Cota on Burlington Gas Furnace Tax
Here’s an interesting news item from last Friday. The Burlington City Council has banned backyard wood burning fire pits due to concerns about air pollution.
Trump and Obama Justices Condemn Actions of Vermont State Employees
One Trump Supreme Court appointee joined two Obama Supreme Court appointees in condemning the actions of Vermont state employees, suggesting that the rule of law can overcome the partisan divide.
Scott’s Improbable New Idea for Affordable Electricity
On October 14 Gov. Phil Scott and four other New England governors – not including New Hampshire’s - announced their support for major changes in the governance of the New England electricity market, which is conducted by the Independent System Operator ISO-New England.
Commentary: False Alarm, The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act
U.S Senate Democrats are claiming that a conservative Supreme Court will end Obamacare coverage for 20 million Americans. This is shameless fearmongering. The horrors they so stridently predict will simply not materialize.
Commentary: Vermont, the Only State Seeing No Need for Election Safeguards
By avoiding best practices in a vote-by-mail effort practiced in other states, our Secretary of State Jim Condos is opening Vermont up to questions of electoral fraud.
Vermont Accidentally Demonstrates “Trickle Down” Works
Seven Days recently ran an article asking, “Has Phil Scott Made Vermont More Affordable.” The story cites the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy which notes that Vermont has “one of the most progressive, or equitable, tax systems in the country.”
Union-backed bill would impair employee rights and jeopardize state’s Medicaid funding
By Maxford Nelsen
The legislative process can be quite effective at screening out bad ideas, but sometimes, by accident or design, flawed policies still make it through.
Burlington “Heat Fine” Shows Where GWSA Is Heading
As the Vermont legislature shepherded the Global Warming Solutions Act into law, we at the Ethan 
Allen Institute pointed out some of the many possible places the law could lead: the banning of ATVs, snow machines, and other fossil fuel burning recreational vehicles, the banning of gas powered lawnmowers and lawn maintenance equipment, fireplaces and barbeques, etc. One of the red flags we raised concerned oil and gas heating systems and the possibility that they could be banned from new construction, renovation, or with the sale of a property. Well, on that front Burlington has fired the first shot.