Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deb Billado, chairwoman of the Vermont GOP.
Last week, Governor Scott vetoed S.79, the latest attempt by the Montpelier Majority to seize greater control over your lives. The legislation would have created the first-in-the-nation registry of all privately owned homes being rented in Vermont, no matter the duration. House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) rightly noted that this bill would have imposed a brand new fee on as many as 80,000 Vermonters — at a time when we’re trying to emerge from an economic and public health crisis. The Governor also noted that this bill would have created “additional restrictions, costs and hoops to jump through” for Vermonters.
Equally egregious is that this legislation would have created 6.5 new bureaucratic positions in state government, with an annual appropriation of $850,000 for pay and benefits. That works out to $130,000 per bureaucrat — an insult to every Vermonter. Rep. McCoy likened this pervasive growth in the size, scope, and intrusion of state government to “a steady flow of lava encroaching upon every one of us.”
She’s right. We only need to look at the growth in the number of state employee positions in Vermont. During the Shumlin administration, the number of state employees increased by nearly 500, undoing all the right-sizing of government that Governor Douglas had implemented as necessary cost savings during the Great Recession of 2009. Since that time, Governor Scott has flattened the growth in state positions.
Unfortunately, we still have far more bureaucrats than we need. Despite the fact that New Hampshire has more than double the population of Vermont, it has just 14 percent more state employees than we do. In fact, for every 100 people, we have nearly twice as many full-time state employees as New Hampshire does. And does anybody seriously think Vermont state government is more efficient or effective?
We have a bureaucracy problem in this state. Thankfully, Vermont Republicans just defeated a bill that would have added to it. But make no mistake: our work is not done in having state government live within its means, just like we do every single day.
My heart…clutches pearls…frownie facepalm
ALL Agenda 2030 goals need to be scrapped as crimes against humanity and all life on the planet.
Built on a truly unrealistic and truly unsustainable (except in the one’s and zero’s of computer models) model that is one size fits all – globally mind you – Vermonters are having to turn themselves into pretzels to comply with these more and more draconian measures to control us free-thinking, out of the box, creative Vermonters…the few of us that are not borg’d that is…from suggesting we’re about to derail and kill the passengers:
Agenda 2030 is destroying our civilization and Vermont is front and center – we’re just too independent and self-sustaining so we became a target: MAKE THEM DEPENDENT ON THE STATE – and it only took 15 months – NOW WE GOT’EM HOOKED!
And people…I’m certain that IS the plan.
Cui bono?
When oil from tar sands in Canada or OPEC reserves in Oman or electricity from Canada are better than wood we can sustainably harvest off the current forested land in Vermont to (radiantly) heat residential homes, and electric cars appeal because one needs to NOT look at the scenery in Vermont because one has to look at one’s digital device instead because one is always tied to the man and must produce… we have utterly lost the plot.
We’ve lost our souls.
And that is the real tragedy. But – also the goal.
The soulless are making soulless decisions that are destroying LIFE in any kind of syntropic form.
We have EVERYTHING we need to survive within Vermont borders, what is ahead – but bureaucrats would rather tie our hands now and tell us what we are allowed and not allowed to do…to survive and live.
Governor Scott and all his sycophant cronies above and below him are sick mfers and need to be outtlawed, banned and run out of the state – and the sooner the better.
Let THEM eat cake and see how they like it.
WHEN are Vermonters going to take our state back from these technofascist embedded by intention, suits?
*I hear the jack boots coming…
It should be noted that Governor Scott vetoed this legislation. He has also vetoed more bills than any other Governor in Vermont’s history. What is needed is more Republicans and Independents in the House and Senate to be able to sustain the vetoes of these impractical and ideologically driven bills
We need a commission to study the issue.
When the conservatives retake control of Vermont what is going to happen to the state jobs and taxes that have been added for the tax payers to fund? Will they be eliminated? No. This is more money for the conservatives to use for their benefit. Will those extra bureaucratic jobs be over looked? after all they are voters too. There is far to much pain to endure by the public to stop the madness that the left has inflicted on Vermonters. Who ever is in power will throw a few bones at us to gain our vote and the madness will continue.
Thank you House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy for putting the brakes on this nonsense,
any Vermonter should look at this proposal with disgust………..
The over-inflated government that Vermont has is appalling to taxpayers, we probably
would not have concerns if the state’s budget was in the black, employment numbers
were low and commerce was booming…….. Nope, just more pork in the government.
If the state was any other business, most running it would be fired for incompetence
and most should be today…. we need a balanced budget, reduced tax base !!
Wake up people, we need more in Montpelier like Pattie McCoy looking out for Vermont
not an agenda and thank you Deb Billado for doing this article hopefully, this will open
some eyes……………….