On the heels of the announcement that Vermont's tax burden on individuals is the highest in the country, comes the news that the State coffers are overflowing with cash.
Secretary of Administration Michael Smith said financial analysts expected the flow of taxes into the state's General Fund might exceed official targets by about $15 million. "I don't think anybody expected this."
Now you'd think that these two stories, when put together would indicate that people are taxed too much. I mean clearly, if you have a surplus, then you have taken in more money than you need to run the government.
But no. This is Vermont. So everything is backwards.
For instance, since Democrats now control the House and Senate, one of the big priorities for the Vermont Legislature this year (aside from impeaching Bush and Cheney) is Global Warming. So in Vermont we have a nuclear power plant which produces a third of the electricity used in Vermont, charges only 3.95 cents per kilowatt hour, and has a carbon footprint of zero: i.e. it produces no greehouse gases.
What's more, the owners of the Vermont Yankee power plant already contributes $2.5 million a year into the state's Clean Energy Development Fund.
So what does the Legislature want to do with this obvious good Green neighbor? Why, tax it more, of course.
In the name of Global Warming.
So they can buy buses.
Which pollute the air and spew greehouse gases.
Make sense to you?
Welcome to Vermont.
