(Promoted as part of our ongoing policy to promote 1st person pieces by major candidates for statewide office in Vermont. – promoted by JulieWaters)
When I released JumpstartVT—my jobs and efficiency plan for Vermont, I said that my focus would be on the 23,000 Vermonters out of work and on keeping our state the best place to live, work and raise a family.
We have had Vermonters from across the state and editors from the largest papers in the state telling me a plan is exactly what Vermont needs and that my plan is a great start.
I agree that it was a start. Today, I continued to show Vermonters I will create jobs as governor and do the right thing when it comes to our energy future.
In JumpstartVT, I laid out the beginning of my energy plan. We are at an energy crossroads with contracts for 2/3 of Vermont’s electricity expiring within 5 years, an aging nuclear power plant, and some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing stock in the country. We send more than 2 billion dollars out of state because we only supply 10% of our energy from local production.
As governor, I will provide the strong leadership we need to ensure Vermonters have access to clean, safe, secure and affordable energy today and into the future. Not only will I make sure we are investing in energy efficiency – removing barriers for Vermonters to retrofit their homes and businesses, but I will also create incentives for businesses and families to invest in renewable energy.
My energy plan is not just good for the planet but it is also good for our pocketbooks because investments in energy efficiency and in renewable energy will create jobs for Vermonters and will help support Vermont businesses who manufacture clean energy technology.
Today, I want to announce an important component of this plan: HomeGrownVT. HomeGrownVT would exempt alternative energy sources from property taxes. Other states – like Montana and Florida have implemented such a policy and have seen great results. In Vermont, this initiative will help grow clean energy manufacturing jobs and will make it possible for more Vermonters to invest in renewable energy to save money, help us move off of fossil fuel and take control of our energy future.
I know Vermont needs to grow jobs and to do that we need to start making things again. In JumpStartVt my economic development vision is to focus first on helping Vermont’s existing businesses succeed and grow. This is a change from the Dubie/Douglas approach of focusing on trying to poach the next husky or IBM from another state.
The clean energy manufacturing sector offers these Vermont businesses a great chance to grow, while enabling Vermonters to save money, lower energy costs and reduce our carbon footprint
HomeGrownVT would lower taxes by exempting solar hot water systems, wind-generated electricity, biomass facilities and other renewable energy sources from consideration when assessing a home or business’ value for property tax purposes.
Today, Vermonters adding green technology to their homes, offices and factories often find that their property taxes have increased because the newly-installed green technology has increased the value of their property. Under my plan these hidden tax increases would end. The exemption would last for up to 10 years.
We need to create the right incentives for job creation and energy savings. Taxing someone for doing the right thing and contributing to the economy is wrong.
Sunward is a great example of how Vermonters can save money, invest in the economy and have a real impact on carbon emissions. Sunward sells a typical solar-powered water-heating unit for about $6,200. Vermonters can receive up to $2,700 in federal and state credits to offset this cost. If just 10 percent of Vermont homes (24,000) installed this type of system each house would reduce their energy bills by $500, reduce their carbon emissions by 20 percent and contribute nearly $155 million to our state’s economy.
I think it is interesting to note that The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst estimates that 16.7 jobs are created for every $1 million invested in clean energy technologies. This could mean thousands of new jobs for Vermonters in clean energy manufacturing, installation and other related fields.
My energy plan will also raise Vermont’s ranking among renewable energy producers nationwide. Vermont currently ranks 41st for electricity derived from renewable energy, producing only 1,110 MWH.That is just not good enough, especially when our neighbors like New Hampshire ranks 28th (2,389 MHW) and Maine ranks 8th (7,945 MWH).
My plan to encourage new energy projects will grow jobs, increase our affordable renewable energy portfolio and relieve the financial burden homeowners and businesses face when investing in clean energy technologies. This is the type of forward thinking and planning Vermont needs in its next governor.
I’ve been reading everything about job creation but never see anything hopeful in terms of who we are creating these jobs for. We spend more to imprison people in this state than to educate them. We produce a huge number of unemployable people.
I have a son with a felony related directly to his former addiction to drugs. Businesses don’t want to hire ex-cons and felony backgrounds are huge barriers. While he was half starved in a for-profit out of state prison, people were trading his suffering in monetary value on the stock market.
While I like the idea of renewable energy and tax cuts for those who can produce results, I like as much or better the idea of “renewable people”.
Do you have any plans with regard to these human issues?
Vermont has taken more steps to further criminalize and demonize folks than they have to better education or jobs for those who return from prison. Jobs with a livable wage just aren’t offered to people who made mistakes as young adults.
Do you have any plans for these people, or do we just throw them away like trash?
This cutesy little title sounds far too close to “Vermont home grown” which, for many Vermonters, has an entirely different meaning.
…is to start with a modest figure of around $120,000 to educate a pupil through grade 12. Add 4 years of incarceration, to over $160,000 in-state, $80,000 out-of-state.
For a total investment of between $200,000 to $300,000 per head, we buy some hopelessness for one, sole individual.
Another analysis of the Vermont prison population shows us that as the state incarcerates more people, we can expect more to be eventually released.
Hopelessness adds to a high recidivism rate in Vermont and that is a genuine reason why the prison population is projected to continue growing.
“Fifty percent of people released from Vermont prisons in 2003 were convicted of a new crime by 2006”
We aren’t protecting even the worst of our investments in people.
…more corporate tax breaks! In case you haven’t noticed, or you’ve been greenwashed to the point of not understanding, alternative energy production is not environmentally benign, number one, and number two, any large corporate installation should be the first to be paying property taxes! I’m not making a profit living in my home and yet I have to pay! This is ludicrous and just another capitalist ploy that puts the burden on citizens to carry the weight of corporate largesse.
Devil’s in the details, I hear tell, but I like the idea if it applies to everybody, even corporations. I’m especially interested in doing whatever it takes to give corpos incentives to invest in a sustainable energy infrastructure. Let’s face it: they are not benevolent creatures, and need something related to profit motive if they’re going to be moved.
Same really goes for property owners in general. What about struggling farmers who are trying to stay afloat by diversifying? What if they got tax breaks to install a wind turbine or solar array on part of their land, helping build a distributed energy grid? What if a community had a parcel of undeveloped land that they could get the owner(s) to use for similar purposes instead of selling for more housing construction?
Seems like there is a real opportunity for constructive discussion about Vermont’s energy future…