Special Ronnie Reagan edition, in honor of a Republican who was willing to compromise on taxes. Couldn’t find a Reagan “thumbs down,” but I like what I did find.

Governor Peter Shumlin, for finally achieving his long-rumored (and coyly denied) ascension to the chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association. The Guv is spending a couple of days out in sunny Los Angeles (actually, it’s cloudy and rainy today, so just keep that Speedo packed away in your suitcase, thanks very much) at the DGA’s annual meeting at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel because, well, it’s a dirty job and somebody’s got to do it.

(The Beverly Wilshire describes itself as a “history-rich luxury hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills, just steps from Rodeo Drive… Enjoy warm, hospitable service, Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants, and a world-class spa at this iconic Beverly Hills hotel.” Lowest price currently available on Travelocity: $415 per night. We trust, of course, that such an august personage as Our Governor is in one o’ them pricey suites.)

But Shumlin insists that it’s not all champagne wishes and caviar dreams, telling VPR:

“I feel that it’s a real opportunity for us to not only learn a lot from other governors what’s working well what’s not working well that’s where I get some of my best ideas.”

And, despite Republicans’ pre-election carping about Shumlin becoming a part-time Governor, he insists that his new job won’t take up too much of his time. (And, he might have added but didn’t, he must be looking forward to a stop at Al’s Frys on his way back from the five-star luxury resort and all those tedious Michelin-rated eateries. Gimme a quart o’ good old poutine any day!)

Governor Shumlin, a rare Daily Double, for throwing some cold water on a couple of his most valued initiatives. As reported by Peter Hirschfeld of the Vermont Press Bureau (article paywalled here), Shumlin has refused to commit to a specific funding level for the Clean Energy Development Fund.which has provided $5 million a year for support of renewable energy projects. That money came from Vermont Yankee, under terms of an agreement that expired earlier this year. Now, the Governor and the Legislature have to find a new source for the money, and Shumlin isn’t saying how much he will propose in the next budget. And Representative Tony Klein, who helped form the CEDF back in 2005, says that sooner or later, the renewables industry will have to get by without that funding:

Klein said if the administration can find somewhere to get the money, then he’s all for giving the CEDF the $5 million…

”But at a certain point I worry about dependencies being built and expectations being assumed,” Klein said. “Maybe it becomes a security blanket.”

The Governor is also sounding some cautionary notes about the impact of health care reform on some of our neediest residents. (article paywalled here):

Gov. Peter Shumlin says state health care subsidies for working-class Vermonters might be more generous than they need to be, and that some residents here could soon be facing higher insurance premiums and deductibles.

As part of the transition to a health benefits exchange, two state programs (Catamount Health and VHAP) that help working-class folks will come to an end. And federal support for the exchange won’t be as generous as it has been for those two programs.

While Shumlin last week said he’ll protect some people from the increased exposure, he said others will have to make up the difference themselves.

…”You could also argue there are parts of our existing program that are more generous than they need to be, and that’s what we’ll be looking for,” Shumlin said.

Practicing for a an upcoming role as The Grinch, are we?

The central idea of health care reform is to provide universal access to coverage. If the new system puts the pinch on working folks struggling to get by, that’ll be a major failure for Shumlin.

After the jump: Bernie, Enbridge, a broadcasting legend, and Vermont’s most reactionary newspaper strikes again.

 Senator Bernie Sanders, for pushing the Pentagon to be accountable for contracting fraud. Last week, the Senate added to the defense authorization bill a Sanders proposal to require annual reports on fraud by military contractors. (Those wonderful folks who brought you the $750 hammer and the $640 toilet seat and the F-35, the poster child for cost overruns and production delays.)

The Senate also added a Sanders amendment that would make public a list of former senior military officers who leave the government and go straight onto the payrolls of defense contractors. Kudos to Bernie for getting the Senate to agree; somehow I think his amendments will face much tougher sledding in the Republican House. Because, if you believe Republicans, a dollar wasted on defense fraud still (somehow) makes our nation safer.

Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge, for taking steps that may bring dirty, corrosive tar sands oil through the Northeast Kingdom. Last week, a coalition of environmental groups issued a news release noting that Enbridge…

…filed regulatory documents to move plans forward to reverse its Line 9B pipeline bringing oil – likely to include tar sands – eastward to Montreal. The announcement essentially opens the door to bringing the corrosive tar sands through Ontario, Quebec, and Vermont for export from Portland, Maine.

The Portland-Montreal pipeline currently carries imported oil from the Atlantic port to Canadian markets. What with all that tar sands oil in Alberta, there’s a declining market for imported oil in Canada. So what to do with the pipeline? Hey, use it to export the tar sands stuff!

The fly in that ointment is that tar sands oil is really nasty. It’s highly corrosive, which means pipelines are more likely to leak or fail. And when that happens…

[the oil] causes more damage to human and environmental health than conventional crude, and is nearly impossible to clean-up even at enormous expense as evidenced by the 2010 spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River which is still being cleaned today and stands as the most expensive inland pipeline spill in history.

It’s quite possible that Enbridge simply wants to bring western Canadian oil to eastern Canadian markets. But with that nice Portland-Montreal pipeline just sitting there… and with an uncertain future for plans to run tar sands pipelines through the central US or out to the British Columbia coast… it doesn’t take much insight to see that the New England pipeline may be a highly attractive alternative for Enbridge.

That Kalamazoo River spill was really, really bad. And two years after it happened, the EPA says Enbridge still needs to do more to clean up the damage. Two years! Do you want any of that stuff oozing its way through the Northeast Kingdom?

the late State Representative Greg Clark, R-Vergennes, struck and killed by a car last week. Clark was a widely-respected figure at the Statehouse, and a beloved teacher at Mt. Abraham High School.

“The faculty is having a difficult time,” said David Adams, the superintendent in Addison Northeast.

Flags at Mt. Abe were lowered to half-staff Friday in Clark’s honor– it was a custodian’s idea. Students came up with the idea of writing Mr. Clark, or “Clarky” as they called him, notes to say goodbye.

Flags across Vermont will be at half staff tomorrow, by direction of Governor Shumlin. I never met Greg Clark, and I’m sure I’d disagree with him politically, but by all accounts he made a difference in the lives of his students and his community and cut a memorable figure in the House.

Rob Roper and the Ethan Allen Institute. Vermont’s teeny tiny conservative movement continues its incestuous ways, rewarding failure with promotions. Just like the free market! (It’s especially enjoyable to have the honors done by St. Ronnie himself.)

_______________________________

Ken Squier, owner of WDEV Radio and co-owner of Barre’s Thunder Road racetrack, for winning a major honor from NASCAR. He is this year’s recipient of the Buddy Shuman Award, given annually to someone who has played a key role in the growth of NASCAR. Those who only know the modern-day Squier who still, at the age of 76, appears daily on WDEV, may not realize how important a figure he is in auto-racing history.

For more than 20 years, Squier provided lap-by-lap commentary during NASCAR Cup telecasts and is credited with convincing CBS to offer flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 beginning in 1979. His timing couldn’t have been better: The broadcast was seen by millions who were kept at home by a major East Coast storm, and those who tuned in witnessed the legendary trackside fistfight between drivers Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough. Squier was the first to describe the annual Cup Series opener as “The Great American Race” and introduced a number of innovations – including the in-car camera – to motorsports telecasts.

Congratulations to one of Vermont’s own, who continues to provide a real community service on his locally-programmed radio station, in addition to accomplishing great things on a national stage.

the St. Johnsbury Caledonian-Record, always a reliable source of reactionary politics. But even by its antediluvian standards, its November 29 editorial is hard to beat. Entitled “Hard to Kill,” it’s basically an over-the-top rant about labor unions which, as we all know…

…use strong-arm tactics, they’re greedy and they work hard to decrease the level of service provided by their members. Their un-ceasing drive for ever higher wages and benefits have pushed companies, cities and states past the breaking point.

The Cal-Rec crowed over some high-profile reversals for unions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Chicago and California, and then said…

So where do union bosses go when everyone else in the country has figured out their greedy grift?

Yep, the united socialist republic of Vermont. Though we were once too small to bother with, suddenly desperate bosses are now scraping for membership under every last rock.

I hadn’t noticed any invasion by squadrons of union thugs seeking solace in the bosom of our socialist republic. But the Cal-Rec editorialist sees foreign forces at work in unionization drives at the University of Vermont, St. Michael’s College, Goddard College, and the child-care sector. And it makes him so, so angry.

On its face you’d figure Vermont to be easy pickings for the union beasts. For those who pay attention, though, public sector unions are mostly to blame for $3-billion in unfunded pension and retirement benefit liabilities and the exploding cost of education. Vermonters already are aware that, everywhere public sector unions go, taxes go through the roof and services go to hell.

Wow. In one brief editorial, the Cal-Rec referred to unions as greedy strong-armers whose only goal is higher pay and less work, grifters and beasts who make “services go to hell.” I don’t know how the writer managed to avoid using “Nazi” or “brownshirt”; I guess I should applaud his restraint?

It’s too bad the Cal-Rec’s ill-tempered rants are tucked securely behind a paywall, since that means the vast majority of Vermonters can’t benefit from its wisdom and insight. No wonder we remain a socialist republic, in spite of the Cal-Rec’s best efforts.  

Some days, the snark practically writes itself.

The Board of Directors of the Ethan Allen Institute is pleased to announce the election of Robert Roper, of Stowe, as its new President.

Yes, that Robert Roper. The Robster, “best” known as the host of Common Sense Radio, the daily hour of conservative cant underwritten* by the, ahem, Ethan Allen Institute.

*because if CSR had to depend on ad sales — you know, the free market? — it’d wither and die in a hurry.

EAI’s news release didn’t even bother with the usual “after an exhaustive nationwide search…”  Because, obviously, there wasn’t one. Because the free-marketeer movement in Vermont is like a sad little circle jerk around a Boy Scout campfire.

If you think that’s harsh, let me remind you that EAI was founded in 1993 by one El Jefe General John McClaughry, who served until his “retirement” in 2010 but is still Board Vice President, editor of the EAI’s seldom-read newsletter, author of its unreadable op-ed pieces, and voice of its tedious, ranty radio commentaries. EAI’s Secretary/Treasurer is his wife Anne. The EAI Board also includes such eminences as Sleepy Bill Sayre, the Robster himself, and Jack “Six Teats” McMullen.  

Roper… will spearhead an aggressive new program to educate Vermonters on the fundamentals of a free society – individual liberty, limited government, lower taxes, competitive free enterprise, economic opportunity, fiscal responsibility, and respect for the constitution.

Sure thing. The guy who hosts an unlistenable radio show… the guy who thinks Sleepy Bill Sayre is a great radio personality… the guy who edits a crappy conservative website… the guy who chaired the Vermont Republican State Committee during the GOP’s plunge into electoral irrelevance (2007-2009)… is now the “spearhead” of “an aggressive new program.” Somehow I’m having trouble seeing that. Especially since EAI’s current President, Bruce Shields, was hired less than a year ago, and hailed as the person who would, according to the EAI newsletter, “launch EAI into a new phase in our effort to become a more influential force in Vermont.” I guess he wasn’t, after all.

Can anyone help me out here? Someone who embodies newness, aggressiveness, and political relevance?

EAI Board Chair Jack McMullen said “I have known, worked with and respected Rob Roper for many years, and I am thrilled that he will now bring his talents to the service of free markets and economic opportunity by leading the Institute.”

Gaaaaah. No, no, no, no, no, guys. You don’t flaunt an endorsement from a three-time electoral loser, fresh off a doomed attempt to bring down an enfeebled incumbent attorney general. Unless, of course, you believe that the name “Jack McMullen” lends credibility and star power to your effort. And, sadly, I think you do.

But perhaps I’m being unfair. How does the Robster plan to broaden a movement that obviously represents a tiny minority of the electorate? How will he recast the Institute’s ideology in a way that will convince more people to take them seriously?

“We believe in and fight for the ideals laid out in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution because they work. Today, we are witnessing a systematic erosion of our rights and, sadly, the Vermont government is leading the way with a host of confiscatory taxes, unjust mandates, and ideological experiments in social engineering. Our task is to wake Vermonters up while there is still time to avert a tragedy.”

Okay, no. The same overheated rhetoric that produced abject failure in this year’s campaign is not going to suddenly open the doors to a New Age of Conservatism in Vermont.

It will, however, make Lenore Broughton happy. And that’s the most important thing, isn’t it? In the tight little orbit of Ethan Allen Institute/Common Sense Radio/True North Reports/Vermonters First/Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, the top priority is to keep the cash flowing from Miss Daisy’s inheritance.

Well, that’s probably unfair as well. I think these guys honestly do want to convince people of their principles. They just don’t have a goddamn clue how to do it. And so, as the man says, they will beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.  

Longtime observers of Vermont news are very familiar with the Friday afternoon newsdump — the carefully timed release of bad news, hopefully too late for reporters to get fully engaged before offices close, and certainly in time for the Friday night TV news (second-lowest TV viewing night in the week) and the Saturday newspapers, the least-read editions of the week. In Vermont, it’s most commonly associated with our buddies at Vermont Yankee, who were forever dumping news about leaks, accidents or shutdowns on Friday afternoon.

This past Friday, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger appeared to pull a news dump regarding the city’s livable wage ordinance:

Mayor Miro Weinberger has asked his city attorney to conduct a “comprehensive review” of Burlington’s livable wage policy (sic), and report back to him in 90 days with her conclusions and recommendations concerning the policy (sic).

I say “sic” because it’s not a policy, it’s a city ordinance. I think there’s a difference.

The Mayor’s request comes just a few days after controversy erupted over the granting of an LWO exemption to the Skinny Pancake in its new food-service contract with the Burlington International Airport.

Weinberger said he notified the city council of the review Thursday. He said the review by [City Attorney Eileen] Blackwood is necessary to “fully understand exactly how the policy works.”

Okay, maybe it is a policy. Are “policy” and “ordinance” now synonymous? Or is this a subtle rhetorical device to undercut the LWO?

And if Miro is having trouble understanding how the policy works, perhaps he should consult State Auditor-elect Doug Hoffer, who helped draft the ordinance in the first place. He might know a thing or two about it.  

I wouldn’t get this far in the weeds, except that the whole thing smells a bit funny to me. Weinberger’s call for a review, coming so quickly on the heels of the Skinny Pancake issue, could be taken as the opening gambit in an effort to weaken (or kill) the LWO. If I knew nothing about Weinberger, the Skinny Pancake, the Airport or the LWO, that’s how I’d interpret it. The timing fits.

It’s possible that the Mayor honestly wants some clarification. There was a lot of confusion over whether or not the LWO actually applied to Airport vendors. And there is one area of the LWO that seems to require some clarification: the exemption process.

But when the Mayor says his aim is to determine “how to keep the policy (that word again) relevant and robust,” I start to wonder. Does he think the LWO is somehow irrelevant, at a time when more and more working-class people are struggling to stay out of poverty?

This post isn’t about the Skinny Pancake; it’s about the broader issue and the future of the LWO. As a resident of Montpelier, I don’t have particular connections to Burlington politics; I’d love to hear what some Burlington Dems and Progs have to say about this.

Postscript. On the same day it published a story about Weinberger’s review, the Freeploid posted an explainer about the only other business to ever get an exemption from the LWO in its 11-year history: TD Bank, in its 2010 contract with the city for banking and cash management services. The idea that a giant institution like TD Bank can’t pay a living wage was a bit surprising to me, but perhaps they skimp on the janitors or something. It was also a bit surprising that the city couldn’t find another financial institution capable of offering the needed services and paying a livable wage, but what do I know.

Anyway, the Freeploid’s explainer included a passage form the city/TD contract that made me laugh out loud:

“Specifically, this … provision is modified to exempt TD Bank from having to comply with the ordinance for those staff members who may process a transaction or perform maintenance related to this contract.” But TD Bank is not exempt from meeting the livable wage requirements for management employees, the contract states.

Nice one! As if any bank, anywhere, pays any of its management employees anything close to #37,000 a year. Yeah, I don’t think TD had any trouble adhering to that clause in the contract.  

Oh, looky here. A Vermont “pregnancy help center” wants to siphon off some federal funds to support its anti-scientific, “Christ-centered” counseling services*. Care Net Pregnancy Center of Windham County (deceiving women daily at their office in Brattleboro) was turned down for a USDA building loan when the Department ruled that the group’s programming was “inherently religious.” So, Care Net is taking the government to court.

*No abortions for YOU!

Care Net’s most troubling offering, as far as USDA officials were concerned, was a rewards-based learning program called “Learn to Earn,” wherein expectant parents had to take a certain number of parenting and Bible study classes in order to receive free baby supplies. (Care Net’s executive director has said the center has since suspended the Bible study requirement.) The center also offers, according to a brochure, a “bible centered program” called “Post Abortive Teaching and Healing” that “enables women to process their abortion-related experiences and emotions with the goal of healing and recovery.” In addition, Care Net conducts an abstinence-only sex-education class called “Why Am I Tempted?” or WAIT.

The USDA also noted that, as an affiliate of the national Care Net organization, the local Care Net must certify that its primary mission “is to share the truth and love of Jesus Christ in conjunction with a ministry to those facing pregnancy related issues.”

Yeah, I can see how some people might interpret that as “religious.” But you would be wrong to think so, according to the great public thinker Bill O’Reilly, who actually said this on his show:

“It is a fact that Christianity is NOT a religion. It is a philosophy.”

Er, yeah, Bill, sure thing. But back to our story.  

Care Net Windham County currently rents its offices; it sought federal help in buying a facility of its own under a USDA program aimed at helping “develop essential community facilities in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 in population.” And heck, lying to young women about birth control and pregnancy is the very definition of “essential” services, don’t you think?

The Brattleboro Care Net has the backing of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group. And the Alliance hopes this case will “pave the way for more religious organizations to receive government funding.”

Oh, joy.  

Well, now we know why Dem/Prog Lite-Gov candidate Cassandra Gekas turned down that job offer from the Vermont State Employees Association. Instead, as Paul “The Huntsman” Heintz reports, she’ll start on Monday as chief of health access policy and planning at the Department of Vermont Health Access. Sounds like a big important job, and one that’s in line with her previous work as a health policy advocate for VPIRG.

Which makes me happy for two reasons. First, after mounting an underfunded campaign against popular incumbent Phil Scott (and losing her VPIRG job for her trouble), she deserves a break. And second, hey, I was right again. Me, August 15:

As you may remember, Gekas is a first-time candidate who was reportedly recruited by Governor Shumlin. If so, I have to say that the Governor and the Party have completely failed to provide any tangible support for her candidacy. It’s looking like she’s nothing more than a sacrificial lamb — a placeholder, so the Dems could avoid the embarrassment of an empty slot on their ticket. I hope she at least gets a good job in the Administration after she loses in November.

Not that there was any quid pro quo involved here. No no no, that would be wrong.

Gekas says she does not believe her status as a Democratic office-seeker played a role in her hiring by Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration.

“I just went through normal channels,” she says. “I think they’ve been eager to fill the position for a long time. They’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Well, I don’t believe that for a New York minute. Neither do I mind in the slightest if she was given preference. After all, she did disrupt her career to basically serve as cannon fodder for the Dems, and that loyalty deserves some kind of reward. And besides, she’s obviously qualified, so it’s not featherbedding. Indeed, her hiring is a very positive sign that the Shumlin Administration is really committed to health care reform; I’d a lot rather have her than somebody from the insurance industry, for example.

I wish her well in the new job. I hope she can find a way to smooth out some of the apparent wrinkles in ShummyCare.  

Having given more thought to my previous post describing Wall Street’s ambivalence toward Costco, I have a few more things to say.

As you may recall, Costco is a successful, growing business with a healthy stock price. But the New York Times reports that many Wall Street analysts ding the company for being too generous to its workers and customers, thus dragging down the profits that are the rightful property of the One Percent.

Here’s what Wall Street sees as too generous.

Costco’s average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam’s Club.

Hmm, $17 an hour. Assuming full-time status, that’s $680 per week. Times 52, that’s $35,360 per year.

Wall Street thinks that $35,000 is too damn much money to pay a worker. That’s the outrage that prompted Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher to complain that “it’s better to be an employee… than a shareholder.”

Yeah, Bill, you just call up your millionaire clients and tell ’em they’d be better off with $35K. Jeebus.

As commenter “bmike” noted,

At some point, there will be no one left that has discretionary income to buy crap from other places that these ‘investors’ invest in.

Then what happens?

See, this is the whole problem with “supply-side economics” and the “job creator” myth so proudly promoted by financial geniuses like Bruce Lisman. We don’t have a “supply economy” — we have a “supply and demand economy.” The two sides need to balance out. If there’s no demand, it doesn’t matter how richly you reward the suppliers and “job creators” — economic activity will not increase. The corporations and wealthy people will simply hoard their wealth.

Which is precisely what has happened in recent years. Rich people own a historically high percentage of our total wealth and American corporations are sitting on huge quantities of cash, and yet our economy remains sluggish. That’s because, no matter how many breaks we give them, they won’t increase production until people are willing to buy more stuff.

And how much stuff can people buy if a salary of $35k/year is too generous?

In conservative ideology, “job creators” are viewed as wizards, or Gods. They must be appeased and richly rewarded. We must make sacrifices to earn their favor. But that’s not true: “job creators” are people, with human motivations. It doesn’t matter if the capital gains tax rate is 15% or 20% or even 50%; if businesspeople can make a profit in a growing economy full of prosperous consumers, they will create more jobs.

I don’t know why this concept is so difficult for the supposed wise men of Wall Street. Probably because their worldview is so radically confined by the parameters of their own lives.

A couple months ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service published a detailed study that found no evidence to support the notion that cutting taxes on the wealthy stimulates economic growth. Indeed, the CRS concluded, the only outcome of tax cuts for the rich is that the rich get richer.

The report was withdrawn, apparently after the CRS was pressured by Congressional Republicans. They can’t handle the truth, any more than Wall Street “experts” can. Concentration of wealth at the top is not only inhumane, it’s also bad economics. Our economy is stronger when a lot of people can buy in. The success of Costco is just one small example of this self-evident truth.  

Wanna know why I don’t trust Bruce Lisman? Here’s why.

Today’s New York Times features an article about Costco, the rapidly-growing wholesale chain. It’s a great success story, with a merchant finding a new niche (quality goods at bargain prices with no frills) and filling it expertly. The company is now the fifth-largest retailer in America. Its stock price is high and rising; a share of Costco stock sells for 23 times expected earnings, compared to WalMart’s 19.

But the wise guys of Wall Street are not pleased:

Some Wall Street analysts assert that Mr. Sinegal is overly generous not only to Costco’s customers but to its workers as well.

Costco’s average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam’s Club. And Costco’s health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish. One analyst, Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank, complained last year that at Costco “it’s better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder.”

Christ, what an asshole. “The workers are getting too much of OUR money, waah waah waah.”

After the jump: Costco’s CEO answers, and Wall Street foams at the mouth.

Jay Sinegal, Costco founder and CEO, insists that offering a living wage (cough) and generous benefits is actually beneficial for the bottom line: the company has a very high worker retention rate, and a very low theft rate. But obviously he’s not playing Wall Street’s game, and the Street smarks don’t like it one bit.

Costco also tries to deal fairly with its customers, which (if you believe Sinegal) is the secret to Costco’s success, or (if you believe Wall Street) amounts to theft from investors.

At Costco, one of Mr. Sinegal’s cardinal rules is that no branded item can be marked up by more than 14 percent, and no private-label item by more than 15 percent. In contrast, supermarkets generally mark up merchandise by 25 percent, and department stores by 50 percent or more.

“They could probably get more money for a lot of items they sell,” said Ed Weller, a retailing analyst at ThinkEquity.

“What’s wrong with the guy?” you can imagine Weller thinking. “He’s not screwing the public out of every last dollar!”

Sinegal also refuses to play another game dear to the heart of the one-percenters:

Despite Costco’s impressive record, Mr. Sinegal’s salary is just $350,000, although he also received a $200,000 bonus last year…

“I’ve been very well rewarded,” said Mr. Sinegal, who is worth more than $150 million thanks to his Costco stock holdings. …”Having an individual who is making 100 or 200 or 300 times more than the average person working on the floor is wrong.”

So let’s see. You have a very successful company, making good profits for its shareholders. Its stock price is healthy, reflecting investor confidence. But HE’S NOT PLAYING THE GAME, and he’s making it clear that you can be a successful business without resorting to Mitt Romney-style vulture capitalism, and you can make a profit while also making customers, workers, and investors happy. And you don’t have to pay your top executives like members of the Saudi royal family.

Blasphemy!

Do you think we could arrange for another, precisely-targeted hurricane to hit New York? This time, don’t hit Sandy Point or Red Hook or Staten Island — just wash Wall Street out to sea. I think our society AND our economy would be better as a result.  

Congratulations to St. Albans Democrat Mike McCarthy, known in these precincts as “azvox,” for being confirmed as the winner in his race for the State House.

The election day result was McCarthy 1419, Republican Casey Toof 1,399. Toof understandably sought a recount.

According to Nancy Remsen at vt.Buzz, the recount was held today and confirmed Toof’s total while reducing McCarthy’s by five… which means McCarthy is indeed the winner. Coffee and pastries all around!

Tomorrow, the other Franklin County recount begins: Democrat Don Collins vs. Republican Dustin Degree. The double-D asked for a recount after coming up short by 26 votes on election night. That count might take more than one day, with results expected Saturday or Monday.  

Your Secretary of State, Jim Condos, has released the numbers from an audit of optical scanning machines in four randomly-selected Vermont towns. And the results were rather strikingly precise (with one small caveat, which I will get to later): The machines were accurate to within a couple of votes in almost every case.

Vote tabulations by machine were re-checked by hand count in Barre Town, Brandon, Essex, and Newfane, in the races for Congress and Treasurer. For instance, in Newfane, Peter Welch gained a single vote in the audit, while the other four candidates’ totals were unchanged. And in the Barre Town vote for Treasurer, Beth Pearce lost two votes, Jessy Diamondstone gained one, and the totals for Wendy Wilton and Don Schramm were unchanged.

“Good news,” Condos told GMD. “It’s a good thing to do the audits; it ensures the reliability of the system.”

There was one exception to the near-perfecct performance of the machines, and the primary cause was human error.

After the jump: the problem with write-ins, and the push for more scanners.

The only inaccuracies larger than a vote or two were in some tallies of write-in votes. The worst (so to speak) was in the Barre Town count for Treasurer; the machine reported 3 write-in votes and 102 blank ballots, while the audit detected 14 write-ins and only 85 blanks. (Other towns were much closer the mark; Brandon and Newfane had the write-in and “blank” tallies correct within a vote or two.)

The problem, says Condos, begins when a small number of voters write in a candidate’s name but fail to color in the oval. The machines only read the ovals, so those ballots are counted as blank. After the machines tabulate the results (which takes only a few minutes after the polls close), poll workers are supposed to examine the ballots to check for write-ins. Judging from the (very small sample size) results of the audit, it appears that some towns do a better job of cross-checking than others. “We send instructions every year about how to read the ballots,” said Condos with a hint of a sigh. “But we have a very manual election system.”

It seems clear that he’d like to make the system a little bit less manual. “Last year, the House passed a bill that would mandate every town with more than 1,000 voters to use scanners,” he notes. The bill died in the Senate. “The state would have paid for the machines, with federal funds through HAVA [the Help America Vote Act].”

The Legislature failed to act on a variety of reforms to election and campaign reform laws in the last session; Condos is hoping for better things next time.

And, lest we confuse Vermont’s machines with, say, those Diebold thingies in Ohio, Condos reminds us that Vermont law requires a paper trail throughout the process, so everything can be checked and rechecked if need be.  

A lot of GMD readers never read the Comments below each diary. And sometimes the Comments do emit more heat than light. (Although I will say that the tone of GMD discussions is a whole lot more substantive and civil than what can be found on a lot of mainstream media sites.)

But if you don’t usually read the comments, you should make an exception for my most recent “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” diary, because there’s quite a remarkable give-and-take between State Auditor-Elect Doug Hoffer and Benjy Adler, co-owner of The Skinny Pancake. The subject is Burlington’s livable wage ordinance and SP’s new contract with the Burlington airport.

Scroll down past my natterings; the discussion starts with the second comment and continues from there. Both men state their cases firmly but with respect. It gets quite detailed, but if you want to understand where SP and its critics are coming from, it’s necessary reading.