OPINION: Did they campaign on “Vote for Me, I Will Raise Your Taxes”?
October 9, 2024 | By Wendy Bucchieri
Do you remember the days when if a politician even mentioned raising taxes they were duly excluded from getting your vote? Well, it’s time for Vermonters to wake up and pay attention.
On top of Vermonters dealing with 30-100% inflation and lingering hardships from COVID lockdowns, the Democrat Supermajority in our Vermont legislature has overridden our governor’s vetoes and raised our taxes more than five times! You would think they would not want to increase tax burdens on their Vermont constituents at this time.
Nope. They will go down as creating the most legislation and the highest raisers of taxes in Vermont history. The Vermont annual budget has increased 38% since 2020. They increased DMV fees, (A.62), even though the DMV never requested it. They placed a new payroll tax (A.76). They raised property taxes anywhere from 8-28% depending on your town (A.127, A.64, A.183). It is clear that the state is now dictating local property taxes due to Act 60 and its add-ons. Vermont pays the second-highest per pupil cost in the nation while delivering a meager 50% range proficiency in those same students. At the same time, parental rights are being eroded.
They unsuccessfully voted to double their salaries and have healthcare (S.39). They didn’t override the veto -- perhaps some thought this was not a good look for them before an election.
But the biggest Bugaboo of all stems from the “Global Warming Solutions Act.” They passed the “Renewable Energy Standard,” again overriding the governor’s veto, raising electric rates, and costing Vermonters millions. But to me, the piece de resistance of this act -- besides not counting the cost prior to diving in -- is that they set in law mandated goals to be met by 2025, 2035 and 2050, and that Vermont can be sued by ANYONE for not meeting those standards! The Conservation Law Foundation already has its lawsuit ready in the queue when we miss our 2025 mandate. How convenient.
Instead of setting goals we hope to achieve, the legislature made them mandates -- we MUST achieve or else. Could you imagine hiring a lawyer because you were at fault in an accident and the lawyer said, “Good news, I’ve made a settlement. They will accept $$ upfront and you can make payments for $$ monthly, and if you miss one of those payments ANYONE can sue you.”
What? You would fire that lawyer in a heartbeat for not representing your best interests. Yet, that is exactly what the Dems did! Maybe they did not get the memo that they are to represent the ordinary people of Vermont (whose pockets the settlements will come out of), not special interests, pushing agendas. Maybe they actually think money grows on trees. They have a fiduciary responsibility to “We the People of Vermont” and THEY HAVE FAILED!
Public Service Commissioner June Tierney presented the results of the potential study done by consultants at Gov. Phil Scott’s Sept. 12 weekly briefing. The costs for what the legislature proposed and has passed in the Clean Heat Standard (A.18) are projected to be $10 billion over the next five years. I know Vermonters have real problems to deal with, we don’t need our legislators crushing us under the weight of the Global Warming Solutions Act. This needs to be repealed.
In a profile overview from the U.S. Energy Atlas analysis of Vermont, Quick Facts: “In 2021, we consumed 3.4 times more energy than we produced, but our total energy consumption is lower than any other state, which contributed to Vermont having the lowest energy-related carbon dioxide emissions among the states.” And, “In 2022 Vermont generated almost 100% of its electricity from renewable resources.”
Does this sound like Vermonters need to pay as much as another $4/gal home heating fuel to be the solution to the globe’s warming? I’m more worried about Vermonters staying warm!
Fire Democrats and Progressives with your votes! Give Republicans and some Independents a chance to represent you and “Common Sense” in Montpelier. Pay attention to voting records! Republicans voted against these measures.
Hopefully if enough new blood goes to Montpelier, they will be able to uphold the governor’s vetoes, scrap things that are not working, and actually solve some of Vermont’s real problems. Not create them.
Wendy Bucchieri
Arlington, Vermont