President Biden is under pressure from the Democratic Left to seize control of the Supreme Court, by packing it with additional liberal justices committed to upholding the Biden program. President Roosevelt tried that in 1937, and got hammered flat.  It would destroy the independence of the Judiciary and fatally rupture the American system of a government of separated powers and constitutional fidelity.

Vermont is on the cusp of having the least secure election system in the nation.

The bill that passed the Vermont senate 27-3 (S.15) is now under consideration in the house. It would make permanent the temporary, COVID-emergency provisions adopted for the 2020 general election, including the policy of mailing “live” ballots to all voters who are active on the voter checklist, regardless of whether or not the voter requests an absentee ballot.

The US Department of Education (USDE) recently found that Vermont is one of only two states which “needs intervention in implementing the requirements of Part B Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).” This shatters the myth that Vermont offers disabled students a superior education.

A bill to register building contractors is just the first step toward eventual licensing even for local handymen, and enforced compliance with energy conservation building standards to defeat climate change, no matter what the cost.

Vermont ‘s All Payer performance , widely criticized , will almost certainly fall short of HHS agreement requirements in 2022. It’s time to move away from ever-increasing government management, and develop a demonstrably superior path of personal responsibility, informed patient choice, provider competition, price transparency, less third party payment , diminished regulation, liability restraint and outcome accountability.

For several years, Vermont has made millions selling Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) to other states. But the 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act will soon cut off this cash flow which would raise rates. There is also the chance that the GWSA may set in motion a chain of events culminating in electric blackouts.

For five years now the climate change movement couldn’t get a vote on a politically dangerous carbon tax to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and produce millions of dollars to finance climate-worthy investments like home weatherization.  Now they’re trying push through a $1.3 billion over ten years “Thermal Energy Efficiency Charge”, formerly known as a tax. It will be levied not by accountable legislators, but unconstitutionally by the “unaccountable strangers” at the Public Utility Commission.

The Vermont Tax Structure Commission has delivered its report, and its recommendations should trigger an intense debate. Switching public education support to the income tax and expanding the sales tax to include services will be very controversial. It’s regrettable that the legislature didn’t begin with a performance review, to decide what state government should be doing with $4.5 billion a year, and then address the tax structure needed to pay for it.

If we don’t transfer more power from the governor to the Legislature during emergencies, a ‘climate emergency’ declared by a future governor could be catastrophic for Vermont democracy.

The Public Utility Commission, at the direction of the legislature, has “joined the chorus of voices seeking climate action”. Its all-fuels energy report takes note of the state’s ambitious carbon dioxide emission reduction goals, and almost screams what’s needed on every page: “More Funding!”