by Senator Corey Parent, R-Franklin County Over the weeks ahead, Vermonters will hear a lot about the things funded in the Legislature’s version of the next state budget.
We’ll talk about money for housing, workforce training, childcare, human services systems and more. The truth is it invests in some important things. But it’s not good enough. And I voted against it because of what’s not in it for our communities and our people.
In making changes to Governor Scott’s budget, the Legislature cut too much from revitalizing communities and helping families get ahead.
For example, my colleagues in the Legislature cut tax relief for seniors on social security, childcare workers, nurses, young workers, Vermonters paying off student loans, military veterans and – most importantly – low-income working families who are working everyday to achieve economic independence.
They cut funding to revitalize communities experiencing economic stagnation, expand cell phone service into rural areas, and grants for mom and pop small business growth.
Instead, they propose to fund programs and systems – some with important goals – we all know can't be sustained without retaining and recruiting working families. Which requires better affordability and more vibrant economic growth in all 14 counties – not just in the lucky few.
This is the way they’ve always done it. Passing budgets that ignore the economic realities in each of our counties and communities. Doubling down on one-size-fits-all policies that promised results they have not delivered.
For regions facing these now decades-long declines, the policies of the past have not delivered on the campaign promises many legislators have made for the future. As a result, Vermont is stuck in a negative cycle we must reverse.
More specifically, Franklin County – the area I represent in the Senate – has lost 6% of its labor force since our peak employment. That’s almost 2,000 workers. We have 10% fewer K-12 students than we did 10 years ago.
As bad as this is, Franklin County is better off than many other counties. Eight others have at least a 10% decline in labor force since their peak. Statewide there are more than 31,000 fewer workers than there were 10 years ago and K-12 school enrollment has fallen more than 21% since 2004.
Rutland, Windham and Bennington counties, for example – once vibrant economic drivers in our state – have lost about 20% of their labor force (more than 15,000 workers combined and about half of the total statewide decline) since their peak. Caledonia, Windsor and Lamoille counties have lost about 15% or more of their workers since the peak. And Essex County up in the Northeast Kingdom has lost an astounding 21% of its workforce and 21% of the kids in its K-12 system.
These trends – and the policies driving them – result in rising costs of living and fewer good jobs in once vibrant county economic centers. Tougher choices for schools that don’t have the tax capacity to provide the best educational programs for kids. More vacant storefronts, shuttered manufacturing plants, addiction, homelessness and crime.
The stark reality is these trends – and the harms they produce – will continue until the Legislature truly commits to focusing on the fundamentals of making Vermont more affordable for families and businesses.
That’s why we need to seize this moment.
Billions in federal recovery dollars, and historic state surpluses, have given us a once-in-a-century opportunity — this year — to finally make a real difference for the people and regions of Vermont that have been left behind for far too long. But the Legislature is very close to squandering this opportunity.
So, I voted “no” on the Senate’s proposed changes to the Governor’s budget because my colleagues are proposing “more of the same.” And that comes at the expense of bigger investments in our communities and our people.
To be blunt, Governor Scott should veto any budget that does not do more to put every county on a more secure and prosperous path.
But it doesn’t have to come to that. The Legislature can still pass a budget that does more to restore economic opportunity in all parts of the state. More to provide relief from the burden of taxes and the increasing costs of housing, healthcare, childcare and more. And, most importantly, more to commit to the revitalization of our communities.
If they do, I will enthusiastically vote yes.