Category Archives: Business

FLASH, BANG: “Move to VT get $10,000” Small print: poof gone!

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And “the payout is immense” screamed one story. Hmmm ten grand to relocate to Vermont? Sounds almost too good to be true! Well you don’t have to look too far to see that the promoted media campaign is running a few miles ahead of the actual plan. The fine print should cause anyone taking this bait seriously to hold off packing their bags.

The media grabbed it and ran with it: Vermont, the stories said, will reimburse out-of-staters $10,000 to move here provided they work remotely for a company not located here. The goal, the state says, is to encourage tech workers and young families to move to the state. In turn the theory is this will help grow our work force, boost our tax base, and we Vermonters will all live happily ever after. According to the Burlington Free Press, the program – which was passed unanimously in the legislature – originated when  Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden,  wondered what it would take to get more workers like her son-in-law, who works remotely  while living  in Vermont, to move here.

like that Flash

The man charged with running the offer and managing the payouts, Governor Scott’s  secretary for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development Michael Schirling explains: “[It’s] very important to note from the outset that we have to design a program that we have not yet begun to contemplate the details of,”  Schirling said. “And there will be parameters around, you know, which of the allowable areas can be reimbursed for what amount over the two-year reimbursement period that’s allowed by the law.”

Basically it’s not that a remote worker who moves to Vermont gets a guaranteed $10,000 — which Schirling notes some of the recent buzz around the plan seemed to imply — but how they decide who gets how much is still being figured out.

In addition to not having worked out vital details of the plan, Sec. Schirling appeared unaware the roll-out was going to happen so soon and how the word about it spread. He told VtDigger.com he wasn’t sure what company among the ones they use for to promotion was behind the media blitz representing the valuable state brand. “I don’t know if it’s special PR. We have a company that we use, among many, that does some of our economic development marketing and helps with placement,” he said.

The State of Vermont and the Scott administration is pushing the brand and move-to-VT in particular hard.But even a good brand can begin to look foolish or desperate for attention. Especially if the details are not ready and the reward smaller than advertised. It’s just flash & bang, and then poof it’s gone.

No cell service? No, thanks to Vermont’s telecom providers

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Vanu CoverageCo’s utility pole-mounted cell phone relay devices were, it was hoped, part of the solution to the state’s rural coverage problem. But the company is now in financial trouble and  struggling to pay its own “phone bill.” They are in effect facing a shutoff notice from Consolidated Communications (formerly FairPoint Communications) for an outstanding bill of $100,000 for connecting the pole-mounted microcell devices to their landline network.

phonesoutIt’s worth recalling that over the last decade or more Vanu CoverageCo (along with several other telecoms including the problematic company VTel and FairPoint – now Consolidated Communications) were recipients of a cornucopia of federal and state grants (our tax dollars) to encourage these businesses supply cell service to receptionless areas. Over the years, millions in funds and federal grants (our tax dollars at work) were approved and distributed through the Vermont  Telecommunications Authority. [The VTA, now “mothballed,” was a Vermont state hybrid agency established in 2007during the Douglas Administration. Created by legislation, the concept reportedly originated with Gov. Douglas’ Administration Secretary Mike Smith, who – surprise, surprise! – later became Vice President for Vermont affairs at FairPoint.]

And now Consolidated Communication’s threatened action – which might shut down CoverageCo service – could have a life-and-death impact: loss of emergency 911 capacities for a portion of the state. In legislative hearings on the issue state Senator Randy Brock (R- Franklin County) raised the alarm over CoverageCo’s possible demise: If we let this die on the vine, it’s hundreds or thousands of Vermonters without 911 cell service .Just wait until a couple of people die because there’s no coverage.”

And it is no small irony that Consolidated Communications (FairPoint’s successor) is the one forcing this issue on the state. The company was awarded the E-911 contract from the state in 2014: the contract offered to pay $1.8 million for the set-up, followed by a total of roughly $9.5 million for 60 months of operations and maintenance. FairPoint struggled for years with consistently poor customer service issues and at one point was heavily fined by Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. FairPoint, struggling and on the verge of going down the tubes, prevailed on the state of Vermont. FairPoint executives successfully lobbied the state into a deal on the fines. “Benevolently” Vermont regulators agreed to waive $7 million in assessed unpaid penalties – providing that the same amount be redirected by FairPoint for statewide broadband build-out. It is not clear if any accounting was ever undertaken to guarantee this million dollar build-out would – or ever did – actually happen.

Not sure how  FairPoint may have thanked the state for the $7 million favor, but now re-born as Consolidated Communications, the company thinks nothing of squeezing CoverageCo  over $100,000 – an action that may cause parts of the state to not only lose cell service but potentially lifesaving emergency 911 service. Well, thanks a lot, Consolidated. Get ready to “Console” the survivors.

Phil Scott vetoes structural mechanism for preventing working families from becoming the working poor

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One of the bills Governor Scott vetoed was H.196 an act relating to paid family leave. The bill was designed to: enable Vermont workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid parental and family leave, with a cap on six weeks of family leave per year. Supporters of the bill say that paid family leave will reduce stress for families and attract young people to Vermont who want to start families.ttvphilscott1

Research recently completed at Florida Atlantic University and Cleveland State University quantifies what had been suspected for years, namely that families without paid sick leave or family leave time are more likely to have incomes below the poverty line, experience food insecurity and require expensive state funded welfare services.

The studies published in two academic, peer-reviewed journals, Social Work in Health Care and the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, utilized data collected from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey to assess the effect of no paid sick leave on two key indicators of poverty, income and the need to utilize welfare services.[…] The authors argue that the main reason for these correlations are the higher cost of medical expenses, lack of preventive care and missed wages incurred by individuals and families who do not have paid sick leave benefits.

As LeaAnne DeRigne, Ph.D., associate professor of FAU’s Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, simply puts it, the study shows : “Paid sick leave benefits serve as a structural mechanism for preventing working families from becoming the working poor. Given the public investments made in welfare, food stamps and other social services, mandating paid sick leave is a clear policy lever for reducing the need for these services among millions of individuals nationally.”

If Vermont House bill H. 196 had not been vetoed and had instead become law, it would according to reporting in vtdigger.com have been paid for with a 0.136 percent employee payroll tax covering parental and family leave insurance. This would have provided workers taking this benefit to receive 70 percent of their income during the leave period.

Remarking on his veto of this bill Governor Scott said “While the goals of this legislation are admirable,” the governor said in a statement accompanying his veto, “it simply is not responsible to impose a new $16.3 million payroll tax on Vermonters.”

So Governor Scott, help us voters understand why exactly is it “simply responsible” to veto rather than sign H. 196 – a bill that clearly supports working families. Because I found that even the conservative Koch bros.-funded American Enterprise Institute concluded that financing such a plan through a payroll tax was a sensible approach.The group  admits it is not a “terrible” additional burden to pay for implementing family leave. And that seems almost an endorsement considering it’s from Koch Bros. funded organization.

So since he claims the goals of family leave bills are “admirable” yet still kills the bill, my question for Phil Scott would be: what shred of evidence – a study to cite, perhaps, that shows a small payroll tax increase could possibly do as much damage to Vermont working people as the lack  family leave benefits now does?

Remember: Affordable for whom?

Winter sports advocates target politicians on climate change issue

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Governor Scott’s blue sky comments late last year about how he believes Vermont is a sort of climate change “Mecca” came to mind when I read about a climate activist group called Protect Our Winters(POW) a national group made up of winter sports enthusiasts, resorts and outdoor gear retailers. The ten-year-old organization based in the Western US has formed a political wing that, according to McClatchey.com, will in 2018, be: “targeting politicians to take seriously the threat of climate change, and working to vote them out of office if they don’t.”

In 2018 POW will be concentrating their effort on gubernatorial and congressional races in the west but they plan to expand educational outreaches in the Eastern states such as Vermont. Organizers note: “[…] places with large snow-sports industries and tourism economies that depend on snow and winter […] have constituencies in those states who really care about climate change and where it is crucial to elect climate-friendly officials.”

Vermont.gov notes the trend toward a snow challenged future: Changes in precipitation patterns and seasonal average temperatures are altering Vermont’s normally snowy winter landscape. In addition to shorter lake ice over and rising minimum temperatures, the number of days each year with snow on the ground is also diminishing. Vermont’s winter sports industry did have a good season in 2017-2018, but they are heavily relying  on costly snow-making equipment  (with the state having subsidized up to $5 million worth of rebates on nearly 2,400 energy-efficient snow guns in 2014) and were very lucky with several well-timed storms.

Vermont.gov chart
Vermont.gov chart

For voters, concern over the effects of climate change is not a party-line issue. For Protect Our Winters, the good news is that Republican millennials tend to be more worried about a warming planet than other Republicans, and young people in general are more politically engaged than they were in recent elections according to Yale University research scientist Anthony Leiserowitz, who has analyzed public opinion on climate change for a decade.

It’s snow secret: warmer winters, less snow and maybe a little more heat on the way should wake up anyone who has deceived themselves into thinking Vermont can be an environmental “Mecca” magically isolated from climate change challenges.

“Visitors are an ideal captive audience” VT. Commissioner of Tourism and Marketing

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Stay to Stay — the Vermont state tourism agency’s planned series of four weekends in different locations designed with the intent of turning tourists into full-time residents — got off to a “chilly start” this weekend according to Vtdigger.com: Like the recent weather, the first-blush level of commitment for the state’s campaign to entice nonresidents to move to Vermont has been cool.

Organizers note, however, that this is but the first of four scheduled weekends for people interested in becoming Vermonters to be formally welcomed as part of the Stay-to-Stay initiative.

Think! Vermont, Scott’s Department of Economic Development promotional webpage slogan, describes the events in terms not unlike a vacation timeshare real estate sales pitch weekend. Vermont commissioner of Tourism and Marketing Wendy Knight says her inspiration for the promotional campaign happened when: “I got to thinking; visitors are an ideal captive audience,”

Sure sounds like timeshare pitch, only (befitting the Vermont brand) a bit more refined — sweetened with real maple syrup: [Stay to Stay] gives tourists the opportunity to relax and also to network with business leaders and tour Vermont communities with real-estate experts to learn more about relocating to Vermont.

It is all part of Governor Scott’s unproven million-dollar effort to boost Vermont’s population and address the state’s worker shortage. But attendance at the Department of Tourism’s weekend premier in Brattleboro, Bennington, and Rutland is expected to be less than even the modest numbers hoped for. Half of the dozen potential visitors signed up for the Rutland and Brattleboro areas cancelled and no one who signed up will be visiting Bennington.

Undaunted by the dismal turnout Knight noted one positive — the free media she had gotten nationally for the first event. Bloomberg.com does indeed have nice blurby press release style bit about “Stay to Stay” headlined:This Weekend, Aging Vermont Will Try to Make Tourists Into Residents.

But the thing about free media is you give up a certain amount of control of the whole message.Vermont taps tourists

The U S News piece about Stay to Stay starts with what I hope is unintentionally a funny headline: Vermont Taps Tourists to Bolster Workforce. That headline sounds to me as if Governor Scott, desperate to boost our workforce, intends to force visitors to pick apples, milk cows, turn cheese curds, or tend sugar houses.Vermont taps tourists2

But the “great” thing about the US News bit is the targeted sidebars, as you can see from the two screen shots, which all tout other states — Massachusetts best for women and children, Connecticut high school record graduation rate,  and a list of the U S News top five states not including Vermont.

Maybe it was just the weather that ruined this Stay to Stay, so spin it however you want. But you can’t spin away from the out-of-proportion amount of taxpayer-funded effort it took to get a half dozen out-of state “captive” visitors to sit still for a Think!Vermont sales pitch in April.

Maybe some nice sticky sugar-on-snow painted on the seats would help.

True: Today is the 2nd annual International Fact-Checking Day

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Just as a hammer goes with a nail, peanut butter with jelly, and the Trump administration with lies and falsehoods* April Fools Day for the past two years has been paired with  Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Day, April 2nd.

The International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) are calling  for a broad coalition of journalists, students and everyday media consumers to arm themselves with the tools and methods needed to decipher what’s real and what’s not all year long.factsfacts

 

Alexios Mantzarlis,  Poynter’s Director of IFCN says: “International Fact-Checking Day is meant to be lighthearted, but practical. Our hope is that we can all commit one day to paying extra attention to the accuracy of what we read and especially of what we share.”

*According to the Washington Post as of January 2018 Trump’s total number of false or misleading claims stood at 1,950 claims in 347 days, or an average of 5.6 inaccurate claims per day.

Enabling Donald’s TV news

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It’s not only Fox News that covers Trump’s back. Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S., is widely known as a champion of right-wing GOP causes. During the presidential election Sinclair and the Trump campaign struck a deal in order to gain favorable media coverage .Recently they started a promotional campaign for their local news outlets to broadcast.

Now Sinclair has  tailored promotional spots for its almost 200 local news outlets that seem to mirror  parts of Trump’s oft repeated bogus “fake news” claims. Their corporate memo to local stations dictates the promo be scheduled “to create maximum reach and frequency.”

StateofTVOne of Sinclair’s local anchors — who remained anonymous for fear of retribution — told CNN: “I felt like a POW recording a message,” […] On its face, some of the language is not controversial. But that’s precisely why some staffers were so troubled by it. The promo script, they say, belies Sinclair management’s actual agenda to tilt reporting to the right.

CNN reports: The promos begin with one or two anchors introducing themselves and saying “I’m [we are] extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [proper news brand name of local station] produces. But I’m [we are] concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.”

Then the media bashing begins.

“The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” the script says. “More alarming, national media outlets are publishing these same fake stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the national media are using their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’ … This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.”

Then the anchors are supposed to strike a more positive tone and say that their local station pursues the truth. “We understand Truth is neither politically ‘left or right.’ Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever.”

[…]At the end of the promo, viewers are encouraged to send in feedback “if you believe our coverage is unfair.” The instructions say that “corporate will monitor the comments and send replies to your audience on your behalf.” In other words, local stations are cut out of the interactions with viewers. Management will handle it instead.

Sinclair’s political bent has been a factor in its pending acquisition of Tribune Media. Sinclair is already the biggest owner of local television stations in the country — with 173 it either owns or operates — and Tribune will give it dozens more, furthering the company’s ambitions. Some analysts believe Sinclair wants to rival Fox News, although officials at Sinclair have rejected those suggestions.

Vermont’s own little TV station, WCAX, formerly locally owned and managed, was scooped up last year not by Sinclair but by Gray Television. The large Atlanta Georgia-based communication corporation  may not share Sinclair’s solid right wing reputation but they certainly have their sights set on New Hampshire’s  First-in-the–Nation© presidential primary’s  advertising profits. And not to be paranoid but it’s worth being watchful of our neighbor state’s media scene. Jacqueline Policastro, the Washington bureau chief for Gray Television, was among those at a special White House dinner after Trump addressed Congress last year. Attending the Trump administration’s effort to court and spark local TV news markets were reporters from Hearst, Scripps, Cox, Nexstar, and naturally, Sinclair.

Commenting in an interview early this year on how he thought President Trump might weather the Mueller investigation, former White House Counsel John Dean (of  Watergate notoriety) observed: “I think there’s more likelihood (Nixon) might have survived if there’d been a Fox News.”  The implication, of course, is that with the backing of Fox News — or another powerful national media propaganda outlet — even Richard Nixon, how ever damaged and corrupt as a leader, could have clung to power.

And now, facing multiple investigations, President Trump can apparently count not only on Fox News nationally but on Sinclair Broadcasting to cover his troubled a … ah, backside at the local level, while all three entities fart  on democracy.

Net neutrality race: Phil Scott follows Montana, New York and New Jersey’s lead

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In a press release on Thursday Republican Governor Scott announced he issued an executive order requiring that state contractors comply with net neutrality standards — thus following the lead of Democratic governors in Montana and New York and New Jersey who first signed similar orders back in January.scottmoves1

Vtdigger.com: The governor’s order directs the Agency of Administration to amend its procedures to ensure that internet providers who contract with the state comply with net neutrality standards, according to a news release from the Scott administration

The governor’s executive order would prevent internet companies who contract with the state from blocking content, engaging in paid prioritization of internet services or acting to “throttle, impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of Internet content, application, or service.”

Scott’s order came after a state senate committee passed legislation (S.289) aimed at the same goal: to stop FCC chairman Ajit Pai’s repeal of Obama-era rules that had prohibited broadband providers from blocking or slowing websites or charging for higher-quality content and service. Similar legislation is under consideration in the Vermont House.

Other challenges to the Trump-era FCC rule change out ahead of Scott’s Thursday order include one by Vermont AG T.J. Donovan. He earlier joined attorneys general in twenty-one states in a lawsuit against the FCC to keep net neutrality. And nationally our entire congressional delegation has opposed Chairman Pai’s rule change from the start.

Governor Scott did include an exclusion — perhaps a regulatory loophole: “Waivers to these Procedures may be granted by the Secretary only upon receipt of a written justification from a State Agency and a finding by the Secretary [that] a waiver would serve a legitimate and significant interest of the State,” the order says.

In fairness, it must be noted that the Senate version of the bill as of our reading has a similar passage: The Secretary of Administration may waive the prohibition on paid prioritization and preferential treatment under subdivision (b)(1)(C) of this section if the Internet service provider demonstrates and the Secretary finds that the practice would serve a legitimate and significant public interest and would not harm the open nature of the Internet in Vermont.

But, it’s good that Governor Scott has finally decided to enter the already-underway race to save net neutrality, however late his start. Because, you know, the internet just won’t run right when blocked, slowed, and throttled.

Better than dying on Mars: can Vermont beat that one?

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In hopes of building the labor force and boosting currently-static population growth, Governor Phil Scott proposed spending $3.2 million on a glorified ad campaign to woo people permanently to the state. The multi-faceted promotional plan, if enacted, would include digital marketing, financial incentives and would enlist the state-owned Vermont Life magazine into the act.

A similar promotional effort run for years in South Dakota  — now known as  “Dakota Roots” — is cited by both Secretary of Commerce Michael Schirling and special assistant to the Governor and executive director of workforce expansion Dustin Degree* as a model for the success  of the plan they hope to implement.

* Possibly the longest job title in VT state government — and a heavy burden (or the illusion thereof: straw disguised as iron)  for a former Franklin County state Senator sometimes referred to as “Do-nothing Dustin” and “Do-little Degree.”

So what’s this template for Vermont look like? Well, in 2015 after months of study and input from focus groups, South Dakota premiered a promotional video featuring testimonials for the state. It began: “South Dakota. Progressive. Productive. And abundant in oxygen. Why die on Mars when you can live in South Dakota?”

It closed with the tagline: “South Dakota. Plenty of jobs. Plenty of air.”

The media noted at the time that at long last there was alternative to dying on Mars.LifemarsVT2

SevenDays.com contacted South Dakota’s secretary of labor and regulation Marcia Hultman who told them they have had “really good results” and data shows the state welcomed 4,770 new workers since the program started in 2006. But she didn’t respond to subsequent questions about how the state determines whether the new residents came because of its efforts.

Since their economy has been booming it really is too bad some sort of data documenting the campaign “success” at luring workers wasn’t available. How can they prove the job growth wouldn’t have happened anyway with a healthy economy? It’s like the rooster that believes the sun comes up only when he crows.

Ironically South Dakota’s success rests on some things our GOP Governor might quickly oppose should they be suggested for Vermont. For instance the wind power industry has thrived in S.D., reportedly providing billions of dollars of investment, and thus millions in tax revenue and thousands of jobs.

And the state’s huge agriculture sector — err, make that CORN sector — is largely supported by federal ethanol subsidies and government mandates. The state has 15 ethanol-making facilities. Opposition to ethanol subsidies is more in Congressman Welch’s bailiwick since it’s a federal issue, but most snow-machine, small-engine owners, and (generally speaking) gear-heads hate the destructive ethanol-added fuel.

And how about a wage increase? You know, make life a little more affordable for thousands of S.D. workers by putting more money in their paychecks. In successful ballot measures sponsored by Democrats and labor unions and opposed by the state’s GOP, South Dakota has steadily increased its minimum wage over the years.

There is one feature of  the S.D. economy our own laissez-faire GOP governor might admire: big national banks are thriving out there. South Dakota’s $3.2 billion in bank assets are the most of any state and represent nearly one-fifth of all bank assets in the U.S.

How did they get all those assets? Back in 1980’s the state loosened historically stringent lending interest-rate regulations. As a result, credit card banking moved in — check the return address on your Citibank bill. Thanks to GOP Gov. Bill Jankolow’s regulatory accommodation, big national banks that relocated there have for years been able to charge what many consider exorbitant — almost usurious — rates on credit balances.

Okay let’s give the S.D. welcoming PR-campaign the benefit of the doubt; let’s say it isn’t so much the massive government-subsidized agriculture sector or the booming wind power industry or regular boosts to the minimum wage that is attracting people to the state. I suppose it could be the result of their 2015 “Hey, at least we’re not Mars” video.

If Scott’s promo plan goes ahead here in Vermont, we may get to see just what Sec.of Commerce Shirling, workforce genie Dustin Degree, and $3.2 million dollars can dream up to beat the  “Mars” bar promo South Dakota laid down.  Come on, THINK!Vermont.

Medicaid work requirement? Scott Admin. not opposed, could happen here.

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The new Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar (the replacement for former HHS Sec. Tom Price who resigned over ethical questions) jumped on a plane out of Washington this past Friday. He headed off to Indiana to personally announce HHS had approved the state’s new work requirements for Medicaid recipients.  Azar’s visit sent a clear signal about how much the Trump administration favors states enacting Medicaid work requirements-a change with potential to curtail or eliminate crucial healthcare benefits for many. (It might also signal Mike Pence’s influence and readiness to take over – if necessary.)

Azar’s messaging might lead some to wonder if such requirements might ever be considered here in Vermont – should our no-new-taxes, no-new -fees GOP Governor take a liking to the idea.

In Indiana, TPM.com explains: the Medicaid waiver — titled the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP for short — will allow the state to kick out enrollees who can’t prove they are working, studying, volunteering or applying for work at least 20 hours per week. People older than 60, pregnant women, primary caregivers and those deemed “medically frail,” among others, will be exempt.

 “There is a robust body of academic evidence to show that work is a key component of well-being,” Azar said Friday in Indianapolis.

USmedicaidwaivers
Kaiser Health News waiver tracker map

Supporters would love to find a solid correlation between work and improved health outcomes in order to promote work requirements for benefits. However TPM.com points out: the academic study HHS cited to argue that work requirements will make people healthier was conducted in England, where all citizens have access to universal health care whether or not they are employed.

Indiana now joins Kentucky in the pool of states to be granted the right to impose work requirements for some residents in order for them to receive Medicaid. A group of Kentucky residents are suing the federal government to halt the new rules, accusing the Trump administration’s actions are “threatening irreparable harm to the health and welfare of the poorest and most vulnerable in our country.”  Eight other states are about to join the rush to impose work restrictions.

When questioned about the issue early in January according to VPR news, Vermont’s Secretary of Human Services Al Gobeille remarked that such restrictions would be a “high hurdle” and “tough to think about.” And not exactly reassuring to those who would oppose the changes, he added: “But I’m willing to take a look at it, if there’s any merit in it that would help people.”

Although Governor Scott reportedly has not reviewed the new Trump policy it may not be too farfetched that he might like the idea, after all he has proposed “slashing” part of Vermont’s Medicaid spending already. And quietly tucked away in his 2018 budget is a proposal to eliminate a $1.39 million disability assistance program designed to help disabled Vermonters hire home aides to assist with their daily needs, like bathing, getting dressed, or preparing food.

For now his administration hasn’t dismissed the idea – forcing people to work in order to receive Medicaid – as unacceptable philosophically. No, Scott’s administration is just worrying publicly that it might be  a “high hurdle” (with a Democratic majority in both houses of the legislature) should they decide to go where Trump, Sec. Azar and almost a dozen mostly-GOP states want to lead them.