By Jack Hoffman
Source: Public Assets Institute, April 2010
“As they wrestle with the recession, Vermont’s elected leaders are backing away from their commitment to citizens. This change in public policy is reflected in their language and in their budgets.
Political leaders this biennium are talking about “reanalyzing and renegotiating the social contract between the government and the people.”1 They are telling us: “The truth we must all accept is that we can no longer afford the level of services we have come to enjoy.”2
Recessions challenge leaders’ resolve. And the resolve they are exhibiting during this recession is of a radically different kind from what Vermont saw during the major recession of the early 1990s.
Twenty years ago, Vermont’s governor warned against using budget problems as “an excuse for turning away from our responsibilities.” He was not afraid to say: “We cannot and will not set lower standards for the education of our children, for the health of the population, for assistance to the troubled, jobless, or homeless, or for protection of the environment.”3 It’s hard to imagine Vermont’s current leaders uttering words like these, much less backing them up with the revenue needed to deliver on those vows.
During this recession, as the governor and Legislature have been cutting the state budget, they have also been relying heavily on federal funds to keep it in balance, while struggling to meet the increasing demand for services that an economic crisis brings. Up to $450 million in temporary federal funds over three budget years is helping Vermont avoid deeper budget cuts and has largely spared Montpelier from the necessity to increase taxes to maintain the services that all Vermonters use.
But using federal funds is easy. Summoning the political courage to raise revenue is not. In the early 1990s, Vermont’s political leaders did both. They kept their commitment to Vermonters by using additional federal funding and also by initiating substantial increases in state revenues to meet the increased demand for human services.
The test of today’s leaders will come when the extra federal funds are no longer available. The early signs are not good…”
For full report: Cutting the Commitment to Vermonters
For PDF of the full report, click here.
