Truth in Accounting ranked Vermont 48th out of 50 states in terms of a Financial Transparency Score.  While EAI often discusses what programs should or shouldn't be in state budgets, the results of those budgets are found in a government’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). A CAFR is produced annually by governments and is audited by certified public accountants. The ranking is a composite score based on 8 criteria of different weights.

The Covid economic shutdowns have placed an enormous burden on small businesses. Even if the projections for an effective vaccine coming out sometime this spring are accurate and that some sense of normalcy might return by next fall, the hole these employers need to dig out of, especially in the hospitality industries, is daunting. Will the Vermont state government be part of the solution, or part of the problem?

According to stories in the New Hampshire media, Governor Chris Sununu (R) wants to cut their state rooms and meals tax, which now stands at 9%, the same as Vermont.

The Vermont Tax Commissioner published his forecast, as required by law, on December 1 regarding property tax rates for FY22. It’s not a pretty picture: an expected average 9.5% increase in Vermont homeowners’ property tax bills and a 10% increase for non-homestead properties. These increases will fund an estimated 3.79% overall increase in spending.

Dear friend, 

The nation and Vermont are at a tipping point. We have to decide if we are going to maintain the Constitutional freedoms set in place by our founders – the ideas and principles that made us the greatest country in the world – or abandon them for a path toward socialism, speech codes, and McCarthyite blacklisting of citizens who express anything other than obedience to a single-party agenda.  

The Ethan Allen Institute needs your help to keep fighting for liberty and the Constitution in Vermont. 2021 promises to bring a number of issues forward that have grave implications for Vermonters and our pocketbooks. Your contribution of $1000, $500, $250, $100, $50 or another amount will have an impact on these critical issues:

Does Facebook treat content from some groups unfairly? It depends on how you define “unfair.” If you mean, “making a rigid effort to constrict any non-politically correct news,” that I would say no.

Since the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) emerged as a serious policy proposal, the most eager proponent of the multi-state Carbon Tax on motor fuels has been Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. Even as New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu called the scheme to raise prices on gasoline and diesel fuels by up to 17 cents per gallon (a de facto tax on New England and Mid-Atlantic state drivers of $5.6 billion annually) “… a financial boondoggle and the people of New Hampshire will never support it,” and other governors mumbled, shuffled, and stared at their toes about it, Baker remained stalwart. Until this week.