I have two pre-conditions for any candidate this election cycle. First, they need to publicly state that the 2020 election was free and fair and that Joe Biden won, unequivocally. Second, they need to publicly pledge that they will work to reduce the tax burden for all citizens of Vermont.
The correct answer to the first is, “It was, and he did,” and to the second, “I will.” These answers are not negotiable. I won’t consider any candidate’s positions on other issues until I get the answers to these two.
To the first; it is very clear to any reasonable person that the 2020 elections were free and fair. There are no major issues with U.S. elections and, in fact, the integrity of our election process has been one of the hallmarks of our democracy since I was a young voter, a right which I first exercised in 1976. There have never been major issues in this regard. The noise around 2020 is the result of one individual’s ego and a crude attempt to erode confidence in our election process. Allegations of voter fraud have been tested in court on many occasions and found to be wanting. The bugaboo that illegal immigrants are voting in our elections is false. Mail-in ballots are not a problem. The citizens who manage and certify our elections, from both parties, are generally honest citizens trying to do their civic duty and participate in our democratic processes.
Our country’s history has been a long arch of enfranchising our citizens. This includes giving the vote to non-landowners, people of color, women and any other citizen with a vested interest in our politics. A broad franchise is a strength, not a weakness. That one party now believes the only way to win elections is by limiting the franchise to voters it favors is abhorrent and un-American. The attempt to do this is also blatantly obvious. This all started with questioning the validity of the 2020 election.
That any candidate would not have the backbone to stand up to this nonsense is beyond me. I’ve watched confirmation hearings in Congress where people have equivocated and used weasel words to avoid a simple statement that the election was fair, all in fealty to one man. It is destructive to our country and watching politicians and political appointees do cartwheels on this topic is disgusting. I cannot support any candidate who cannot simply state the 2020 elections were free and fair. This is not negotiable.
On the second question; the affordability crisis in Vermont is dire. Our legislature, however, seems to go to tax increases as a first resort, rather than explore ways to be more efficient, come up with creative solutions, and reduce taxes. I really don’t mind paying my fair share. But shoveling more and more money at broken systems, like education, that by all measures is not serving the academic needs of our children and is unbelievably costly, is a fool’s game.
Here’s another minor example that annoyed me: I bought an EV a few years back. When I went to register it this year, I found that the fee was nearly double the usual registration fee. Half of that was a new EV Infrastructure Fee. I get that EVs aren’t paying the gas tax to maintain road infrastructure, but if we erase the benefit to owning an EV, how is that incentivizing people to buy them and helping the environment? I might as well move back to gas; it’s basically a wash economically these days. We have got to get away from a knee jerk “just raise taxes” mentality and make our state more affordable.
I know many people, a number of them relatively high net worth, who have packed it in and left the state. As much as I love Vermont, I have considered moving. I’ve looked across the river to New Hampshire. I could have a similar property there, with a similar New England lifestyle, and an “all in” tax burden that would be less than half of my taxes here. It’s very tempting, particularly being on a fixed income with property taxes doubling every five years. We should be benchmarking against New Hampshire.
By the way, New Hampshire’s I-89 toll booths must be big revenue generators and I don’t know why we don’t have toll booths at the Massachusetts border on I-91 and on the VT/NH border on I-89. I know it has something to do with how much federal money we took to construct the interstates, but where there’s a will there’s a way.
Anyone taking public office in Vermont has to recognize the extreme tax burden the state puts on its citizens, particularly young people who can’t afford housing, can’t afford taxes and find it challenging to get good jobs. Bottom line, Vermont is not economically viable for most people and our politicians need to recognize that. I can’t vote for anyone who can’t pledge to do all they can to reduce our overall tax burden and make the state more affordable.
I have not posited these two questions as left or right, or Republican or Democrat. In fact, I consider myself Independent, somewhat conservative and socially open. I lived in Europe for many years, so I am completely amused by people characterizing Bernie as a Communist. He’s not advocating for the government taking over the means of production. I have seen the current administration, however, taking shares in public companies and discussing sovereign wealth interests in AI businesses. Sounds like Socialism to me. These lines get very blurry. I do think a great society should take care of its least fortunate and provide support within our means to do so. But it must be economic. I am not against tax increases, especially at the national level, but in Vermont, where our taxes are exorbitant, we need to figure out how to do things smarter and more efficiently.
Mooney lives in Waitsfield
