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pcowanvt
Member since Jan 20, 2017
Recent Comments
Re: “Are the Rich Really Running From Vermont's 'Death Tax'?”
It would be so easy to run an experiment over 5 years that would show statistically which strategy works best. We have the data for the gouge strategy for the last 5 years, so why not try the welcoming strategy for 5 years? I want to live in a state that accepts all socio-economic levels instead of pitting one group against the other. We should be asking what type of State we want to be. Our tax policy sends the message that we want to have power over the rich and take them down. Why would they want to stay? Or come in the first place? I'm certain that there are fiscal policies that would send a kinder message but would maintain the standard of fiscally responsible. How come we aren't, instead, scrutinizing how our tax dollars are spent in the first place instead of assuming we need to gouge the rich to pay for what we are currently spending? And, I'm not rich, so I can't be superficially labeled as having self-serving motives instead of seeing things in a balanced, rational way.
Posted by
pcowanvt
on 04/05/2019 at 12:50 PM
Re: “Walters: Scott Budget Is More a Dare Than a Plan”
I notice that Walters talks about all constituents in the education battle BUT voters......Perhaps legislators would be best served to ignore the special interest groups and pay attention to the electorate that voted Phil Scott into office.
Posted by
pcowanvt
on 01/26/2017 at 4:33 PM
Re: “Montpeculiar: ‘Economic Opportunity’ Knocks — Twice”
Perhaps its the first step in making people understand that economic vibrancy and poverty reduction are connected. Bravo, Phil!!!
Posted by
pcowanvt
on 01/20/2017 at 11:16 AM
Re: “Are the Rich Really Running From Vermont's 'Death Tax'?”
Thanks for trying to understand my point of view. The full basis of my thinking is that we always seem to be focusing on the wrong things when discussing fiscal policy. We should be choosing the approach that results in the most prosperity for all citizens. Instead, we seem to want to punish rich people which could result in eroding the very tax base we talk about cultivating. Why can't we run experiments to determine where the best balance is? Why not identify key indicators that measure the affect various tax policies have on the state?
After all, I think all parties would agree that transfer of wealth should be about creating the best balance for our state. To just come up with some esoteric concept of fairness without discussing the effect that fairness has on the economic landscape of the state is what gets us in trouble all the time. Act 60 is the perfect example. Because our state has this judgmental view on wealth, it is blinded to data that has the answer. If the data doesn't support the fiscal policy chosen, it is either ignored, or cherry picked. That makes the lawmakers feel good, and maybe even the citizenry because it SOUNDS good, but the facts on the ground aren't good. We need to be free to analyze the data without being judged. Then a proper fiscal policy can be crafted. If the answer is a highly progressive system, then I would support it. But, I think logic dictates that when aggressively taxed, folks move. It's hard to believe that this isn't the case. So, I don't really trust our current group of lawmakers to handle data responsibly if it doesn't support their agenda.