Fixing things and solving problems is my passion.
LIST OF ISSUES
Property Tax / Education Spending
Vermont's ever increasing education spending has resulted in ever increasing property taxes. High property taxes equals higher rent. High property taxes have given us a housing shortage and has stifled new and existing business construction.
Regarding property tax relief there is widespread agreement that Vermont's education system has to many employees and a shrinking student population. How to reduce cost by shrinking the payroll is the challenge.
The cost of education is about $ 28818 per pupal in Vermont. Of all the 50 states only, New York pays more per pupal then Vermont. About 80% of education cost is staff employment. Vermont's staff to student ratio is 4.7 students per staff member. Staff includes teachers, student to teacher ratio is 10.1 per teacher. Vermont has the highest staff members per student of all the states. Vermont doesn't have the abundance of wealthy property as a tax base to support this level of education spending.
Legislation and your wallet.
1) Healthcare: When it comes to healthcare, I am in agreement with the Republican plan stated in the (Vermont Promise): 1) Give Health insurers greater flexibility to offer more affordable, accessible coverage options, and increase the number of health insurers in Vermont. 2) Reduce the burden of rising health insurance premiums so employers can attract workers, businesses can grow, and families can access the care they need. 3) Ensure a regulatory framework for hospitals and insurers that promote predictability, stability, and affordability by setting multi-year budget and premium targets.
2) Act 181, Current status: Good news the road rule and tier 3 provisions of Act 181 have been repealed. I believe Act 181 should be fully repealed because the Land Use Review Board (LURB) created to implement Act 181 is still in place and has expanded authority over Act 250 permits. As stated in H. 687, in order to get on the 5 member LURB board it states you must have a commitment to (Environmental Justice). Not a commitment to property rights, not a commitment to rural economic development or a commitment to local governance but, a commitment to an often rigid, sometimes extreme, environmental ideology. As a State Representative I look forward to making much needed common-sense changes to Act 250.
3) A new payroll tax of 0.44 % has been added to pay for the new childcare bill. Most likely underfunded expect this tax to be higher in the future. I look forward to working with other legislators on making childcare more affordable.
4) DMV fees are up 20% this year. $91 for a 1-year license renewal.
% H 829 raises income tax on individuals making over $500,000 from 8.75 %to 11.75$. This rate is the second highest in the nation. This bill makes Vermont more unaffordable to live in. Have you ever been employed by a poor person?
5) Bill s.259 Vermont's Climate Superfund act. This feel-good legislation seeks to make oil companies pay for climate damages in Vermont. The cost of litigation for Vermont is very, very high. With almost no chance of winning. Even if successful big oil doesn't pay the bill, you do in higher gas prices.
Education
I am a firm believer in that if you don't set high standards, the individual most likely won't achieve them. This is true for students, teachers and even parents. This state needs to focus less on equity of education funding and more on making sure the student has learned the basics at a satisfactory level. As a legislator a goal of mine is increased education in the trades. This state has a shortage of tradesmen. The pay is good, and the individuals don't end up with high student loan dept.
Law and order
Progress has been made but it is a never-ending battle. I look forward as a state representative to help are law enforcement do a better job. Prosecutors need to prosecute. A repeat offender has many victims. Violent criminals need to be locked up.
I support the (Vermont Promise) Republicans goal to advance a constitutional amendment in 2027 to reform Vermont's bail system and keep repeat and violent offenders from endangering communities while awaiting trial. We must also repeal the Vermont raise the age laws.
Environment and energy production
I am a old school practical conservationist. I am old enough to remember the nineteen seventies when smog was a real problem in are cities and acid rain damage was a real thing. The automotive industry stepped up to the plate. Today with modern fuel injection and catalytic converters the modern automobile runs much cleaner and are cities are healthier to live in.
The Far left democrats war on fossil fuels is a major reason we have inflation, it doesn't have to be. if you drive an electric car that is your choice but in actuality you are doing little to nothing on reducing co2 emissions. It is an expensive mistake for local state and federal governments to push electric cars. What does have promise and produces zero co2 emissions is hydrogen fuel cells and combustible engines created to run on hydrogen. Safe modern nuclear power plants emit zero co2 emissions and is the only power source that could bring Vermont close to zero co2 emissions. I will push for nuclear energy, but it is very unlikely we will see a nuclear power plant in Vermont anytime soon. Hydropower is a good constant carbon free way to produce electricity in Vermont. Today almost half of Vermont's energy production is hydro generated. Most importantly hydro is affordable. As a state representative, when it comes to energy, first and foremost it must pass the affordability test.
Climate change?
I will concede that the earth's temperature has risen. The statistics say about 1 degree over the past 100 years. I also concede that when the earth temperature rises, so does co2 levels. How much co2 is the cause verses effect is debatable. I suspect a little of both. There are many variables why the earth's temperature rises and falls. My view is that man-made co2 emissions is not nearly the problem it is made out to be. How did we get here, (Science + politics= Politics). The real problem is the democrats delusional, expensive solutions.
The lefts fixation on climate change in drowning out real environmental issues. Clean air, clean water, dealing with invasive species and expanding healthy local food production. This is just a partial list of environmental issues I would like to tackle as state representative. I believe in the power of the people and the businesses they run to find solutions to the environmental problems we face.
Act 59, and Act 70.: (Under Construction)