Vermont Tiger

Fantasy Energy Policies

A Meeting with our Congressman
by
John McClaughry

            Last week I had occasion to be in a meeting featuring Congressman Peter Welch. Now I will make this confession: I have known Peter since 1974. I like him. I believe he is intelligent and honest.
            Having said that, let me report on the meeting. Peter spent a few minutes speaking to the energy issue. The energy program of his party is to raise taxes on fossil fuels, raise taxes on oil companies, promote drilling in places where there isn’t any oil, prohibit drilling in places where there is oil, and prosecute King Abdullah under the Sherman antitrust act. Not a very promising program, if you ask me.

McClaughry On The WalMart Shakedown

The Corrupt Government Squeeze on WalMart
by
John McClaughry

          The long regulatory battle over the proposed WalMart in St. Albans Town may at last be nearing its conclusion. On July 7 the Environmental Court will hear appeals of six permits that together will allow WalMart's developer, JLD Properties of Burlington, to build the long-awaited new superstore.

          St. Albans Town planners had anticipated commercial development at Exit 20 since 1972. In 1993 WalMart first proposed a 100,000 sq ft store at that location. The Town issued a zoning permit. WalMart agreed to pay for water and sewer line extensions. The District Environmental Commission issued an Act 250 permit.

Rutland Herald Reader Objects to McClaughry

A Rutland Herald reader took our friend John McClaughry to task, apparently for this quote in a recent commentary piece:

"There are two reasons for Vermont's low ratio. One is a large number of small rural schools with necessarily small classes. The other is the profusion of teachers and aides, many of the latter put into the classroom to manage mainstreamed special education pupils."

Interestingly enough, the reader, who once sued for school choice, felt compelled to attack the best friend the school choice movement has ever had in Vermont.

One does not have to be an opponent of inclusion philosophically to know that the current model of it is not working.   First of all, for the severely impaired, inclusion in regular education classrooms is receding from its high water mark.  Many schools now have life skills classes and off-site facilities.  Arguably, the severely impaired are no longer included.

For those with mild learning disabilities, their inclusion experience is clearly not working.  Only 5 percent of the testable special needs tenth graders in Vermont are proficient in math.  Only 6 percent are proficient in writing.  Only 8 percent are proficient in reading.  And what do we expect?  These kids get much of their instruction from aides that have more tattoos than teeth.

From the Chairman

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
by
Jack Harding

I wasn’t sure I could write this again.  So you are now warned that perhaps you shouldn’t read it.

But if you have seen the news today about Vermont’s unemployment rate being at a 14 year high and IBM piling on with a layoff of their own, you now know why I dusted off my favorite soapbox:  This state is going to hell and no one cares.  We are not talking about exotic things like the risk to the endowment for the arts….we are talking about jobs.  You know….feed your kids…pay your rent….gas for the car….heat your house. (This year you may have to pick three of the four).

And where are our elected officials on this subject?  Catch any press conferences from Governor Douglas?  Has Ms. Symington issued any bold announcement on how her contingency plan crafted during the last session will now be put into effect?  NO and NO.  Why, because they are about to run for Governor of our fair state and they can’t afford to be asked tough questions about their policies or lack thereof.  If it’s IBM we wish to discuss they can’t get near it because the only conclusion we, the citizens, can draw is they have no plans, no control, no…well, anything that might help.

Emerson Lynn on Politics

Will IBM's layoffs prod Vermont into action?

    Early next week IBM is supposedly scheduled to announce layoffs.  The speculation is running rampant as to whether the number will be large or small, as if comfort could be derived from either. One way or another, people will lose their jobs and their security, and some grit is tossed into the gears that drive the state’s economy.
    Predictably, we will rub our hands and wonder aloud as to what could have been done. Those who complain about the governor’s penchant for complaining about the state’s anti-business reputation will retreat, looking a bit Pollyannish trying to suggest that Vermont is in full bloom.
    In truth, there probably isn’t anything that Vermont could do to change the employment picture at the IBM plant in Essex. Not now. We will always wonder whether that opportunity was lost in 2001 when the company announced its plans to build its new chip-making plant in Fishkill, N.Y. – the largest capital investment in its history.

Emerson Lynn on Politics

Will IBM's future ever prompt Vt.
to wake up?

The fiscal controls that govern the state’s economic development program seem to be functioning within legislative guidelines, according to a recent report by state auditor Tom Salmon. The report includes some recommendations as to how the tax incentive program could be improved, but the performance targets and the annual $10 million cap provide the state the assurance that its limits are not exceeded and that taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.
    Mr. Salmon’s audit is a perfunctory exercise, with no political accent one direction or another. His task is to look at how the Vermont Economic Progress Council is administering the year-old Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program. As Mr. Salmon wrote, his job is to ensure that in a time of scarce resources each dollar is being properly spent.

McClaughry On Cost-Effective Education

Education Costs and Results
by
John McClaughry

Each year the American Legislative Exchange Council publishes a thick document ranking the states on the academic achievement of their public school pupils. Here's the good news: Vermont ranked number 3 overall. But before we go out to celebrate, it's worth taking a closer look at the top five states.

Minnesota led the nation at number one. Perhaps the earliest state to embark on post -WWII educational innovation, the reform-minded Gopher State is the birthplace of public school choice (1980s) and the charter school movement (1991). In 1997 its Republican Governor and Democratic-controlled legislature adopted a bipartisan package of family tax credits and deductions for both public and private educational expenses.

Emerson Lynn On Politics

Lake controversy polluted by political motives

Politicians should be loathe to criticize objectives that have their fingerprints upon them.  And when Democrat Gaye Symington sides with the Bush administration on any issue, it’s probably a good idea to check one’s moorings.
    The issue is the scolding the EPA gave Vermont for its efforts to clean up the waters of Lake Champlain. In essence, the agency said too little, too late, no results. The Douglas administration responded in kind, saying the agency’s observations were “out of touch, scientifically baseless and another indication of this administration’s unwillingness to provide effective national leadership on environmental issues.”
    Not to be left out, Ms. Symington jumped in – on the side of the Bush Administration – saying: “After six years in charge, the Douglas administration has not delivered results in cleaning up Lake Champlain, and Vermont is stuck in neutral on a critical issue.”

Power Grab

The Multibillion Dollar Energy Tax
by
John McClaughry

This week the U.S. Senate begins debate on the Lieberman-Warner "greenhouse gas cap and trade" bill. The bill proposes what the Wall Street Journal has called  "the most extensive government reorganization of the economy since the 1930s".

If that formulation doesn't alarm you, try this one: Last year the Congressional Budget Office - controlled by the Democrats - reported that, depending on the final version of the bill, it will tax from $50 to $300 billion per year (in 2007 dollars) out of the economy by 2020. Every dime of this is a hidden tax that will ultimately be paid by consumers: industries like IBM, OMYA, and the Vermont ski industry, plus Joe's Machine Shop, Farmer Brown, Marilyn Motorist, and you.

Emerson Lynn On Politics

Mr. Pollina continues to toy with Democrats

   

Politics is about the spin, and being spun, and yesterday Vermonters, and, in particular, the media, were spun.  It was Anthony Pollina’s moment, that sought after spot of incandescence that illuminates the candidate to the exclusion of others. He saw the opportunity, and he played it as Chopin would play his Polonaise Op. 53, flourishes included.
    The opportunity was one provided by the Democrats who are still fumbling for a candidate to oppose Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie. When political newcomer and universal health care advocate Deborah Richter unexpectedly declined to make her bid against Mr. Dubie, an opening, of sorts, was created.  Mr. Pollina would drop his gubernatorial bid and run for Lt. Gov. and the Democrats would back him as they backed Bernie Sanders in his senatorial bid, by not offering a candidate of their own. Mr. Pollina would have a one-on-one shot against Mr. Dubie, and Gaye Symington, the Democratic candidate for governor would have a one-on-one shot at incumbent Jim Douglas.
    Everybody wins.
    Except Pollina.