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Update April 2007
In this issue:
-- Welcome
-- Governor Misses the Mark on Affordability
-- Economic Development: What's Ahead?
-- President Bush's 2008 Budget Hits Vermont Hard
-- Op-Ed: School-financing law is working
Welcome
This is the first edition of our quarterly Update. If you haven't heard of the Public Assets Institute before, let us introduce ourselves.
The Public Assets Institute conducts research, performs fiscal analysis, and develops policies that mobilize the power and financial resources of government to advance the public good. We welcome you to explore our website where you'll find timely analysis, related news, reports, and opinion on state tax and budget issues and as well as on health care, education and family economic security.
www.publicassets.org
Governor Misses the Mark on Affordability
Affordability is critical to Vermont's future, but Governor Douglas's claim that school taxes are the culprit is not supported by fact. Property tax reform will not address the real source of the affordability problems Vermonters face: housing costs, health care costs, and lack of economic opportunity.
Governor Douglas targeted school property taxes in his six-town "Affordability Forum" tour completed recently. "Vermonters know that our focus on affordability, particularly property tax reform, is critical to our state's future," said Douglas in his recent press release.
But for a typical Vermonter, according to the Public Assets Institute's report, Vermont Household Budget Affordability Analysis, school and municipal property taxes combined amount to only 4% of the household budget. What are the largest budget categories? Transportation, housing, food and health care. These four account for over half (53.3%) of household spending.
This readable, three-page report released last fall details the relative impacts of various household budget categories and demonstrates with reliable data the areas of spending that most significantly affect Vermont households. Housing and healthcare costs, two of the largest budget items, have increased faster than inflation in recent years, while school taxes, as a percentage of personal income, have actually fallen over the last 10 years.
School taxes are not among the fast-growing, big-ticket expenses in the typical Vermonter's household budget, yet they have received disproportionate attention this legislative session. If the Governor and lawmakers want to make the state affordable for more Vermonters, they need to target their attention on the areas that are making the state unaffordable: high-cost housing, expensive healthcare, and loss of good-paying jobs.
Read the Report
Economic Development: What's Ahead?
How much is the state spending on economic development? Where does that money go? And is it producing jobs for Vermonters?
Most of us don't think much about how state policies shape our economy, yet how we approach economic development now will affect what Vermont looks like in the future -- the kind of jobs available, what they pay, and where they're located. With this in mind, the legislature formed the Commission on the Future of Economic Development (CFED) to work with Vermonters on the state's next long-term economic development plan. The legislation (Act 184 of 2006) charges the commission to conduct a process that is open and inclusive, with broad-based public engagement.
The Public Assets Institute is monitoring CFED meetings and provides the commission with recommendations, research, and testimony through our point person, Doug Hoffer. Doug also coordinates with businesses, nonprofits, academics, and other citizens to ensure that the commission's planning process fulfills the legislature's intention to draw on a broad spectrum of ideas and interests.
Visit the CFED page on PAI's website. In addition to a wealth of background reading and resources on economic development in Vermont, you'll find meeting dates, agendas and materials, as well as available testimony and commentary. PAI has also arranged for the CFED meetings to be videotaped and broadcast on public access TV stations throughout the state.
Bookmark the CFED page and check back often!
President Bush's 2008 Budget Hits Vermont Hard
President Bush recently released his 2008 budget, and analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals $34 million in cuts for Vermont in just the first year. The President's cuts go even deeper over the next few years affecting essential services from day care to law enforcement to clean water. This is bad news for a state that has become increasingly reliant on federal funds, which now pay for one-third of state services. And the President's budget doesn't provide much comfort to the Vermont legislature that is working to balance Vermont's 2008 budget, which is already revenue short, without increasing taxes.
Read PAI's press release.
Budget report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Op-Ed: School-financing is working
Despite all the talk about the burden of school taxes, the burden now is actually less than it was ten years ago, according to Vermont Tax Department data. Before the Governor and legislature fix the school funding system, they should figure out what's broken. Paul Cillo's op-ed appeared recently in the Valley News, Rutland Herald, Times Argus and Burlington Free Press.
If you missed it, read it here.
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Fact:
The median price of a single-family Vermont home (half are higher, half lower) increased 8% in 2006 to $197,000. This is nearly double what it was ten years earlier. Two-thirds of Vermont households do not have enough income to buy a median value home.
(Source: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, 2007 Update; Vermont Housing Council and Vermont Housing Awareness Campaign)
Armchair Advocate
A resource formerly hosted by VANPO, the Armchair Advocate is now on the PAI website and makes it easier for citizens to have an impact at the Statehouse.
Find out what the Sergeant-at-Arms can do for you.
Surf for Legislative Information.
Contact staff assigned to specific committees, bills or policy areas.
Interested in a particular area of the budget? See who to contact.
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