The fiscal 2017 budget made its way through the Vermont Senate this week along with tax and fee bills raising approximately $47.1 million in new revenue to support it.1 At $5.80 billion, the Senate’s version of the budget is $131.1 million above the final fiscal 2016 budget, an increase of 2.3 percent. Read more

Today is Equal Pay Day, the anti-holiday that advocates mark to remind us that women have to work almost 16 months to earn what men do in 12. The gap has persisted despite the attention and lip service paid to equality, despite women’s gains in the workplace and public sphere. Read more

Income inequality is a serious problem in Vermont that needs to be addressed on several fronts, and paying people more for their labor, especially those at the bottom, should be part of the strategy.

Now political leaders and workers’ advocates who support a higher minimum wage may find they have some unexpected allies. Read more

The House passed its fiscal 2017 budget along with tax and fee bills raising approximately $49 million in new revenue to support it.1 The House budget came in at $5.81 billion, approximately $1 million above the governor’s recommendation. Overall, the House made minor changes to the governor’s spending plan. Read more

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Paul Cillo. I’m the president of Public Assets Institute. We’re a nonpartisan, 501c3 nonprofit located here in Montpelier. We provide state tax, budget, and economic analysis from the perspective of ordinary Vermonters. Read more

Closing the budget gap is the Legislature’s focus again this year as it has been for the past eight sessions.

What is a budget gap? It’s the difference between projected state revenue and … well, it’s actually hard to say.

The administration and the Legislature start the budget gap calculation with a revenue estimate for the next fiscal year. Read more

On opening day of the 2016 legislative session, House Speaker Shap Smith had this advice for his colleagues: “There will be those who suggest that because this is an election year, that we will focus on politics rather than the people’s business. Read more

New evidence finds that public investments that help build a skilled workforce and improve the quality of life for local residents are more likely to create jobs and build a strong economy than tax cuts and attempts to lure businesses with financial incentives. Read more

Governor Shumlin will present his fiscal 2017 budget to the Legislature on Thursday, January 21 at 2:00 PM. Here are a few of the things we’ll be looking for.

1. How well does the state budget meet the needs of Vermonters and advance their economic well-being? Read more

The Vermont General Assembly has a chance this week to walk back from the destructive changes it made last spring to the state’s education funding system. The Senate appears poised to vote to repeal the tax penalties that will hit school districts that exceed arbitrary spending limits set by the Legislature. Read more