Zuckerman For VT Presents FY22 Budget Directives - in Contrast to Scott’s Flat Budget
PRESS ADVISORY: October 27 2020
Zuckerman For VT Presents FY22 Budget Directives - in Contrast to Scott’s Flat Budget.
MONTPELIER: Remarks from Lt. Governor Zuckerman and economist Stephanie Seguino planned for today’s in-person press conference are included below.
Lt. Governor David Zuckerman
“Last week, the Governor provided guidelines to state agencies to use when creating their FY22 budgets. As he has consistently done throughout his years in office, he relies on flat budgeting - a process void of leadership and that results in cuts to critical programs.
Governors are elected by the people of Vermont to lead, not to abdicate that leadership. In communicating only that the budget should be flat - which, as his administration has admitted, is for all intents and purposes a cut across the board - the governor is not providing leadership on the programs or needs of Vermonters that our state, our agencies, and our government should be prioritizing in this incredibly difficult time.
The Scott administration has demonstrated once again that the focus is on what sounds good, not what will be good for Vermonters. While touting affordability and the needs of Vermont’s most vulnerable, Phil Scott’s approach does not address the 68,000 Vermonters making minimum wage - a wage that is not enough to support a family by any standards, or the 70,000 Vermont homes and businesses without adequate broadband for their education, employment, and other needs. It isn’t focused on why the economic well-being of our kids has plummeted from 9th nationally in 2017 to 18th in 2020 or how our infant mortality rate fell from 12th best in 2017 to 35th in the nation in 2018.
As Governor, I will put the needs of Vermonters at the center of our budgeting process. Below are the guidelines a Zuckerman administration would use in creating the FY22 budget.
I would direct agencies to prioritize programs that provide direct assistance to low-income families and I would encourage agencies and departments to make proposals for new ways of addressing the needs they are seeing, working with community partners, and ensuring that Vermonters are getting the services and support they need.
I would direct agencies to prioritize programs that put Vermonters to work. For example investments in weatherization, housing development, or retrofitting buildings all have a multiplier impact of creating jobs and saving Vermonters money or meeting a state need.
I would work with agencies to identify programs that are not providing a return on their investment, are no longer needed, can not quantify their results and/or are redundant in their services or bureaucratic paperwork. We must be accountable to taxpayers and be able to prove the money we are spending is having a positive impact on Vermont and Vermonters.
I would create a statewide goal for the creation of new jobs in the renewable energy sector - particularly the solar industry. Work with administration and business leaders to identify barriers to employment and immediately put forth proposed rules changes, legislation, or appointments to reverse the barriers that the Governor's appointments have put in place. His barriers have cost us 500 jobs in solar installation alone. And finally,
I would fully explore the pros and cons of using the reserve funds before cutting programs that Vermonters need and I would do the hard but important work to identify new ways to raise revenue to meet the desperate needs of struggling Vermonters. I have already talked about sequestering some of the Trump Tax cuts that those making over a quarter of a million dollars received and increasing the PTT on homes over $700,000. And we can also explore accelerating the timeline on implementing cannabis reform to generate income from the new cannabis system.
Vermonters deserve leadership that will do the hard work of identifying the projects and programs that will make a real difference for Vermonters and to prioritize those critical programs in the budget. They also deserve a leader who will restructure or remove programs that can’t provide measurable results.
I’m running for Governor to lead Vermont forward in a way that helps all Vermonters. I’m running for governor because I believe in accountability and transparency. I’m running for governor for a better future and a stronger Vermont.”
Stephanie Seguino, professor of economics at the University of Vermont in Burlington
“Today’s is the third widespread economic crisis since 1998. One of the most important lessons economists have learned from past crises is that austerity (a cut to government spending during a crisis) is ineffective in restoring growth after a crisis. Instead, austerity slows the recovery and increases inequality, which in turn hurts the level and sustainability of any growth.
Instead of austerity, David’s economic plan supports two important goals coming out of the crisis—that Vermont builds a greener economy and that inequality in our economy does not worsen. Crises are not the time to cut funding for those most harmed by this pandemic. Rather, providing support to those most harmed by the economic effects of the crisis – families and small businesses – will ensure that households have enough to live on and that the money they have to spend will support the viability of small businesses, the bedrock of the Vermont economy.
Targeted spending to support struggling families and small businesses is, as the research has shown, not only humane but also sound economics. David’s plan, which is based on a clear-headed analysis of where support is most needed, does just that. It targets spending and support to those who underpin a sound, healthy state economy, making sure that tax dollars are well spent and leave us all better off, as we weather this crisis.”
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