Rep. Martha Heath's Values are Not Sustainable 
By David Usher

"Vermonters need to engage in a conversation with the governor and their legislators about what values they want the budget to reflect. Ultimately, the real questions will be what are our priorities and who will bear the pain of our decisions."

She expresses very well the liberal philosophy that has bred an unsustainable spending culture in the Legislature. Yet, nowhere in her writing does she include the fact that well before this recession Vermont's economy was in the tank with practically no private sector job growth since the turn of the century.

Please, Rep. Heath, face the reality that the private sector economy, not the public sector economy (government employees, teachers, and government supported health care workers), is the wealth creating tax base upon which you rely for spending taxpayer money to support your values.

Since you asked...

I value a healthy private sector Vermont economy enabled, not thwarted, by a Legislature which sets that as a highest priority.

I value lawmakers who understand the consequences of actions, set spending priorities first before even thinking about adding to my tax burden and who are frugal in spending scarce taxpayer dollars.

I value an energy policy based on the principle of low cost energy, not one mandated with ideologically-driven Legislatively-mandated pricing which forces ratepayers to subsidize costly alternate sources of electricity. While we're on the subject, I value Vermont Yankee as a reliable, safe, low-cost provider for another 20 years. Please back out of the license renewal process.

I value a regulatory structure and permit system that is rational and predictable which minimizes transaction costs.

I value a state government that is efficient, effective and sized proportionately to Vermont's population which utilizes state-or-the art technology internally and to interface with its citizens.

I value safe roads and bridges and crews that are funded to maintain them well.

I value a tax structure where everyone pays something into the system from which they extract value. A system designed to redistribute wealth is anathema.

I value a public school system that is not bloated with too many teachers and administrators in the face of falling enrollment which does not insulate so many property taxpayers from local education spending decisions.

I value private property rights and find it an inappropriate taking when landowners are deprived of legitimate uses of their assets.

There are more, but this should get you started.

David Usher is a member of Vermonters for Economic Health and this article originally appeared on their website: http://www.vteh.org/content/rep-martha-heaths-values-are-not-sustainable