Democrats say, “Read My Lips: Yes! New taxes!” Republicans say, GET REAL!
Battle lines are drawn for November 2024 VT State House races.
Literally, and I quote, on the floor of the House following a vote to make Vermont the state with the highest corporate taxes in the nation, Progressive Democrat Brian Cina of Burlington took up the microphone and told Vermonters, “Read my lips: Yes! New taxes!” Cina’s -- what should we call it? Attitude?… Promise?… Threat? -- is characteristic of the Dem/Prog supermajority under the Golden Dome. He/they mean it!
It's not just the corporate tax they’re jacking up, it’s the 20 percent property tax increase they just slammed us with, the new $100 million payroll tax that kicks in in July, the 20 percent hike in DMV fees that started in January, the 70 cent per gallon home heating carbon tax that’s coming after 2025, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They’re also looking at sales tax increases and/or expansions, a tax on internet software, a sweetened beverage tax, a Clean Transportation carbon tax on gas and diesel to go along with the Clean Heat carbon tax, the Renewable Energy Standard bill that just passed the House will add as much as a billion to our electric bills, an income tax surcharge that would give Vermont one of the highest marginal income tax rate in the country while kicking in at one of the lowest income thresholds….
This is not a new phenomenon. As Republican Representative Scott Beck (R-St. Johnsbury) of the Ways & Means Committee noted, “In the last 10 years, personal income tax receipts in the state of Vermont have grown 54%, sales tax receipts have increased by 65%, and property taxes have increased by 53%. Corporate income tax as nearly tripled in the last 10 years. And yet, we’re being told we don’t have enough money.”
All of this is, of course, on top of inflationary impacts on household budgets: rising costs for food, energy, labor, vehicles, etc. that are also making it harder for folks to make ends meet.
So, what do Vermont Republicans have to say to these greedy, tax-happy, endless spenders of other people’s money on ideological boondoggles? GET REAL!
A couple of weeks ago the VTGOP dropped an op-ed outlining what the GET REAL agenda for a hypothetical Republican majority would be:
G.E.T. R.E.A.L. is a solemn promise and a positive path forward for our state by Vermont Republicans focused on improving the quality of life of our people. It is a prescription of policy proposals that includes: G.lobal Warming Solutions Act reform, recalibrating the law to reflect realistic and affordable goals; E.ducation reform, refocusing our schools’ mission back to excellence in core subjects; T.ransportation and infrastructure with a priority for fixing our roads; R.egulatory reform to lower the cost of housing; E.nvironmental protection initiatives focused on protecting and preserving our natural resources and landscapes; A.ffordability and tax reform to lower costs for working Vermonters; and restoring L.aw and order in our communities.
Yesterday they dropped another essay explaining in more detail what the “G” item in GET REAL would entail. (If you missed it elsewhere, you can read the full piece HERE.) I am looking forward to the rest of the series as it unfolds!
So far, I’d say this is a terrific, common-sense approach to connecting with Vermont voters. “GET REAL” perfectly encapsulates the feeling most of us get when the Democrats put forward one of their whakadoodle, multi-billion-dollar ideological schemes that is never going to work but will cost us massively in higher taxes and negative economic impact. (Remember Single Payer Healthcare? That was a fun waste of time and money! On to the Global Warming Solutions Act….)
GET REAL is also a meaningful call to action and the need to get serious about solving real problems facing real Vermonters in everyday life. We do, indeed, need to GET REAL about what needs to be done in these policy areas to garner results and who we need to elect in order to make that progress. Clearly, it’s not Democrats and Progressives.
Moreover, Vermonters seem ready to hear this message and respond to it. For example, at his most recent press conference, Phil Scott introduced Amanda Marie Shangraw, a third generation Vermonter and small businessperson. Her full remarks are riveting, and do watch the video below, but I’ll just share this summary clip:
I’m here today because I voted for a large majority of you, and I’m let down and hurting, and I’m defeated just like thousands of other Vermonters and small business owners…. I want to work and continue to create jobs and offer housing, and be a part of the solution, not the problem, but… Small businesses all around our state are folding, and I fear we might be next. These taxes are killing us. Please. Stop taxing the middle class, or in a year the middle-class won’t exist.
In other words, lawmakers, GET REAL!!! Get real about what normal people can realistically afford, what state government can realistically accomplish (and what it can’t), and the serious harm your policies are really doing to the rank-and-file citizens who are really the ones who make our state work.
But Republicans need to GET REAL about a few things too – and I’m talking to Republican voters, not just the party officials and activists. You can’t throw the bums out if no one steps up to replace them. You need field good, solid candidates for office running on the GET REAL message. A lot of them! And they need funding and volunteers to run those campaigns. Getting real takes real work. Let’s do it!
Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.
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