News, Events, Announcements

Vermont Government Transparency Site Goes Live!
The new website, a joint venture of Ethan Allen Institute and Public Assets Institute, has a wealth of information about state revenues and spending, both current and historical. Please go here and take a look: http://www.vttransparency.org

We The People of Vermont
We urge all members to fill out this non-partisan survey located at: wethepeoplevt.com

See the results of the pole here.

Announcement
And now, a public service announcement. more...

Act 250 Site
Go directly to the Act 250 site. more...

City of Rutland
View the City of Rutland web site. more...

The Facts Speak for Themselves...

Businesses are reaching a breaking point and can no longer be the fallback to fund current and pending legislation.  We must cut spending and over regulation in order to enhance the business climate in Vermont.

The facts speak for themselves:

Employment

5,000 jobs have been lost since February 2010, however, government jobs, which account for only 18.78% of the total jobs, increased by 900.  The actual loss of private sector jobs is 5,900 jobs between February and July of 2010.

Taxes

The Index, published by the Tax Foundation, ranks states based on the taxes that matter most to businesses: Corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax and property tax. For the year 2009, Vermont ranked 43rd on the index for business tax climate with 1 being the best and 50th at the bottom.

Vermont Income Tax Returns Personal Income

We keep hearing that the taxes on the rich should be increased.  However, the numbers of the rich are decreasing in Vermont. In 2007 Vermont had 531 tax returns with income at or above $1 million dollars, in 2008 there were 400. For income tax returns between $500,000 up to $1 million there were 1,040 in 2007 and 795 in 2008. Income Tax Receipts between SFY 2008 – 2009 fell about 15%.

Personal Income Ranking

Since the recession “officially” ended in June 2009, Vermont ranks 44th out of 51 (District of Columbia included) for personal income.  Prior to the recession ending in June 2009, Vermont ranked 25th.

Funding Education 

In the last decade, total net education property taxes have gone from $450 million to $900 million, which pays for only about 2/3s of the cost of education.  In addition, approximately half of income taxes, a third of sales taxes and a third of the purchase and use tax, state lottery, Medicaid reimbursement, and Vermont Yankee go to pay the total bill. 

Households using at least one major welfare program (March 2007, 2008, 2009)
Vermont ranked 5th, with 1 being the highest percentage of use, at 26.4% of all households.

Share without health insurance (March 2007, 2008, 2009)
Vermont ranked 42nd, with 1 being the highest percentage without insurance, at 10.2% of Vermont’s population without health care coverage.

AGE of Population
Currently, Vermont is the 2nd oldest population over the age of 64, 1st in the nation for population between 50-54, and sadly 51st (including Washington DC) in the 25-29 age bracket.

Please look at the records of the candidates running for office and choose carefully – our futures depend on it. 

HELP THE CANDIDATES

Share information regarding the issues and voting records of the candidates with friends and employees, write letters-to-the-editor, send a check, put out a lawn sign, offer your time.