President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would ban the use of freelance workers in most instances. The legislation says “an individual performing any service shall be considered an employee … and not an independent contractor.” About 59 million gig workers make up $1.2 trillion of the U.S. economy.
New Hampshire ranks in the bottom half of states in terms of economic exposure to the coronavirus, coming in at 31 out of the 50 states, according to WalletHub analyst Jill Gonalzez.
Montpelier has ignored native Vermonters and businesses, who continue to suffer economically from state policies and tax burdens even as the bureaucratic tumor feasts rabidly on federal COVID funds, expands reckless spending in the name of “rescuing” the citizenry, and does nothing to prepare for its own belly-popping explosion when its taxpayer host is bled dry.
The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing is asking for an additional $1M for tourism marketing. We should give it to them. Our annual $3M marketing budget supports this industry that generates $373M in tax revenue.
While recent news of the cancellation of Montpelier’s hotel project is troubling, those familiar with Act 250 are not surprised. The decision to terminate the project is yet another example of how truly broken our state’s principal land use law is.
Twenty years ago, Tayt Brooks said he never would’ve thought that he was going to be the deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), a role he recently accepted.
Vermont’s Progressives are very fond of minimum wage laws, but as with many economic initiatives that yield unintended consequences, government control of wages is not as simple as “let’s help the little guy.”
Here are just some of the problems with the new spending proposal: a $2.75 trillion tax hike would stunt post-pandemic economic recovery, less than 5% of spending goes to roads and bridges, and there’s $400 billion in welfare and health spending and $174 billion in subsidies for electric vehicles.
The Vermont Forward Plan uses vaccination rates as the key milestones for transitioning Vermont businesses to more general, universal guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19; modifying travel guidance; and when gathering size can increase between now and July 4.
Senate lawmakers are locked in a heated debate over a proposed $50 million unemployment tax increase that could have some laid-off Vermonters receiving more than $600 per week in combined state and federal unemployment assistance.
Federal mandating of higher hourly pay rates places the burden of fighting poverty on the employers of the low-wage workers and the customers of low-wage businesses. It deprives the most vulnerable, least-skilled and least-experienced workers of an opportunity to earn their way into better paying career jobs.
The Legislature is now expecting to have $200 million on hand from stimulus funds to put towards broadband buildout. This is nearly a 670% increase over what the state had planned to spend in fiscal year 2022. Also on the upside, stronger voices have started testifying on the state of our pension funds.