Calls for more climate resilience, less carbon reduction
By Guy Page
The Campaign for Vermont believes the Legislature listens too much to voices on the noisy extremes of the political spectrum and not enough to the quiet majority in the middle. Therefore it has launched a “Petition to Listen” aimed at getting lawmakers to “work for us instead of against us.”
The petition follows months of CFV polling showing that what most Vermonters want – including lower taxes, school choice, affordable quality of life, public safety – are not always aligned with current legislative priorities.
CFV is a non-partisan not-for-profit founded by Bruce Lisman of Shelburne and others, and now featuring a membership roster of thousands of Vermonters seeking state policies that promote prosperity. On the CFV site, Lisman is listed as a petition signer.
The petition intro asks readers: “Are you tired of constant cost of living increases and declining public services? What about state leaders who don’t seem to care? So are we! Instead of complaining we are launching a petition drive to set them straight.”
The petition reads:
Dear Legislators, Vermonters rely on critical state services like infrastructure, public education, housing, and economic development. According to recent Campaign for Vermont polling, Vermonters now believe that the state is failing in the delivery of every one of these key services and that we are headed in the wrong direction as a state.
Top issues that we care about are the cost of living in our state, affordable housing, and public safety. We urge you to focus on these critical issues instead of chasing radical policies that are widely unpopular and will increase the cost of living for Vermonters. Additionally, we need to shift our climate change strategy towards resiliency efforts – building dams, flood barriers, and other infrastructure to protect us from the impacts of climate change – instead of solely chasing carbon reduction strategies (particularly those that have outsized negative impacts on low and middle-income Vermonters).
For too long the extremes at either end of the political spectrum have controlled the narrative despite the majority of us wanting moderate and reasonable policy solutions. In fact, 44% of Vermonters identify as independent voters and don’t affiliate with either major party. Now we are calling on legislators to pull themselves out of these echo chambers and follow the will of the many instead of the will of the few. Work for us instead of against us.
The petition can be signed by any Vermonter here.
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Categories: Legislation
You forgot to mention the dead or unresponsive bodies piling up in neighborhoods across the State. Or is that included in the climate change catch all narrative? So many succumbed to the climate change streaming across the border, arriving on freightliners, or prescribed by someone wearing a freshly pressed lab coat or designer scarfs.
The members of the legislature who believe that tiny, sparsely populated Vermont’s actions can reverse climate change while China continues to build out it’s coal infrastructure need some logic and common sense pounded into them by this well-worded petition. This article and petition describe well how the legislators are more in tune with pleasing their donor/lobbyist base than their voter base. The legislature also needs to be reminded that their misguided agenda could be remedied in a single election if a voting majority of Vermonters would wake from to being played for fools.
The big if: If a voting majority would wake up…..
Certainly, some legislators and senators would indeed pay heed to this petition, however they are already paying attention- and in the minority. The current super-majority has no need nor desire to represent the electorate, just the donor class that provides the dollars, employment opportunities and graft to these apparatchik
legislators. The single issue of carbon may be of the largest impact currently- however the apparatchiks have already passed and are proposing legislation that forever alter Vermont’s governance, taxation policies, healthcare and education systems- rendering Vermont to a socialist state. It seems likely that we, Vermont citizens are unwillingly part of a Beta test- much like California- to see how far we can be pushed toward a totalitarian regime. This session will move Vermont to the brink of socialism, regardless of phil scott’s vetos. This band of elitist politicians will never be sated and recovery can only begin with an upheaval by Vermont’s voters.
Will that be possible? maybe- but the deck was stacked in 2020 by election law changes enacted by the very same legislative members. It is not Vermont’s legislators that must pay attention, it is Vermont’s eligible voters.
Like I suggested: all of our problems could be solved in ONE ELECTION, if liberal voters would remove their heads from where the sun dont shine.
Exactly, China, Russia, India etc. Know its b.s. nothing but a money grab.
i use to go the state house twenty years ago/// the lobbyist owned the house and senate/// the governor was just a point person/// it is a hundred times worse now/// the cut of federal funds, the end of grants, and the end of bonding debt will put an end to this rico crime operation
No longer having Pat Leahy pulling home wheelbarrows of pork $ for Vermont will help get the Vermont legislature on a starvation diet…after we get the residual COVID panic money cut off and give the currency printing presses a rest.
I signed the petition in hopes adding another name to the number of signers will gain some traction with the legislators.
However, I have a good memory, and will never forget the overwhelming number of Vermonters who called and wrote to legislators in opposition to S.5 the “Affordable Heat Act”, all of whom were ignored; and worse, the supermajority overrode the Governor’s veto, passing the monstrous bill. The result is a two year long money wasting PUC “study” with a meaningless check back, and supposed but “mysterious” public input. I say mysterious public input because neither myself, nor has anyone I know ever been notified about open meetings.
It’s supposed to work for Vermonters saying “No one is coming to take away our fossil fuel heating equipment nor will you be compelled or forced to transition if you don’t choose.” Remember when Obama promised the ACA would be affordable and allow everyone to keep their own doctor?
Any thoughtful person realizes what is meant by the promise of the “Equity” touted in all these do gooder exercises: an outcome of the lowest common denominator and all wealth being shifted away from the people to the green energy lobbyists supporters and businesses.
Climate change lmao you mean seasons. The weather records only go back 160 years so they don’t know crap. In the 70s-80s they said the next ice age was coming.
Cute petition. Unfortunately after re-watching Yuri Bevmenov’s “Warning to America” I’m not convinced this will quite do the trick-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=8lXp1lAtObWTt06x&v=bX3EZCVj2XA&feature=youtu.be
A citizens’ petition launched by the Campaign for Vermont, apparently Bruce & Tom
have a plan, but it’s being heard by deaf liberal ears, they don’t care about Vermont
they have an agenda and marching order and saving Vermont isn’t part of the plan.
Until Vermonters wake up, and send these feckless legislators to the curb, nothing is going to change, except you’ll be getting taxed more…………….. so keep working !!
Like everything the group is doing with the exception of the “affordable housing” nonsense. Therefore, we’re not signing. From a first-hand perspective, affordable housing ruined many towns on L.I., & it has and is still ruining Bennington. Again, the free market regulates the housing market – and only in socialist/Communist countries does the government assist in dictating home prices/building low cost “equitable” housing, etc.
This push for relaxing environmental standards in order to build massive amounts of low-income housing (the semantics used that refer to it as “affordable” or “workforce” all mean the same in the end) will end up being the final straw that breaks the camel’s back in Vermont as the “units” become filled with out-of-state homeless, social service recipients, & addicts/criminals. LOOK at BENNINGTON!
INSTEAD:
Push to end the flow of illegal drugs in Vermont,
Stop dumbing down the kids in the public schools,
Emphasize vocational trades,
Reopen mental health institutions.
And you shall discover the type of prosperity & responsibility this nation once possessed.
We do have to be aware that some on the left strategically use the term “affordable housing” to refer to SUBSIDIZED housing, which draws taxpayer money and has been known to destroy neighborhoods.
I signed the petition because I am concerned about our state’s readiness for future natural disasters, esp. Flooding. Our recent response was disappointing to be kind, and now is the time to get our act together.