The Vermont delegation in Washington struggles to get an additional $20 million for heating oil before winter sets in. One hopes, of course, that they succeed. And they should. In the Imperial City, $20 million is chump change. The crooks and incompetents who ran Fannie Mae into the ground and put the entire economy in jeopardy paid themselves that much in "bonuses."
Coming out of this winter, it ought to be the objective of Vermont – and any other self-respecting sovereign state – to free itself from this degrading dependency on the political log rolling skills of a few professional pols. We shouldn't have to be grateful to the Imperial City, or to our legislators, for the luxury of staying warm in the winter.
It should be pointed out that none of the three pols Vermont has sent down to Washington to pass the beggar's bowl is in favor of drilling for more oil.
I know I'll get flamed for this, but here goes. Vermont has had a 'weatherization' program for over 20 years. In that time we could have worked on all of the deficient dwellings in the state. If folks can't efficently heat the dwelling, why not move the occupants to some place warm (like Mississippi) and demolish the structure. Do this instead of spending tax money to buy 'precious' fuel to heat a drafty, substandard home. Wouldn't this be the best social justice solution, Comrade? If you're going to live where winter happens, you gotta be prepared to pay for it.
Posted by: Lazarus Long | July 28, 2008 at 09:08 AM
Great idea- let's put all the poor people in gov't housing in say New Orleans. Better yet don't subsidize housing or heat. If folks can't afford to heat their VT houses let them move or be cold. Moot points anyway global warming will fix this problem forever.
Posted by: GreggB | July 28, 2008 at 12:26 PM