That’s what Vermont Democrats are building, and I don’t think the “peasants” have the votes or the will to stop it. I’m not even certain they see the threat.
The following commentary by Steve MacDonald has been republished with permission from GraniteGrok.
With inflation battering the peasants and long-term recession looming, the first priority of Vermont Democrats was to add hundreds of millions in new spending and then increase their own salaries so they can afford to live with their policies.
We wrote about the pay and benefits hike for elected officials back in May. The Dem majority was trying to fast-track it without public input. The bill was eventually passed and then vetoed by Gov. Scott.
The poverty-stricken legislature does not have enough votes in the State Senate to override. But they are working on it because, according to Chittenden Central Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky,
“The bill was needed to ensure that more working Vermonters can afford to serve in Montpelier — something that she says is not true today.
“The barriers to service in the General Assembly are astronomical, which is why the demographics of the General Assembly do not match the demographics of Vermont,” Vyhovsky said. “And this is a problem. This is one of the reasons why we have such a difficult time meeting the needs of average Vermonters.”
She’s not all wrong. It is clear that the priorities of the legislature do not match the wishes of voters, but piling on salary and benefits will take an already overpaid body and turn it into a professional political project. It is also true that one of the priorities of Democrat majority legislatures is to turn them into full-time professional occupations. Raising pay and benefits will do that and the citizen legislature is anathema to the progressive project.
The Founders pictured people coming to serve for a few years out of duty to the interests of friends and neighbors and then, out of necessity, drawn back to the source of their means. Government service was a public service, not an occupation. You made your living farming or ranching or shipbuilding or lawyering, jobs that pay the bills just waiting for you after a stint serving the people.
But much like the news, once they figured out they could make money on it, truth and transparency went out the window.
Job one becomes serving the needs of the political cult and those that feed and water it regularly (lobbyists, special interests). The will of the people being a barrier to overcome every few years with fast talk and false promises, and lots of lobbyist and special-interest money.
To the progressive mind, elected office is a tenured position that starts the moment you adopt their priorities, retained until retirement or death when the latter is not in fact, the former.
Professional politicians are difficult to unseat. Paid professionals are even more so. This is not new, it is not news, and everyone paying attention knows it.
The goal is a permanent one-party state run by people who get paid a lot more than most to rob everyone else. And there are no examples of Democrat rule where this is not the case, nor are there examples where this formula results in prosperity for the people at the expense of the people in charge. It’s exactly the opposite.
That’s what Vermont Democrats are building, and I don’t think the “peasants” have the votes or the will to stop it. I’m not even certain they see the threat.
We have done it already in Rutland County, so hasn’t Franklin County.
There are counties that cannot ever see daylight, I agree. But when Republican voters just do not vote, and do not encourage their neighbors to vote, then we are doomed.
An attempt has to be made to get out the R vote. Currently, party leadership spends their efforts on infighting, rather than working together so they are no help.
It can be done.
Sounds a little like when they voted in the beverage tax a few years back. Legislators were in New Hampshire stocking up on soda. New tax laws are for everyone else, NOT for them!
These buffoons in Montpelier think they need or are entitled to a pay raise…… why ??
The state has out-of-control spending, due to legislative nonsense for pet projects and
a plethora of financial liabilities, a non-balanced budget, and a tax rate/base that the
average taxpayer cannot afford …………..
Hey progressives, if you did the job you were elected to do ” Financial Stability ” on the
states spending, you wouldn’t need to be begging for a raise you don’t deserve, see the
above few issues if you don’t understand.
Hey taxpayers, these are the sniveling buffoons you elected, call, write, or email to your
representatives and tell them ” No Raise ” until the state has financial stability or other
words live within your means………………… how pathetic !!
Wake up people
Its coming back for sure in the next session. How is it that Colorado legislature brings forth 617 bills and passes about 220 of them with a population of 5.8Million (9.5 times the population of Vermont). The legislative session is 120 days. They are totally dem controlled, all three branches.
Vermont has 625 thousand people; our legislative session is 90 days and our proud people under the dome brought forth 682 bills during the recent session. Think about that.
Talk about justification of existence. I am happy they are working so hard but of course much of the bills have to do with controlling the population in some way or another. It might be about your food, your housing, your health, your automobiles, on and on. I would like to see a limit on bills introduced and perhaps for every bill passed an old one comes off the books. Vermont is being legislated to death. Perhaps we should consider a pay decrease if they cannot limit the bills written and get out of the building in 90 days. Can someone please sponsor that bill.
To answer your question, Vermonters will approve anything proposed by someone with D after their name. Vermonters will vote themselves into poverty as long as it’s Democrats taking their money.
The writer is correct, a permanent Dem Prog monopoly is coming to VT. But he’s incorrect that it stands on the salary raise. The KEY for Dems is to give full time union BENEFITS to part time legislators.. That is the main goal….union gold plated insurance benefits would cost upwards of $25,000 for a person outside of a large union contract. Right now there are NO benefits offered. But with full union gold benefits…the Dems & Progs can make it their whole CAREER move now. They will get the salary and expenses paid from legislature, they will get full union gold plate benefits offered…then in the 6-7 months “off legislature” the Dems and Prog legislators will be conviently “parked” at any one of the hundreds of Enviro/Climate/Political “non profits” at lowish wages (or even a no show job)…and these non profits do NOT offer health insurance for part time. But once the Dems & Progs get VT to PAY for their gold benefits (largely)….then the Dem prog super majority will be there forever. This isn’t about the salary increase, it’s the Union Gold BENEFITS they are after.
correction, I said this:
“then in the 6-7 months “off legislature” the Dems and Prog legislators will be convienently “parked” at any one of the hundreds of Enviro/Climate/Political “non profits”
I meant to say that any legislator that NEEDS a position “off season” will be provided one. Some Dems don’t need it…but to entice a whole new crop of Dems & Progs & Socialists – who have no other “career” possibilities (witness Bernie Sanders in his young days, a total loser, totally broke)…they can now afford to make the legislature a full time career move….just picture DOZENS of young, brainwashed, loser Bernie Sander’s types….The benefits will do it for them.
There is more to this than you indicated.
The Dem/Prog crowd is entitled (they think) , first, last, and foremost.
Also, they think they know what is best for us, and that concept comes into action with a price to pay. The payers being us taxpayers, who end up on the short end every darned time.
There is no end to their games, until they either die in office, or get voted out. The latter is what we need to be looking at in 2024, or we are doomed for the duration. Tough as it will be it can be done, by mobilizing every able person who can contribute in some way, and who sincerely is concerned about the state’s future. The larger communities need to organize neighborhood groups to go door to door spreading the word, with reporting back to the neighborhood leader regularly as election time nears. These co-ordinated efforts in each town with people knocking on doors who know the folks they are calling on, with unified messages, will be tough to beat. It is a lot of work, but can be productive in the end. The same ole-same ole, will get the same ole-same ole.
James, you have to wake up and get a grip on reality. VT is toast. VTGON. Look at these two statistics…I don’t care how hard to you try to organize & mobilize Repub voters in 2024…you will never overcome reality – VT is a total Dem, Progressive, Socialist state. READ THIS:
“Most Democratic States
1. Vermont
Vermont is the No#1 most Democratic state in the U.S. with a PVI of D+16. Vermont joined the Union in 1971 and has participated in every presidential election since 1792. Vermont was primarily Republican from 1854, when the party was founded, through 1988 except for the 1964 election. Vermont has been blue (Democratic) since 1992. Vermont is home to the 2020 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.”
Theses stats from the respected PEW RESEARCH CENTER shocked me:
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/party-affiliation/by/political-ideology/among/state/vermont/
you have two choice James…stay and suffer consequences… or leave.
Jeffrey James is also not considering the voter fraud problem.
We’re learning more and more by the day about the levels of which elections are rigged and stolen- using a variety of ways that are things we’d never even dream possible at this point.
I’d go as far as to say that denying the people of Vermont the real and whole truth in the media is election tampering.
What is more fraudulent than keeping the population in a Democrat Controlled Bubble? (like VTDigger does)
Anyone that is not reading here has no idea of what is really going on out there to then cast informed votes!!
So given that, I don’t see how James can amass these people to get this done. I suppose to save yourselves, an effort must be made. But sheesh.. this is becoming a crisis that many people are not surviving.
By the way, here is a real mind blower, give this one a read.
“Biden owes his “Victory” to blatant political corruption”
(I suggest everyone sit down w a beverage before reading this)
https://granitegrok.com/blog/2023/06/biden-owes-his-victory-to-blatant-political-corruption