinformation” criticizing the Biden Administration, or employing extralegal tactics to suppress free speech as the Sedition Acts did. We’ve done that twice, and both were dark chapters in this land of liberty.
New farm report is “Ceres in Wonderland”
The report recites some obvious challenges, such as “development pressure on farmland, generational transfer of farm assets, [and] changing consumer preferences and markets”. But in its Vision Statement for 2030 the report wanders off into what might be called “Ceres in Wonderland.” That’s a collection of correct and happy outcomes, an exercise noticeably infused with political correctness.
“Thermal Energy Efficiency” charge just another carbon tax
After the push for the carbon tax fizzled out in 2018, the “climate change” game turned to enacting a carbon tax by disguising it as something else. The latest version is called “the Thermal Energy Efficiency Charge”, and Sen. Bray has become its most ardent promoter.
More funding! More funding!
The Public Utility Commission, at the direction of the legislature, has “joined the chorus of voices seeking climate action”. Its all-fuels energy report takes note of the state’s ambitious carbon dioxide emission reduction goals, and almost screams what’s needed on every page: “More Funding!”
McClaughry: Feds gave VT 2nd most money per person in 2020
The feds sent little Vermont $4.8 billion dollars. That comes to $7,729 per person. That sum puts Vermont second among the 50 states, trailing only New York, which got $7,840 per person. Even so, the state budget department is projecting a $180 million General Fund shortfall for next year.
Retirement fund clock ticking towards calamity
The pension funds are just 66.4% and 52.3% funded, respectively. The clock is ticking toward calamity, including downgrading the state’s credit ratings.
Goodbye to TCI
Gov. Scott is not likely to put forth detailed objections to TCI. He’ll raise a few questions, point to pandemic uncertainty, and pay his customary homage to climate change orthodoxy. But he clearly sees that this is just one more elaborately concealed carbon tax. He knows what that will to do families and Covid- stressed businesses, he has opposed that for four years, and he won’t buy it. Good for him.
