Week in review
Toolbox
Published: November 22, 2008
Our thoughts on the news of the week:
Revenue projections for the state budget presented to the Douglas administration and lawmakers this week painted an even grimmer view of Vermont's economy than previously thought. According to economists, Vermont is facing a $60 million shortfall for the current fiscal year. Legislative budget writers and Gov. James Douglas have been meeting regularly to carefully reduce spending as the financial picture darkened, and it appears another round of cuts before year's end will be needed. There is a call by some to put off these hard choices until the 2009 Legislature returns to Montpelier in January, but that would simply delay the inevitable and reduce the impact of any reductions by postponing implementation. Paring the budget is inevitable and won't be easy, whether it's done in December or February. The Joint Fiscal Committee should schedule a Statehouse hearing to take the public's pulse on what programs are priorities – as well as whether any tax increases or tapping the state's rainy day funds are desirable — then make those hard choices and move on.
Congress was right to send executives of the Big Three American auto makers back to Detroit with their tails tucked between their legs. What were those guys thinking, spending tens of thousands of dollars flying their multi-million dollar company jets to D.C. to beg poverty? At one level, the visual was symbolic, an illustration of the corporate excesses that infuriate average Americans and in the end, do their companies and hard-working employees real harm. However, the image is more than simply symbolic; it is substantive. Before Congress doles out one penny of taxpayer money to any industry, that industry needs to prove it understands its own failures and have a plan in place to move swiftly and capably to rectify the problems. Choosing not to fly coach on one of 24 daily commercial nonstop flights from Detroit to Washington – or better still, crowding into a Ford Focus and driving to Capitol Hill – sends a clear message from Detroit's executives: "We don't understand. We don't have a clue. We don't have a plan." And our message to Vermont's congressional delegation: "We agree. Not one penny."
Barre's police-sponsored "pill drop" program, designed to reduce the amount of prescription drugs being abused, has been a success. Police Chief Tim Bombardier this week publicly presented the roughly 9,700 pills that Barre residents have dropped off at the station – extra pills that otherwise might have ended up being handed out at a teen-ager's party or stolen and sold on the streets. It cost the city nothing to set up the pill drop program, and took thousands of drugs out of circulation. Other communities ought to consider a similar effort. That just makes sense.
State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding this week proposed a 5-cent per gallon increase on gasoline and diesel purchases, $20 million that would be earmarked to repair the state's aging bridges. Gov. James Douglas immediately opposed the idea, arguing that now is not the time to raise a tax on Vermonters who are already struggling in a tough economy to pay their bills.
This is a great debate for the public to weigh in on. While we're not sure a gasoline tax increase is the answer, Spaulding makes it clear that Vermont cannot ignore its deteriorating transportation system.
Two vital bridges – one in Middlesex, one in Richmond – have closed in recent months due to safety issues. Sitting in your car on an old bridge, feeling the bouncing and swaying, does not give a driver much confidence in bridge safety. Arguments about how to pay for bridge repair have gone on long enough; it's time to act. Spaulding has suggested a gas tax increase. The governor suggests raising motor vehicle fees and blocking "raids" on the Transportation Fund for General Fund programs.
What do you think?
Send us your thoughts on this debate and others to letters@timesargus.com.
13