Commentary: Sneaking In the Seat Belt Mandate
by John McClaughry The Vermont House is, for the seventh time over 37 years, trying to enact a primary seat belt law for over-18 drivers. Worse yet, this...
Commentary: Will Mandating a $15/Hour Wage Benefit Vermont?
By John Goodrich The legislature is working toward mandating a universal $15/hour minimum wage. I have been in a position to see the real effects of such a...
Commentary: Our Seriously Unserious Legislature
By Rob Roper Recently the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce surveyed 500 young professionals, primarily Burlington area residents between the ages of 22 and 34, and learned that over...
Commentary: From Heating Fuel Tax to a Green Police State
April 23, 2019 by John McClaughry The House-passed heating fuel tax bill (H.439) is now in the Senate Finance Committee, but the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee...
April Survey: Double the Heating Fuel Tax? Yes or No?
Should the legislature double the tax on the retail sale of heating oil, propane, kerosene, and other dyed diesel fuel delivered to a...
Workplace Freedom: What You Need to Know
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that it was unconstitutional for pubic sector unions to collect “agency fees” — in Vermont, up to...
Janus v. AFSCME: an overview in Vermont
by Ben Johnson Ben Johnson is a past president of AFT Vermont and Vermont AFL-CIO. The Decision The US Supreme Court held in its Janus v. AFSCME decision...
VT Legislator Roll Call Profiles
Are Your Representatives Representing YOU? See How They Voted on Key Issues. INTRODUCTION The following collection of Legislator Roll Call Vote Profiles is brought to you as...
The ESSEX Plan: Symbolic Environmentalism That Will Impose Economic Harm on Vermonters
by Jonathan A. Lesser, PhD I was asked by Vermont’s Ethan Allen Institute to prepare an economic analysis of The ESSEX Plan, the most recent carbon tax proposal...
