Six years on House Education Committee and current ranking memberJobs
Vermont’s economic strength is in its small businesses that include a strong manufacturing sector. Vermont’s unemployment rate is the 5th lowest in the country, and we have one of the highest entrepreneurial start-up business rates, 5th or 6th, in the country. Young entrepreneurs with their families should be encouraged to start businesses and settle in our communities. The best way to do this is by supporting improved access to capital, expedited permitting, and education.Health Care
The Green Mountain Care Board’s goal of providing health care coverage for all Vermonters (over 40,000 adults are uninsured) should be supported. More than $200M of federal funds has been targeted to sustain their efforts. The annual cost of health care in Vermont of $5B is having a severe impact on the private and public sectors. The board intends to restrain cost increases and realizes that without adequate funding, coverage for all Vermonters might not happen – much depends on federal support. No one who currently has coverage will lose it. Many entrenched interests in the medical arena are resisting reform, as happened in Massachusetts, but Massachusetts now has a favorable rating of above 60% for their new health care program.
Energy Policy
A long-term energy policy that increases use of renewables and conservation must be strengthened. As chair of the Rural Economic Development Group, next term will focus on biomass, particularly trees, for electrical generation.
How we adopt to the reality of global warming will have a profound impact on how we live, consume, work, travel, recreate - just about everything. As legislators we have to lead the way.
Education
Equal education access for all students cannot be compromised. The need to improve early education, including PreK, and to better prepare students for their first three years of elementary school must be prioritized along with need to better prepare high school graduates for employment and higher education. As chair of the Prek-16 Council, these two goals have already been set. Support for districts and supervisory unions to merge or share resources without imposed consolidation will continue.
Tax Policy
Vermont has the most progressive tax policy in the country with graduated rates both for income and corporate taxes. We also have more deductibles and a statewide property tax for education that other states don’t have. National tax comparisons most often don’t account for these distinctions. Vermont also has the highest bond rating than any other New England state. Tax policy should continue to be reviewed to preserve fairness and the ability to pay and to adjust to the changing dynamics of our state’s economy.
