Similar to Vermont Yankee, another decaying Vermont power source is leaking. Lame duck Governor Jim Douglas is leaking Hooverism throughout the state.
Encased in his proposals, often buried, but not too deeply is the crumbling old philosophy of a trickle-down man. The philosophy is crumbled, looks ancient, and should not be given license.
He has proposed spending cuts which would result in 1,000-1,400 fewer jobs in Vermont according to economist Tom Kavet. This toxic Hooverism will trickle-down and ultimately poison and slow growth.
"Total economic impacts could approach losses of $50 million per year in gross state product and exceed $40 million per year in personal income," Kavet wrote in his analysis. "It's exactly what is happening across the country when state governments cut back," said Kavet, who testified before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee by telephone Thursday. "It acts as a drag on the economy.
Douglas said. "Our goal should not be to create or maintain jobs in the public sector," he said. Rutland Herald
Incredibly Governor Douglas is calling for the full Hoover; tax cuts for the wealthiest Vermonters .He repeated his calls on VPR’s noontime news program yesterday. As always Douglas fails to site any factual sources for his claim that upper income residents are leaving the state. On VPR his anecdotal evidence included five unnamed CEO’s he knows, a Burlington businessman who may know two dozen tax refugees and one accountant who also may know a dozen.
Oh, would that the governor would call on these normally bold captains of industry to come forward and tell their sad tales publicly so all the little people might understand their anguish. Perhaps they could commiserate with the 1,000-1,400 that may soon be unemployed by Douglas’ spending cuts.
I work in one of the most easily transportable industries, software publishing. You would think that if owners and high-income employees frequently fled to low-tax states, that the software industry would be centered in Florida.
Gee…why is it then that the industry is predominantly located in Cali, Boston, NYC and Raleigh? (Austin is a distant runner-up.) Could it be that this industry requires well-trained, well-educated workers? A thriving university sector? Does one see that in Mississippi?
The governor is like a bad magic act, after everyone has figured out the trick…he has to go on with the show, but most people either boo or turn their heads away in embarrassment. His ideas never made sense; now most people want our crazy uncle to just retire to the country club in Middlebury with the rest of his pals (if there are any left in the state, that is).
So this is the new compassionate conservatism touted so highly during the Bush administration. The Douglas unwavering support of the Bush agenda is evident to the end:
Great post BP. Thank you.
for the first time in his life, one might suspect Douglas of a preemptive push to feather his own nest with tax cuts for the luxury set.
I am continually bothered by that right-wing talking point about “private, not public.” We need services. We pay for them. The difference between publicly and privately provided services is whether we pay for profits, and how the cost burden is shared.
Conservatives like Douglas dislike public services because their buddies aren’t making money from them.
Just as many services can be provided and just as many people can be employed, for less money than private industry. When people point to waste and excess in government they are generally pointing to the private corruption – military contractors and the like.
As for taxes, look back to the 1950s, a boom time for our economy. Tax rates on the wealthy and big business were double today’s rates. It was that commie Eisenhower, right?
Anyone heard a word about those three companies that were patiently waiting for our politicians to throw money at them so they could start hiring people right away?
Whoever mentioned that Doogie is feathering his own nest is exactly right. It’s all he and Mike Smith were doing for five years and now that Lunderville twerp for a few years. Just look at where all of Doogie’s bootlickers are ending up and where they will end up. The one word to sum up Doogie’s tour of destruction is entitlement.
“he doesn’t seem to mind public employees who serve as toadies for his administration.”
Right on, Doug. This is what it is all about for Douglas — trickle down for us, 1,000 or so new lay-offs, the public sector derided in favor of private enterprise that lines his pockets, the country club set with WASP names and pedigree behind them, no “socialism,” for the workers, etc. Douglas reminds me of the old confederacy, going down in flames, still believing in the myths that brought it down. Douglas’s policies are a myth, tragic for the rest of us, and we still have another year of it.
“Get into government, however, and compare spending to private business…it’ll open your eyes.”
Right on, Tom. I was in private business for many years. It really did open my eyes to the colossal stupid and wasteful arrogance and how they waste money on themselves. No wonder our health care expenses are the highest in the world with the least results.