• Vermont’s economic future, particularly the vitality and diversity of its competitive free enterprise sector.
• The fiscal practices and condition of state government – taxation, spending, and borrowing.
• State and local regulatory practices, and their effect on the economy and the rights of the people.
• The improvement of education for all Vermont children, and particularly the expansion of competition and choice for all.
• The preservation of free, accountable, democratic government, where public decisions are made at the level as close as possible to the people themselves.
• The strengthening of Vermont community and family life, and the protection of local government from burdensome and costly mandates.
• Respect for Vermont’s constitution and opposition to judicial activism.

Scroll Down for Issue Briefs & Reports

School Choice — Better Value, Fewer Taxpayer Dollars.

This report from the EAI-sponsored Commission on Rebalancing Education Cost and Value proposes to improve educational quality whle spending fewer taxpayer dollars – by replacing the high-cost bureaucratic union-dominated public school system with a new era of parental choice and provider competition, including public, charter, virtual, faith-based and home school options. (December 2009 – 28pp)? Report in PDF format.

Off the Rails: Changing Demographics, Changing Economics, Accumulating Obligations: How Will Vermont Cope with a Challenging Future?

(October, 2008) This important report (pdf format, 19pp) is a condensed and more popularized version of the 2006 Arthur Woolf/Dick Heaps paper listed below. It shows with text and graphics the expected changes in the state’s productive work force 2006-2030, and the projected growth of state expenditures for K-12 education and human services over the same period. It presents five possible strategies for avoiding the dismal outcome that today’s public policies will lead to if continued 24 years into the future. It also contains three pages of recommended policy proposals for beginning to cope with the impending fiscal probem. The report (updated from the original version released in December 2006) includes the names of the 23-member Project Advisory Group. Report in PDF format

The Promise of Consumer-Driven Health Care: How Putting Consumers in Charge of their Health Will Improve Wellness – and Reduce Excessive Costs

(April, 2006) This 20 page report (pdf format) explains consumer-driven health care and the various tax-free savings options (HSAs, HRAs, FSAs). The report describes the results of twelve CDHC plans dating back to 1978 and the history of CDHC initiatives in Vermont. The report includes a page of useful references and web sites. Report in .pdf format

Educational Choice in Vermont ?

Vermont’s 129 year old consumer choice system. Text of report

Ten Hard Questions About Single Payer Health Care

Text of Report

Issue Briefs:

Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), 2020

The Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), 2020

Towns in Trouble. Assessing Municipal Fiscal Health in Vermont, 2019

EAI Climate Letter - September, 2019

EAI Essex Plan report - 2018

Right to Work, Right for Vermont, 2017

CON Laws: More Harm Than Good - 2017

What a $15 Minimum Wage Would Do To Vermont - 2017

Carbon Tax Policy Brief (January 2015)

Medicare & Single Payer: The Facts - 2014

Healthcare & Single Payer – 2014

Jobs & The Vermont Economy - Fall 2014

Property Taxes & Education Finance - Fall 2014

Gun Control in VT - Jan 2013

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax - Feb 2013

EAI Energy Plan - July 2015

Policy Statements: 

TCI Opposition Letter – December, 2019

Survey Results:

Payroll Tax Survey Comments

Organization

The Ethan Allen Institute is a independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit educational organization governed by an 8-member board of directors, and its programs are reviewed by an Advisory Council composed of Vermonters from many walks of life.
The Institute is a 501(c)(3) educational organization, contributions to which are tax deductible for individuals and corporations. The Institute does not solicit or accept funds from governments, or engage in legislative lobbying or political campaigns.

President, Rob Roper

Rob comes from a professional background is in advertising, where he worked as an award-winning copywriter for Young & Rubicam New York. After moving to Vermont in 1998, Rob has been involved in state politics and policy in a number of capacities, serving as Media Relations director for a U.S. Senate campaign, Executive Director of FreedomWorks Vermont, Chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, and  host (now co-host) of EAI’s Common Sense Radio program on WDEV. He lives in Stowe with his wife and two children. rob@ethanallen.org

Vice President, John McClaughry

John founded the Institute in 1993 and served as its President until August 2009. He is a former member of the Vermont House and Senate and was Senior Policy Advisor in President Reagan’s White House.

Policy Analyst, David Flemming

David is a 2016 Hillsdale College graduate with a B.A. in Economics, and a graduate of Essex High School. He is also an alumni of the Koch Internship Program and Koch Summer Fellow Program, and has researched and written about public policy during his time with Economic and Policy Resources, the Independent Institute, Campaign for Vermont and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Board Chair, Jack McMullen

Affiliated Projects

Common Sense Radio: Hosted by Bill Sayre, an economist with an M.B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago where he studied under Milton Friedman, airs weekdays from 11:00 to noon on WDEV – AM 550, FM 96.1 or LIVE STREAMING. Call in: 244-1777 or, Toll Free 1 877-291-8255