The second annual public budget forums are scheduled to begin this week at various interactive television sites around the state. Forums will be held on October 23 and November 5. Check here for times, locations, and on-line streaming.

The forums mark an important change from the budget process Vermont followed for decades. Read more

Underlying the political fight last session over the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was the fact that thousands of Vermonters work at jobs that don’t pay enough for them to meet their families’ basic needs. Gov. Peter Shumlin tried last winter to cut Vermont’s EITC, complaining that it cost too much money. Read more

The Shumlin Administration will hold two Public Budget Forums—Wednesday, October 23 and Tuesday, November 5—to receive public comments on development of the fiscal 2015 state budget. The forums will be held via interactive television like two giant town meetings from locations around the state. Read more

Who knows better the needs of a community than the people who live in that community? It’s a good question. This short video about participatory budgeting in New York City asks that question directly and discusses how some communities are beginning to participate in their city’s budget process. Read more

Mitt Romney was famously recorded last year assaulting the character of 47 percent of Americans for not paying taxes. He might not have known it, but he was referring to the percentage of Americans who did not pay federal income taxes in 2010. Read more

It’s not unusual to hear exaggerated claims about Vermont’s taxes, and some people have come to believe them. Fortunately, not everyone has bought into the myths. If they did, places like Stratton, Winhall, Killington, Stowe, Dover, Ludlow and others would be ghost towns. Read more

The best way for Vermont to strengthen its economy is by continuing to invest in educating its workforce, according to a new paper published today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN).

“A Well Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity” was researched and written by Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and Peter Fisher, research director at the Iowa Policy Project. Read more

The subject of a little-noticed provision in the state budget last year is getting national attention today, with a short, lively animation released by the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative and the Vermont Workers’ Center.

To shift the focus of Vermont’s budget process from money to people, the Vermont Workers’ Center has been promoting a People’s Budget.  Read more

The controversial land deal between Governor Shumlin and his East Montpelier neighbor Jeremy Dodge raises a fundamental tax policy question: Why is Dodge, or any Vermont homeowner, being asked to pay property taxes on his home to fund schools?

The short answer: Because the property tax has always funded local public services. Read more

For years we’ve heard the same refrain from much of the Vermont business community: Taxes are too high, and there’s too much regulation. They’ve chided the Legislature about the state’s poor business climate and called for austerity. Politicians were quick to parrot the message or risk rebuke as taxers and spenders. Read more