There is serious talk in the Legislature about changing how we govern and fund public education in Vermont. And proposed changes could have a dramatic effect on Vermonters’ control over their schools, on who pays the bill, and on the quality of education available to our children. Read more

December 11, 2014, Capitol Plaza Hotel, Montpelier Opening remarks

Vtdigger asked the members of this panel to propose solutions to the “K-12 education affordability crisis.” I want to focus the limited time in my opening remarks on one question: What crisis? Read more

Alana Semuels documented the struggles of low-wage Vermont workers in an article earlier this week in The Atlantic. Now she has painted another, more hopeful picture. “A New Business Strategy: Treating Employees Well” focuses on employees at King Arthur Flour in Norwich. Read more

Exhibit A among current critics of Vermont’s education funding system is some version of a chart showing annual education expenditures going up over time and school enrollment going down. Why are we spending more and more money to educate fewer and fewer kids? Read more

The Legislature took a step in the right direction last session when it raised the minimum wage, although it could have done more to offset the state’s increasing income inequality by pushing the minimum higher and more quickly. As it is, Vermont’s minimum wage won’t reach $10.50 until 2018. Read more

Amid all of the speculation about the November election results, one thing seems clear: it was a pretty good year for incumbents. More than 90 percent of current members who ran for the Vermont House or Senate were re-elected. Next year, three out of four seats in the Legislature will be filled by the same people who occupied them last session. Read more

There wasn’t a lot of substance in this election season. “Where’s the beef?” isn’t a question we hear much during campaigns anymore, as Jon Margolis lamented in his column in vtdigger this week. But while candidates may not need to offer thoughtful, workable proposals or even clearly define problems to get elected, they will need to do both after Election Day if they want to improve life in Vermont. Read more

Next Tuesday, Vermonters get their first chance to weigh in on the fiscal 2016 state budget, which the governor will present in January and the Legislature will review and revise during the session. Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding and Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Reardon are hosting two public forums this month:

A month after announcing a 2 percent cut to the current year’s budget, the Shumlin Administration is signaling its intention to make additional cuts of as much as 5 percent and possibly more next year (fiscal 2016). For an already anemic state government that is suffering from staffing shortages and struggling to meet its obligations to residents, the administration’s directive cannot be good for Vermonters or for state employee morale. Read more

You’re invited to Pies & Charts!

The Public Assets team will be traveling around the state this fall, with tasty pies and enlightening charts. Please join us, enjoy the food, and take home some tools to help you talk with policymakers about economic issues in Vermont. Read more