Vermonters for Economic Health

The Vermont Tea Party held in Montpelier was a resounding success as 400-500 Vermonters gathered on the State House lawn for two hours of peaceful protest and remarks by several speakers. VEH's Scott Hardy presented the remarks below. We want the General Assembly to hear those Vermonters who are deeply concerned with the direction of government generally and who are frustrated by the ever-increasing spending and tax burdens on those in Vermont who pay them.

Remarks by Scott Hardy at Montpelier Tea Party April 15, 2009

• As a life long entrepreneur, I have been employing myself and others through companies I have founded such as NEOS Overshoes, Ulu Footwear and Linckia Development.

• We are all here (or most of us) because we choose to live in Vermont,

• We need to preserve the beauty of Vermont by respecting our environment and enjoy what Vermont has to offer.

• At age 3, my older sister coined the term “OURmont”. Vermont is OUR State, and we need to work collectively on future solutions.

• But, we need to find a balance on what the Vermont economy needs to grow with responsible business and industrial practices.

• About a year ago, I joined a Grass Roots, Non-Partisan, Citizen lead organization with the mission to promote economic and fiscal responsibility in Vermont’s Government called Vermonters For Economic Health (VEH)

• We focus on-

  • Tax Burdens and trends

  • Spending and Expenses

  • Job Growth

  • Demographic Shifts in Vermont’s citizens

  • Exploration of potential solutions

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  • Vermonters are getting squeezed in every area of taxation- Income, Property, Sales, Rooms and Meals,

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  • 75% of our tax revenues goes towards Education and Human Services.

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  • Over the past 10 years, student enrollment has dropped by over 9%, while the teachers and staff have increased by over 20%.

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  • Over the past 7 years, there has been Zero private sector jobs growth, while public sector government jobs have grown by 4500 new positions!

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  • Just 15% of the Vermont tax payers are carrying over 55% of the states tax burden.

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  • The top 1% are paying almost 25% themselves, and have no other way to vote, other than moving away.

• This imbalance cannot continue, or we stand to loose this group, as they WILL vote with their Feet!

• It is not right for a state to force it’s citizens to leave due to unequal rights. -Taxation without representation.

• There is a large group of “Close the door mentality” within the VT legislatures who don’t want any changes and don’t want more people to move and live here. They just believe that the current group of citizens are willing to fund their ever expanding Vermont government.

• We need to make changes in this state by electing representatives who can focus on the Vital economic needs of Vermont, not just the social needs.

• I fault our legislatures for corrupting the Vermont Brand and Vermont Image to the greater business community of New England and beyond.

• A too small group of Vermonters are paying a too large amount of the costs of operating Vermont.

• We need more tax payers, not more taxes

• The Vermont Government needs to live within their means.

• We need to take care of our needy Vermonters, but cannot continue to support the influx of needed United States citizens looking for refuge in Vermont because of the superior quality of our social programs. This influx and growth is unsustainable to our tax structure.

• We need to educate our 30,000+ college graduates that Vermont has a lot to offer them and instill the idea when they are here that they should return to Vermont to settle with a young family and that Vermont will have the jobs here so they can maintain a well rounded lifestyle vs. choosing the city life and single dimensional upbringing. We need these young, educated and curious minds to fill in and grow the state for the future generations.

• Our Vermont taxes are far too high because our spending is out of control and not sustainable.

• Past Legislatures bear the responsibility for this, yet this Legislature proposes to increase spending by more than 6% and raise $24 Million more in taxes. We stand against this assault on taxpayers!!!

• Vermonters For Economic Health is offering detailed presentation at the AIV offices, 99 State Street at 2pm following this Tea Party, we encourage any of you interested in learning more to attend this detailed presentation.