Vermont’s grotesque tax burden was a big reason why our state never really recovered from the Great Recession. This doubling down on a failed policy prescription will ensure an even greater failure to recover from this recession.
Rushing to spend $1.25 billion in federal Covid-19 cash, Gov. Phil Scott reserved $5 million for mental health treatment. At least he realizes his governance in the coronavirus crisis has pushed thousands of Vermonters over the cliff emotionally as well as financially.
It costs the taxpayer $250,000 each week extra for the lawmakers to stay home and play legislative computer games with your tax money. They need to let the dust settle on the damage caused by the shutdown ordered as the result of the COVID-19 scare.
A terrorist designation does not change the charges a federal prosecutor can make. They remain the same. However, it will certainly help prioritize attention and federal resources on Antifa and encourage better coordination among law enforcement authorities. This is a good start.
After a while, the big stories ignored by Vermont media and elected officials pile up so high that anyone with eyes can see them. Unless, of course, they are studiously looking in the other direction. Here are five.
They say send out post cards to all voters offering them the opportunity to apply for absentee ballots, as under current law. We think Sen. Benning and Town Clerk Dwyer are exactly right.
Millions of Americans now watch with horror as their cities burn, their businesses are looted, and their neighborhoods explode in street violence. The unwillingness or inability of elected leaders and law enforcement officials to stop the chaos has confirmed an unsettling reality.
This bill (S.348) is unnecessary because we already have a secure system in place that enables voters to be and feel safe when exercising their right to vote. Potential unforeseen consequences that could dilute the sanctity and security of our election cannot be dismissed.
Vermont, facing a $250 million shortfall in General Fund revenues for the fiscal year that starts a month from now, will have to rethink what it is and what it does. To undertake that task intelligently we must bravely launch a thorough-going performance review.
Absentee or mail-in ballots are voted outside the supervision and overview of election officials — thus destroying the secret ballot, an important hallmark of American elections for more than a century. They are susceptible to being stolen, altered, and forced.
The Condos/VPIRG vote-by-mail proposal, if allowed to move forward, will lead to something like 160,000 unclaimed or unwanted ballots just floating around — for any unscrupulous actors to collect, fill out and mail in.