Betsy Bishop: Vermont employers embracing remote work
When asked how remote work is impacting their companies and employees, leaders responded at length. Their experiences are summarized in a few key areas.
John McClaughry: Biden executive order and No One Left Behind
One of my favorite charities is called No One Left Behind. It’s composed of service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who are working to get the terps out of harm’s way. You can learn more about them.
John Klar: Tax Structure Commission promotes regressive taxes
The Tax Structure Commission was evidently charged with the task of justifying tax increases in the name of “equity.” But as with all these newfangled ideological schemes, there is no concept of economic limitations — let alone equity.
Roper: The bottle deposit expansion — a stealth tax
We don’t require deposit fees for cardboard boxes, newspapers, and other recyclable materials, yet we, as good citizens, still manage to, for the most part, dispose of these things properly. Why should we treat beverage containers differently?
Nanny State nuttiness: A ban on flavored vaping products
We were told that legalizing pot would be fine in regard to youth use because the law says you have to be 21 to purchase the pot. The law says the same thing about cigarettes and vaping products. What’s the difference? Either such laws work, or they don’t.
John Klar: Joe Biden’s embrace of fallacious critical race theory
The fallacy that America is “systemically racist” is rooted in arguments that the white majority suffers from subconscious racism which contaminates the entire “system.” Proponents of critical race theory and government-created “equity” insist they have yet-to-be-discovered solutions.
John Klar: The ‘buy local’ fraud
Gov. Phil Scott has repeatedly touted his “buy local” initiative during COVID. There are several problems with this seemingly rosy policy. The scheme is a farce, because the money is not allocated to buying local products — just buying products locally.
Flemming: A rebuttal to Rep. Colston’s ‘structural racism’ devotional diatribe
On Feb. 16, Rep. Hal Colston, D-Winooski, gave the daily devotional on the virtual floor of the Vermont House. Afterward, Rep. Scott Beck, R-St. Johnsbury, took the unusual action of requesting that it be put in the House journal. The devotional is a diatribe of all things Colston considers racist.
Matt Krauss: A Vermont media conglomerate in the works?
If this company produces much more news content increasing their market share and media concentration, will all Vermonters benefit? VPR’s website says, “Be brave, ask questions.” After this merger, ask lots of questions.
Roper: Legislators debate doubling and expanding the bottle deposit
The bill would double the cost of a standard bottle deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents. The added up-front cost for a 24 case of beer or soda would increase from $1.25 to $2.50. A $3.98 40-pack of 16 oz. bottled water at Walmart would require a newly added $4 deposit fee.
Vermont legislators claim criminalizing prostitution is racist against black men
Ten Vermont legislators have sponsored a bill to create a “Sex Work Study Committee” concerning the legalization of prostitution in Vermont. This bill strives to rewrite Vermont history via an absurdly vacuous lie that Vermont prohibited prostitution because of “white supremacist” motives.
McClaughry: Burlington heating tax and Opportunity Vermont
The climate activists have found a new target for their mandates, restrictions, and taxes: the city of Burlington. They’re pushing a resolution that would lead quickly to a ban on burners, boilers, furnaces, stoves, fireplaces and dryers that use natural gas.