What will it take to keep a Progressive out of the race for Governor in 2010? That is a question that I am often asked. And, of course, I say it will take a candidate who will stand up and fight hard on the following issues:
Enacting a Single Payer Health [...]I just read that the American Farm Bureau recently reported that the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is down 3.8 percent from last year. This is the steepest drop since 2000. According to the farm bureau the items accounting for most of the drop is whole milk which is [...]
As we continue to see the unemloyment pool shift toward permanent job losses it’s not surprising to learn that shoplifting is on the rise. Reports show that the recession has sparked a 6 percent increase in shoplifting. Here in Vermont, the sad reality is that many Vermonters who have lost [...]
On Thursday, a group of people, including former Gov. Phil Hoff, Anthony Pollina and Dave Zuckerman, Ben and Jerry and representatives from VPIRG and Greenpeace, held a press conference to kick off an effort to get a resolution asking the legislature to: 1) close VT Yankee in 2012, 2) require [...]
I’m not an economist by trade, but I do know a little about finances because I am one of the many working class Vermonters trying to live and get by in these tough economic times. It has been my experience that many working folks can’t seem to get ahead because [...]
Last night I was watching TV and noticed a Christmas ad from Best Buy that promoted $300 headphones. 300 dollars! This seems extreme. I don’t think I spent that much money on my whole stereo.
It reminds me of something I’ve noticed over the last few years having to do with [...]
As state government turns over every rock in search of budget savings, the Vermont Judiciary has not been spared. Interestingly, although the Judiciary is an independent third arm in our system of checks and balances, its budget is controlled by the legislature and the governor. Last spring, the Chief Justice [...]
By an overwhelming margin, most states tax their middle- and low-income families far more heavily than the wealthy, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy.
“In the coming months, lawmakers across the nation will be forced to make difficult decisions about budget-balancing tax changes¬which [...]
Now that at least one candidate for Governor has affirmed that there will be hearings in the Senate on S.88 (universal health care), it is time to now squeeze the same commitment out of the chair of the House Healthcare committee, and hold hearings on H-100.
Rep. Steve Maier, [...]
I find it so frustrating when an issue that simply can’t be ignored is so played on in the press and by politicians that all regular people want to do is stop hearing about it. I had been feeling that way about health care for about a year but now [...]
A “Vermont” Democrat makes national news.
In the winter of 2008 Peter Galbraith asked me to sit down for coffee. He knew I was close to Anthony Pollina and wanted to talk to me about finding a way where he might be the challenger to Jim Douglas, in a head to [...]
Below is a memo I sent to the Joint Fiscal Committee. It deals with the VEPC/VEGI background growth rate issue I blogged about on August 13. The issue is on the JFC’s agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. This is an opportunity for the committee (including two gubernatorial candidates) to finally [...]
After my recent inquiry into state services and attempting to get information from Catamount for a constituent, I am imagining what it might be like for folks out there who have been laid off, forced into early retirement, or who are falling off the unemployment lines, trying to get state [...]
Ray Shadis will speak at the Progressive Convention on November 14th. Ray did not set out to be an activist in the nuclear power battles. Like so many activists, he got engaged because of problems in his own back yard. The following background information on Shadis is taken from [...]
Recently, I was watching a morning show that was highlighting the end of this decade and decades before, along with some of the products of the 70’s that changed the world and our lives. Of course, the seventies were my days and over the years my children have heard me [...]
John Bloch’s Oct. 26th blog on the skyrocketing in-state cost of health care is sobering. As I read the myths, horror stories, lies and other information in the health care reform discussion, what amazes me most is how many intelligent, otherwise well-informed people believe that health care must be [...]
The recent issues in the news about Burlington Telecom (BT) have obscured one of the most important facets of our efforts in Burlington: providing a high quality and local alternative to large conglomerates like Comcast and Fairpoint. These large companies in effect create monopoly conditions where consumers are subject to [...]
This morning I read that the State of Vermont has just contracted with an out of state firm, TPI, to advise the State of Vermont on using IT more efficiently and cost-effectively. This equals dollars leaving the state. David Tucker, the interim Commissioner and State CIO says that “IT is [...]
As I’m sure other legislators have heard from state employees, I too recently heard a compelling story which for me symbolizes the irrational layoffs that are happening in state government today.
These stories are not something that we can be proud of as a state, nor should we be proud of [...]
Chris Pearson, Rep. Susan Davis, Martha Abbott, Meg Brook, Elizabeth Skarie, John Bloch, Traven Leyshon, Rep. Sandy Haas, Doug Hoffer, Morgan Daybell
