"Our democracy, it is said, is not something we have, but something we do. And right now, we cannot do it because we cannot speak. We are shouted down by the bullhorns of big money. It is money with no manners for democracy. It is too loud and too ready to lie for its purposes."

— Granny D

Protecting workers with $14m in cuts?

Submitted by Morgan Daybell on Tue, 2009-03-31 14:50
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The VSEA held a rally today at the Statehouse to protest the cuts to state employees proposed by the Governor and the House and Senate leadership. They had over 300 folks on the Statehouse lawn, and then brought most of them up to the Cedar Creek room. Governor Douglas was in the building, and his staff secured a cagey retreat for him through the well of the House and out the back door.  He is as skilled at sneaking away as he is at defining the message. House Majority leader Floyd Nease and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin showed themselves skillful at message craft as well. The Governor had proposed to cut $17m from the State Employees.  The legislature's target is $14m in cuts to State Employees.  When Nease and Shumlin addressed the crowd they tried to make the $14m in cuts they propose for state workers sound like a victory for workers. VSEA members attended the Dem caucus meeting that afternoon (I was not present).  Labor would be wise to ask what the difference is between death by a thousand cuts and death by eight hundred cuts.

Save Our State Rallies

Submitted by Morgan Daybell on Fri, 2009-03-27 22:20
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Activists are calling for rallies across Vermont on Monday to stop the State budget cuts and support a "People's Plan." Rally Locations will be held in: • Burlington: on Church and Main; 5:30pm • Montpelier: at the Pavilion Building, 109 State St; 5:00pm • Bennington: at the Intersection of Rte 7 & Rte 9; 4pm • Brattleboro: at Pliny Park in downtown Brattleboro; 5:30pm • Randolph: at Main St in front of Northfield Savings Bank; 5pm • Middlebury: in the Traffic Island @ Middlebury Inn; 12 Noon • Rutland: on West Street; 5:30pm • Johnson: downtown; 5pm • St Johnsbury: in front of the Athenaeum; 5pm • White River Junction: at the intersection of Routes 5 & 14; 5pm For more details, e-mail Save Our State. Governor Douglas has been arguing that the budget shortfall facing Vermont is a spending problem, and the gap should be closed without raising new revenue, but but rather through program cuts that will primarily affect children, the elderly, and low income Vermonters. As readers here know, many progressives see this as a revenue problem, and that revenues should be adjusted in order to close the gap.  House and Senate leadership seem to be trying to split the difference, raising some additional funds in taxes while cutting some essential services. This from the Workers' Center:
The People's Plan has three main thrusts: ● Maintaining and expanding programs in areas of fundamental need, including human services, housing, education and employment; ● Instituting equitable revenue policies that increase the contribution of the wealthy and tax unearned income at no less than the same rate as other income; ● Establishing a system of universal healthcare that is equitable, is accountable to the people and eliminates all barriers to the enjoyment of the human right to health. Bills that currently constitute the People's Plan include H.100/S.88 (healthcare), H.177 (revenue) and H.257 (public services).
For more information on the People's Plan, visit the Workers' Center site.

Sustainability

Submitted by Chris Pearson on Thu, 2009-03-26 08:39
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Like Sands Through the Hourglass... For ten years now I've been active in the Progressive Party. We're still really small but we still have an oversized influence. I'm not claiming we set the agenda or anything, but we do hold the mayor's seat in our biggest town and we still have more members of the general assembly than any third-party anywhere in the country. Why do we bother? Friends who care to think about politics often wonder what the Progressive Party is all about. What is the point of challenging the massive inertia that is the two-party system?  There are good democrats.  There are independent-thinking Republicans.  Why aren’t we just some of those? To me it’s because we simply need new answers – bold answers that, so far, haven’t been on the minds of the big parties. We’ve reached a time where we have to merge economic policies and environmental policies.  Sustainability must be the refrain.  Economic sustainability will work.  Vermont can produce much of our own food, most of our own services, and thrive.  We can approach full employment and stop driving single-occupant cars everywhere. We must. These solutions can’t be wrapped up in the perfect piece of legislation.  Instead they require an over-arching mind-shift.  Instead of fretting about this microscopic change or that one we need to measure the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of every move they make.
  • Universal health care – self-sufficient is a core principle.
  • Diversified agriculture – sustainability is central.
  • Livable wages – the whole point of a livable wage is to make families self-reliant so we can cut back on government programs and subsidies for businesses that don’t pay enough.
  • Closed waste streams – we cannot fill landfills forever and we cannot extract every last natural resource from the earth without acknowledging there is a finite amount available.  We have to re-use materials again and again – like our predecessors.
  • Renewable, locally controlled energy – the point is to work with the earth, not against it.  And the point isn’t to enrich stockholders; it’s to live a good life.
At the end of the day, solutions have to be local and they have to be fair.  We cannot continue down the road we’re on.  Scientists are yelling, the economy is collapsing and families are on the front lines, feeling the effects up close and personal. We need a new vision.  We have to articulate a strong alternative.  Some will wait for the powers that be to catch on, Progressives will try and lead the way.

A Model for Reducing Energy Use

Submitted by Mike Bayer on Wed, 2009-03-25 09:56
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Whenever main stream politicians and energy companies talk about global warming they warn what a long term and complex process it will be to reverse. Would you believe that a country could consume 34% less kerosene, 37% less LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and 80% less gasoline 2 years? That little island 90 miles from Florida did just that. In fact, Cuba's per capita energy consumption is now one- eighth that of the US. In fact a recent WWF report found that Cuba is the only country on the planet that is approaching a sustainable level of development.

Ways Weighs Tax Cut for the Wealthiest VTers

Submitted by Doug Hoffer on Tue, 2009-03-24 12:55
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The Legislature is finally considering some revenue options to help close the budget gap. Unfortunately, they include some terrible provisions. The House Ways & Means Committee is discussing three versions of a plan to implement a Snelling-like temporary surcharge but they would all eliminate the top marginal tax rate in the out years. That's right. They are actually considering lowering taxes on the wealthiest Vermonters. This is very bad policy and suggests that the House leadership does not think it has the votes to override a gubernatorial veto.  [The alternative is that some Dems think this is actually a good idea.  Since that is too scary to contemplate, I'll just assume it's about counting heads.] In any event, I've tried to make the case that cutting taxes on wealthy Vermonters makes no sense economically or fiscally.  My testimony is available here.

Misplaced Outrage?

Submitted by Ross Laffan on Mon, 2009-03-23 22:39
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Lots of people are telling us we just aren't keeping the numbers in perspective when we complain about the bonuses being paid to AIG executives.  A report on CNN'S Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull displayed a splashy graphic showing a tiny dot representing the $165 million dollars bonuses and a gigantic one representing the total bailout.  The point was that our outrage is misplaced, that $165 isn't really that much.  The reporter then interviewed a "financial expert" who told us the underlying cause of the financial meltdown is very complex and that it's much easier for the public to be outraged by the bonuses being paid because it's easier for us to understand.  Yes, I thought the same thing:  They think we're stupid. I'm not embarrassed to say that I don't understand the underlying causes of the meltdown.  Afterall, the so-called experts don't understand either.  What I do understand is that we're not only paying for the bonuses (insignificant though they may be) but we're also paying for the bailout.  Our outrage isn't misplaced.  We need to be more outraged.  From my point of view it's been a long time since the people in Washington have been the least bit concerned about the outrage of the people at home.  It's refreshing to know they might be starting to listen.

Vermont Has Questions on Recovery Act

Submitted by Vermont Progres... on Sat, 2009-03-21 00:00
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March 21, 2009, WCAX, by Andy Potter

Vermont officials are still waiting to hear the details about the upcoming federal stimulus money under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Green Mountain state stands to get close to $950 million. Some of it will be used to plug a deficit in the state budget. But what about the stimulus -- or job creation -- part of it?

It's been two weeks since hundreds of Vermonters packed into the first of two meetings on what to expect from Vermont's share of federal stimulus money. Mayor Bob Kiss, P-Burlington, said, "A billion dollars into the state has to have an impact. Whether it's going to move our economy forward dramatically -- who knows?"

Kiss says the uncertainty is due to the fact that even now, federal officials have not specified exactly how the money will be allowed to be used. But the city has drawn up a list of projects -- based on the jobs that would be created. Such as school building renovations. Community & Economic Development director Larry Kupferman said, "We'll be meeting with state officials now, in understanding what's available to the city, especially infrastructure. Grants versus loans, and so on."

Burlington has 32 projects that city officials think would qualify for federal recovery money, although no one expects that more than a fraction would get any. One obvious project is the Burlington waterfront bike path, a $3.5 million project. It's almost thirty years old, badly in need of repair and with no other source of funding."

Recovery Act grants for projects like the bike path will probably be awarded on a competitive basis. Others appear to be a sure thing, such as home weatherization -- more than $17 million headed to Vermont to improve home energy efficiency.

But there are questions. Tim Searles, who heads the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, wonders how that much money can be spent effectively when the stimulus runs out in less than two years. "Creating jobs is great," he said, "but not if they go away eighteen months from now. That's the over-riding concern right now about the stimulus money. When it goes away, then what?"

That's a question for which there is no immediate answer, although Vermont political leaders may have more to say on that at a second stimulus meeting set for Brattleboro on March 30.

Andy Potter - WCAX News

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Wealth Flight

Submitted by Morgan Daybell on Fri, 2009-03-20 12:10
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Lord knows that Governor Douglas attempts to stick to the Karl Rove playbook, stating untruths over and over again in the hope that the public begins to believe him. Expect another refrain of "It is true it is true it is true IT IS TRUE!" to come out of the Governor's office in response to a recent NYT article, highlighting a study debunking the rich flight myth:
New Jersey raised taxes on the wealthy in 2004, increasing by 2.6 percent the tax rate levied on those making more than $500,000 a year; and Gov. Jon S. Corzine this month proposed a new increase on high earners. But a study by Professor Massey and two colleagues, published in September, estimated that the previous tax increase cost New Jersey only 50 to 350 existing “half-millionaire” households — a relatively small number against the total of 44,000 such households in the state. While those departures cost the state about $38 million a year in revenue, the study estimates, the higher taxes levied on those who stayed have brought in an average of $895 million a year.
Douglas's arguments never had any internal logic--if Vermont truly was one of the highest taxed states, and the wealthy flee high tax states, wouldn't they already be gone?  In that NYT article, a spokesman from the conservative Empire Center think tank calls the argument that the wealthy would flee a "dumb point." In Vermont, the legislature should pass the Snelling surcharge, and nationally we should broaden the AIG bonus tax idea, and return to the marginal tax rates we had under President Nixon.  Or Ford. Or Reagan.

Progressives Bring a Needed Voice

Submitted by Meg Brook on Thu, 2009-03-19 16:27
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I believe our strength, be in in our family, town, state, country or the world, comes from our diversity. Diversity brings more ideas, different perspectives, a welcome environment and a stronger message. With this as a central belief I can never be satisfied by a two political party system. How could I expect every American or every Vermonter to fit into two categories? Progressives have consistently brought new and forward thinking ideas to the Statehouse and to the public. In case it has been forgotten, we have been talking about insuring every Vermonter for over a decade now and have run two statewide campaigns based totally around the message of universal health care. Those candidates may not have won office but they played a central role in broadening understanding of the issue of health care and giving people information and voice to talk about their needs. Most acknowledge the majority of Vermonters oppose the war in Iraq but how many parties passed resolutions to oppose the war? Progressives did, and even this session are introducing another resolution opposing the war. Some would try to cage us as a bunch of peace lovers or hippies but the reasoning goes far beyond that. When discussing issues such as they war we are considering the cost to local communities, families and our state. The burden placed when our valuable citizens are taken away. And we are questioning the authority of the President to continue a war built on lies. Progressives have been a consistent and central voice opposing nuclear power and Vermont Yankee, highlighting the connection between nuclear energy and cancer, questioning regulations placing the burden of cleaning up the plant more on Vermonters, and speaking out when incorrect and misleading information is used to scare Vermonters away from truly reliable energy. So I ask, how can we ensure different voices at the table without opening our state and statehouse to other political parties? How can we avoid the "us" versus "them" game played by Democrats and Republicans unless we add players and perspectives? Sure it could weaken the two existing parties or it could force them to really examine their beliefs and work together with others to form coalitions that work for the people instead of for big money. If you have a better idea of how to bring multiple perspectives to the table let me know. And if you are excited or have seen the positive voice and alternative perspective Progressives bring let others know. Wear a button, tell your friends, post a comment here or on our facebook page, and maybe even consider running for office.

Ideas for Burlington garden park begin to take shape

Submitted by Vermont Progres... on Sun, 2009-03-15 00:00
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March 15, 2009, the Burlington Free Press, by John Briggs

Myrtle Street Garden activist Maggie Standley threw a garden party Saturday and no one came.

No kids came, at least, and just one neighborhood parent.

The occasion was a garden design session Saturday at Lawrence Barnes School, and about 10 adults showed up -- two of them Burlington officials, and most of the others from elsewhere in the city than the Old North End.

One neighborhood woman, Jen Berger from Decatur Street, said she attended to explore garden options.

Neighborhood activists called their idea the "Avant Garden" as they worked last spring to persuade the city to buy the tiny lot on the one-block street to forestall a developer's plan to build a house there.

The Parks and Recreation Department, with a limited maintenance budget, had reservations about the plan, but Mayor Bob Kiss supported it -- "Pocket parks have value," he said. The City Council ultimately agreed 10-4 to spend $69,000 from the Conservation Legacy Fund to make the purchase.

[Full Story]

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Douglas worsening the crisis

Submitted by Morgan Daybell on Fri, 2009-03-13 13:43
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This from a press release sent out earlier this week:
Progressive Legislators stated clearly today that they oppose the Governors proposed job cuts. Considering the State employees had come up with a reasonable approach to reducing costs for one year while we examine the structural challenges, these cuts smack of pure ideology, and not sound fiscal frugality. In one specific example, a position cut in the Water Quality Division helps farmers comply with water quality standards, thus keeping Lake Champlain cleaner.  This position is 75% funded by Federal dollars.  Not only is this position good for our drinking water and tourism, it is also a smart use of state money, leveraging $3 with only $1 of State resources.
That's right. Douglas would throw away $3 Federal dollars to cut one state dollar.  And in the process, that is one more person unemployed.  No longer purchasing stuff, no longer paying income taxes, now drawing unemployment. Rep. David Zuckerman in the release:
“The Governor’s actions make clear that he is not proposing cuts in order to deal with the financial crisis—rather he is using the financial crisis to justify cuts in programs that the people of Vermont want continued.”
And making the financial crisis worse in the short term.

Regional Forum on Health Reform

Submitted by Traven Leyshon on Tue, 2009-03-10 08:35
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The Obama Administration has asked governors to host regional forums on health reform. The forum in Vermont is on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th at the Davis Center, UVM, hosted by Governor Douglas and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. This should be the beginning of a serious dialogue that recognizes that health care is a human right. Fundamental health reform - which enjoys solid majority support from the public - has become even more urgently needed with the severe economic recession. But we’re told by a Douglas spokesperson, “the session may have a limited guest list.” The President has promised an open, transparent process, with all proposals considered -- yet there’s no information about how to participate! The Labor Campaign for Single Payer is joining with the Health Care is a Human Right campaign, Vermont Health Care for All and others to organize a peaceful protest in front of the summit meeting at noon - hopefully in support of single-payer/improved Medicare for All spokespersons inside the meeting. This is also our opportunity to expose the Douglas administration’s attacks on the right to healthcare with his cuts to the state budget and demand he sign the single-payer bill H100. If there ever was a day to drop what you are doing and come, this is it. We need to speak up now to ensure that our voice is heard. The stakes are too high to allow special interests to hijack a discussion whose outcome affects Vermonters lives and livelihoods. We call on Governor Douglas to give real reform the fair and open hearing that it deserves. We are concerned that no single-payer/improved Medicare for All, voices would be present inside the meeting. Millions of people are losing their employer-sponsored health insurance, joining the 46 million who already lack coverage. Millions more, including those with insurance, are finding it harder to pay their co-pays and deductibles and are scrimping on their medications and doctor visits. Many go without care, risking their health and often their very lives. If anyone should be excluded from this summit it should be the representatives of the health insurance industry. These are the people who caused the crisis in the first place. They will move heaven and earth to continue to deny people the healthcare justice that citizens of all other industrialized countries enjoy. But according to Susan Besio, of the Douglas administration, there are similarities between the president's plans and the governor's approach, starting with that both see a role for insurance companies in the health care industry. The private, for-profit health insurance companies add cost but no value to the health care system. See: Health Insurance CEOs Pocket Average $14.2 Million. Fix Healthcare, End Vermont's Budget Crisis: National legislation like HR 676, or state legislation like H100, would solve Vermont’s budget problems. The State would save over $80 million per year on employee health care costs if HR 676 is adopted. Over three years, we would save $240 million – equal to the estimated budget deficit from FY09 to FY11. This doesn’t even include savings for the cost of health care for retirees or the medical portion of Workers Compensation. See the resolution adopted by the Vermont AFL-CIO Convention for HR 676 - Single Payer Universal Health Care. As long as we rely on private health insurers, the human right to healthcare will be deemed unaffordable. See Times Argus article: Douglas in middle on health care.

Healthcare Ice Jam

Submitted by John Bloch on Mon, 2009-03-09 12:22
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Well here we are in the first part of March and the ice jam in the Legislature is still as tight as if it were the middle of January. There is no movement on either S.88, which has over half of the Senate as co-sponsors, or on H.100. In fact, this writer has contacted several members of the House Health Care Committee, including its chair, and received but one response (and that not from the chair). So I guess that any attempt to straighten out the health insurance mess is beyond the capabilities of our Senators or Representatives. And while we beat our collective chests about the value of local control, it appears that we are waiting for Uncle--that being Uncle Sam--to do our work.  See announcement of the March 17 health summit, and you can tell it is a "summit," as only the gods (or is it lords) of the health industry are allowed in. But wait, we all are screaming at the top of our collective lungs about the outrageous tax bite that the state and federal governments take. Why is it that there is little research being conducted as to the unnecessary costs that are piled onto our health costs by insurance enterprises, a medical trade cartel, and the so-called not-for-profit Hospitals that are doing well at our expense? Oh! I almost forgot big drug companies and the obscene profits that they are raking in. Why, when we go before the House or Senate committees, do they not have the needed data to make decisions?  Is it a case of need or of convenience?

Affordable housing opens on King Street

Submitted by Vermont Progres... on Sun, 2009-03-08 01:00
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March 8, 2009, the Burlington Free Press, by Tim Johnson

Amid the continuing public drumbeat for more affordable housing, there was a figurative crashing of cymbals Saturday morning on Burlington's King Street.

The occasion was the grand opening of a four-story building that comprises 20 apartments, two commercial spaces, and a new headquarters for the anchor tenant that spearheaded the $10 million project, the Champlain Housing Trust.

On hand for the ribbon cutting was Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who helped secure some of the financing -- a $434,000 grant from Housing and Urban Development. Funding partners included Housing Vermont, NeighborWorks America and the city of Burlington, which allotted more than $1.2 million in loans and grants for construction.

The 20 apartments consist of two efficiencies, 16 one-bedrooms and two two-bedrooms. Including heat and hot water, the single-bedroom rent starts at $630 a month. Seventeen of the apartments are deemed "permanently affordable," according to a news release issued by the Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont, and three rent at market rates. The building, eight years in the planning, was described as "highly energy-efficient" and awaiting LEED certification as a "green building."

The trust's headquarters accommodate 45 employees and occupy one of three commercial spaces totaling 13,500 square feet. The building, at 88 King St. across from the King Street Youth Center, is part of a two-acre redevelopment plan initiated by Redstone Commercial Group. The block is also bordered Main, St. Paul and Pine streets.

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New Burlington City Council contains even split of men, women

Submitted by Vermont Progres... on Sun, 2009-03-08 01:00
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March 8, 2009, the Burlington Free Press, by John Briggs

Burlington's City Council will play a subdued version of musical chairs April 6, Organization Day, as five new councilors look for a seat.

Four of those newcomers are women.

They are Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, P-Ward 2, Marrisa Caldwell, P-Ward 3, Nancy Kaplan, D-Ward-4, and Mary Kehoe, D-Ward 6.

Their election last week makes the new council a 50-50 split, gender-wise: seven men and seven women. Beyond its gender division, the new council will have seven or eight Democrats (depending on the results of the run-off election on March 24 in Ward 7 between Democrat Eli Lesser-Goldsmith and Republican Vincent Dober), one or two Republicans, three Progressives and two independents.

Significant?

Joan Shannon, D-Ward 5, re-elected Tuesday to a new two-year term, agrees with long-time independent Sharon Bushor, from Ward 1, that the symbolism is more important than any gender effect on policy.

"I don't think we'll be voting along gender lines," Shannon said.

"The significance is that young women will see all of these women in leadership roles, and that's important," said Bushor, a former council president.

Caldwell said she has been so focused on her campaign that the gender division of the council hadn't occurred to her.

"That's great," she said. "Women are 50 percent of the population, and in this city we ought to be able at least to match that in city government. It's good to have a variety of perspectives."

Women, she said by way of example, may understand more viscerally than men "what it's like to work in a job that's often under-valued, or work from home while caring for children."

[Full Story]

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