So here we are, by all accounts the U.S. has been in a recession for a year, and Vermont's fully beginning to feel the pinch. Just recently Newport, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state, lost another 50+ jobs. With budget shortfalls on the horizon things don't bode well for the Green Mountain State.
And the politicians say cut jobs, and raise taxes.
Slash spending to social programs, and use the rainy day fund.
Doesn't seem to me to be the subscription to put the green back in the mountains of Vermont!
Showing posts with label Vermont Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vermont Economics. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
It's Official
Yep, I've offended Republicans, Progressives and now Democrats.
I guess it's what I get for sharing my opinion on other blogs, but to have them ALL gang up on me?
Just tried adding a different dynamic to conversations, but I guess no one wants to here it. All or nothing it seems.
Thet's what I hate about partisan politics, you're either with 100% or against.
Oh well, I guess I'll just keep to myself on my blog and people will have to drop by here for pearls of wisdom.
After all, I work for a living, and drop these pearls of wisdom for free. I may not know the complex in's and out's of state and federal taxation, but I know what fair and equitable is.
I guess it's what I get for sharing my opinion on other blogs, but to have them ALL gang up on me?
Just tried adding a different dynamic to conversations, but I guess no one wants to here it. All or nothing it seems.
Thet's what I hate about partisan politics, you're either with 100% or against.
Oh well, I guess I'll just keep to myself on my blog and people will have to drop by here for pearls of wisdom.
After all, I work for a living, and drop these pearls of wisdom for free. I may not know the complex in's and out's of state and federal taxation, but I know what fair and equitable is.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Rainy Day Or Rock Bottom Fund?
Crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
So I guess I have a different opinion of what to with the State Of Vermont's Rainy Day fund. The total I've heard tossed around is like $60 million, but I could be wrong. That's a lot of money when social programs and jobs are being slashed because of budget shortfalls. Should we use up this reserve? I really don't think it's time yet.
If the state needs to dip into the fund to do some triage work, that's one thing. Options and plans are what we need most right now. Some of that money could be used, and wisely so, to keep the state, and some programs running in the interim. But I think to exhaust the fund would be a grave mistake. We have not hit rock bottom yet, and that is when we'll need the rainy day fund the most!
Maybe make a quarter to a third of the fund available for the next year, but preserve the rest intact. Our turmoil right now is a result of Vermont's broken system. How we tax, build revenue and provide money to programs and run the state needs to be overhauled. This is obvious, but no one seems to want to take the lead and provide some good foresight. This is why I say use at most only a portion of the fund as a crutch to limp us along into the next year.
We can't raise the tax burden on people already struggling to get by. At the same time I don't think we should have to bail out every jerk that's decided to live beyond their means. It's no fault of the rest of us. There has to be some sort of balance. I chose to go to college, I chose to hang that noose of of loan payments around my neck. I accept that. Other people with their expensive new cars and enormous homes need to accept they did that to themselves as well.
We as an American, and Vermont society are at an impasse. Free market capitalism has been replaced with social capitalism, as we all shoulder the burden of irresponsible people and their failed American Dreams. I've heard so many people say that they make all their payments on their mortgages, and live within their means, why not just stop paying the mortgage and get bailed out as well? I totally see their point.
So getting back to the rainy day fund, I think we need to have some foresight and look beyond the budget shortfalls of 2009, to 2010, 2011, and 2012. If we use all the money now, there will be none for the future shortfalls. As a state, Vermont needs to tighten it's belt, and reduce spending. But at the same time, address how we will fund the state of Vermont in the future as obviously what we have been doing does not, and will continue not to work.
So I guess I have a different opinion of what to with the State Of Vermont's Rainy Day fund. The total I've heard tossed around is like $60 million, but I could be wrong. That's a lot of money when social programs and jobs are being slashed because of budget shortfalls. Should we use up this reserve? I really don't think it's time yet.
If the state needs to dip into the fund to do some triage work, that's one thing. Options and plans are what we need most right now. Some of that money could be used, and wisely so, to keep the state, and some programs running in the interim. But I think to exhaust the fund would be a grave mistake. We have not hit rock bottom yet, and that is when we'll need the rainy day fund the most!
Maybe make a quarter to a third of the fund available for the next year, but preserve the rest intact. Our turmoil right now is a result of Vermont's broken system. How we tax, build revenue and provide money to programs and run the state needs to be overhauled. This is obvious, but no one seems to want to take the lead and provide some good foresight. This is why I say use at most only a portion of the fund as a crutch to limp us along into the next year.
We can't raise the tax burden on people already struggling to get by. At the same time I don't think we should have to bail out every jerk that's decided to live beyond their means. It's no fault of the rest of us. There has to be some sort of balance. I chose to go to college, I chose to hang that noose of of loan payments around my neck. I accept that. Other people with their expensive new cars and enormous homes need to accept they did that to themselves as well.
We as an American, and Vermont society are at an impasse. Free market capitalism has been replaced with social capitalism, as we all shoulder the burden of irresponsible people and their failed American Dreams. I've heard so many people say that they make all their payments on their mortgages, and live within their means, why not just stop paying the mortgage and get bailed out as well? I totally see their point.
So getting back to the rainy day fund, I think we need to have some foresight and look beyond the budget shortfalls of 2009, to 2010, 2011, and 2012. If we use all the money now, there will be none for the future shortfalls. As a state, Vermont needs to tighten it's belt, and reduce spending. But at the same time, address how we will fund the state of Vermont in the future as obviously what we have been doing does not, and will continue not to work.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Invest In Vermont, And Vermonters!!
Crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
This started out as a comment, but I decided it was worth expanding and building upon.
I was embarrassed this week to see Jim Douglas, governor of Vermont giving testimony in Washington. It seemingly amounted to nothing more than a beggar looking for handouts. Maybe if he surrounded himself with able, qualified, intelligent, outside-of-the-box thinking people in his administration instead of this cronies, Vermont might have more options. His appearance did not make me proud to be a Vermonter, we take care of our own, and are in much better of a position to do so than the Federal government at this point.
Hopefully this will get a few others to chime in with their thoughts. If you don't learn history, you are doomed to repeat it. We've been through hard economic times before, and we need to do what we know works. It's time for the 2009 New Deal For Vermont, there is no better time to invest in Vermont and Vermonters.
Vermont has one of the best bond ratings of all the states in the union. It's time we take advantage of that to secure funds to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Put Vermonters to work rebuilding, and preparing our state for the next 100 years. We INCREASE state goverment, the biggest employer in the state of Vermont IS already the state of Vermont.
Run with this for the short term, and turn the whole state into a massive public works project to put people to work and prepare us for the future. Put forth a massive concerted effort to rebuild our bridges, roads, and telecommunications. Also of priority would be environmental conservation projects aimed at waste and pollution reduction, recycling and reuse, controlling/eradicating invasive species, and assisting Vermont communities with growth center and economic development. From working on the facilities at state parks, to turning wastes into resources, or building new businesses, there is very little we can't do.
Today's Freeps ran with an article that 2,ooo more Vermonters just signed up for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total to more than eleven thousand receiving benefits. They may have to up the unemployment costs to businesses because here's more money going out than coming in, ad that's not going to help businesses already struggling with payrolls. We're gonna be spending the money whether we get some bang for our buck or not. Let's get these people some work to do! Vermonters are a hardy lot, and would rather do something than nothing.
This is not nearly a complete picture or plan, but it's a start. Dialogue and Yankee ingenuity can and will get us through these hard times. We all need to sit back, look at the big picture, and say what can I do to help Vermont get through this, we're in it together. Right now Vermont's future is being decided for us, let's take a stand, invest in Vermont and Vermonters!
This started out as a comment, but I decided it was worth expanding and building upon.
I was embarrassed this week to see Jim Douglas, governor of Vermont giving testimony in Washington. It seemingly amounted to nothing more than a beggar looking for handouts. Maybe if he surrounded himself with able, qualified, intelligent, outside-of-the-box thinking people in his administration instead of this cronies, Vermont might have more options. His appearance did not make me proud to be a Vermonter, we take care of our own, and are in much better of a position to do so than the Federal government at this point.
Hopefully this will get a few others to chime in with their thoughts. If you don't learn history, you are doomed to repeat it. We've been through hard economic times before, and we need to do what we know works. It's time for the 2009 New Deal For Vermont, there is no better time to invest in Vermont and Vermonters.
Vermont has one of the best bond ratings of all the states in the union. It's time we take advantage of that to secure funds to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Put Vermonters to work rebuilding, and preparing our state for the next 100 years. We INCREASE state goverment, the biggest employer in the state of Vermont IS already the state of Vermont.
Run with this for the short term, and turn the whole state into a massive public works project to put people to work and prepare us for the future. Put forth a massive concerted effort to rebuild our bridges, roads, and telecommunications. Also of priority would be environmental conservation projects aimed at waste and pollution reduction, recycling and reuse, controlling/eradicating invasive species, and assisting Vermont communities with growth center and economic development. From working on the facilities at state parks, to turning wastes into resources, or building new businesses, there is very little we can't do.
Today's Freeps ran with an article that 2,ooo more Vermonters just signed up for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total to more than eleven thousand receiving benefits. They may have to up the unemployment costs to businesses because here's more money going out than coming in, ad that's not going to help businesses already struggling with payrolls. We're gonna be spending the money whether we get some bang for our buck or not. Let's get these people some work to do! Vermonters are a hardy lot, and would rather do something than nothing.
This is not nearly a complete picture or plan, but it's a start. Dialogue and Yankee ingenuity can and will get us through these hard times. We all need to sit back, look at the big picture, and say what can I do to help Vermont get through this, we're in it together. Right now Vermont's future is being decided for us, let's take a stand, invest in Vermont and Vermonters!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Responsible Growth For Vermont’s Future
So here Vermont stands, at the edge of an uncertain future, like looking out over a gorge. Will our state falter and fall into the abyss of economic disparity? Be washed away in the currents of time? Or will we build a bridge to get our state across to solid ground?
Forget the rest of the country, right now I’m just worrying about Vermont, and Vermonters. We need to look back at history, and see what’s worked. Modify it for current times and employ new strategies. I conceptualize a cross somewhere between “Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” and a “New Deal”.
We need to work to get less people relying on government assistance. We need to inspire people to work, and give them meaningful work to accomplish. We need to drastically reduce Vermont’s unemployment rate while working toward a goal of full employ. We need to make Vermont work, for working Vermonters.
The problem with new strategies and programs is the need to create bureaucracy to administer them. The largest employer in the state of Vermont, is The State of Vermont. A lot of people seem to have problems with this, I personally don’t. I don’t foresee private enterprise jumping in to save Vermont, so state government will have to do!
The fingers of state government have worked their way into all our lives through taxes, education, transportation etc. It’s time those fingers were used to massage the lives of the citizenry instead of keeping them in a death grip. Vermont state government needs to present Vermonters with one thing; opportunity. Opportunity to deduct from their tax burden, and help out fellow Vermonters. Opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Opportunity to have a viable future in the state of Vermont.
There’s no way I can lay all this out in one post, but here’s my main idea, a Vermont Works Progress Administration that coordinates with the needs of Vermont State Government. Put Vermonters to work to reduce the overall tax burden, and also provide goods and services to improve the quality of life of Vermonters. Yes, this means less contracting between government and private enterprise, and yes, this does sound a bit like communism. As long as the end justifies the means, so be it.
How will we pay for the new administration? My favorite part, simple; roll back the bonuses that Governor Douglas gave to the administration, and roll back the last raise our legislators voted to give themselves. Desperate times, desperate measures, and I don’t think the people who serve the state of Vermont should be getting pay increases while those who pay for those increases see their own paychecks decrease!
State sponsored food bank farms to supply fresh food to help the poverty stricken. Require people receiving state assistance to put in a couple hours, they can bring the kids, no need for daycare! Prisoners can start all the plants in greenhouses at the prisons. Even better if we can get the correction officers union to negotiate and allow some prisoners to work in fields.
State sponsored School Lunch farms. Great project for kids who are off all summer. Maybe even give the parents a tax break for the hours their kids work? Grow certain crops for canning or freezing for the school year. Beans would work great, broccoli, potatoes. The added bonus would be the kids are growing their own food, and would have a much greater appreciation for where their lunches come from. A variation could be groups of kids who go out berry picking etc. and freeze them for school use.
Town growth centers. This is an idea that’s been kicking around our state for awhile but hasn’t gotten the boost it needs. The idea is to concentrate growth in designated areas of towns. What better time to create infrastructure than when people need work? Why not put people to work creating sewer systems in a designated growth center in each town, and allow towns to grow their tax base?
Coupled with the town growth centers we need to attract and grow small businesses throughout the state. Ideally situating these businesses within the growth centers of various towns. We need to spread the work out all around the state instead of concentrating it in Chittenden County. Less people commuting means less gas usage, less pollution, and more money staying within local economies. There is no real need for a large percentage of the inhabitants of the state to commute to the same county to work.
Forget the rest of the country, right now I’m just worrying about Vermont, and Vermonters. We need to look back at history, and see what’s worked. Modify it for current times and employ new strategies. I conceptualize a cross somewhere between “Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” and a “New Deal”.
We need to work to get less people relying on government assistance. We need to inspire people to work, and give them meaningful work to accomplish. We need to drastically reduce Vermont’s unemployment rate while working toward a goal of full employ. We need to make Vermont work, for working Vermonters.
The problem with new strategies and programs is the need to create bureaucracy to administer them. The largest employer in the state of Vermont, is The State of Vermont. A lot of people seem to have problems with this, I personally don’t. I don’t foresee private enterprise jumping in to save Vermont, so state government will have to do!
The fingers of state government have worked their way into all our lives through taxes, education, transportation etc. It’s time those fingers were used to massage the lives of the citizenry instead of keeping them in a death grip. Vermont state government needs to present Vermonters with one thing; opportunity. Opportunity to deduct from their tax burden, and help out fellow Vermonters. Opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Opportunity to have a viable future in the state of Vermont.
There’s no way I can lay all this out in one post, but here’s my main idea, a Vermont Works Progress Administration that coordinates with the needs of Vermont State Government. Put Vermonters to work to reduce the overall tax burden, and also provide goods and services to improve the quality of life of Vermonters. Yes, this means less contracting between government and private enterprise, and yes, this does sound a bit like communism. As long as the end justifies the means, so be it.
How will we pay for the new administration? My favorite part, simple; roll back the bonuses that Governor Douglas gave to the administration, and roll back the last raise our legislators voted to give themselves. Desperate times, desperate measures, and I don’t think the people who serve the state of Vermont should be getting pay increases while those who pay for those increases see their own paychecks decrease!
State sponsored food bank farms to supply fresh food to help the poverty stricken. Require people receiving state assistance to put in a couple hours, they can bring the kids, no need for daycare! Prisoners can start all the plants in greenhouses at the prisons. Even better if we can get the correction officers union to negotiate and allow some prisoners to work in fields.
State sponsored School Lunch farms. Great project for kids who are off all summer. Maybe even give the parents a tax break for the hours their kids work? Grow certain crops for canning or freezing for the school year. Beans would work great, broccoli, potatoes. The added bonus would be the kids are growing their own food, and would have a much greater appreciation for where their lunches come from. A variation could be groups of kids who go out berry picking etc. and freeze them for school use.
Town growth centers. This is an idea that’s been kicking around our state for awhile but hasn’t gotten the boost it needs. The idea is to concentrate growth in designated areas of towns. What better time to create infrastructure than when people need work? Why not put people to work creating sewer systems in a designated growth center in each town, and allow towns to grow their tax base?
Coupled with the town growth centers we need to attract and grow small businesses throughout the state. Ideally situating these businesses within the growth centers of various towns. We need to spread the work out all around the state instead of concentrating it in Chittenden County. Less people commuting means less gas usage, less pollution, and more money staying within local economies. There is no real need for a large percentage of the inhabitants of the state to commute to the same county to work.
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