Governor’s Race 2016 Vanishing Vermont, The Final Crisis. Everything in Vermont from the Green Mountain ridge lines to real estate, to irreplaceable natural, cultural, moral and economic resources are now uncontrollably for sale including for and by out of state and now increasingly foreign corporations. This is an issue of extreme urgency.
Energy. We must move immediately from de-newable energy to truly re-newable energy, from irreversibly environmentally destructive de-newable energy to truly sustainable environmentally enhancing and restorative re-newable energy. Short term job creation can not be an incentive for projects and policies having long term irreversibly destructive consequences.
We must balance energy production in and out of state. Yes, we must be moving to predominantly renewable energy. In the process we must balance principle and policy to preserve and renew our environment not decimate it with horrific often foreign ridge line desecration and massive out of scale and ill sited solar installations. We must balance what is appropriate for in- state with out of state renewable projects. We can co-own and operate appropriate out of state resources in addition to local.
Taxation statistics having a direct and indirect effect on the cost of education and hence your property tax. Many property taxes doubled in the last decade. Total state tax per capita — highest in nation. GDP per capita — lowest in nation. Property tax per capita — 3rd highest in nation, population density — 30th in nation public education cost per pupil — 4th highest.
To properly and appropriately balance the per student cost of education for a primarily rural and net agricultural state with greatly reduced per capita cost in high density urban nonagricultural areas, a national federal tax must compensate the states of excessively high cost public education reducing per student cost to a national average.
Ethics commission. The growing complexity and myriad functions of government organizations and recent revelations of gross impropriety dictates the absolute need for the unbiased oversight of an ethics commission.
Public Service Board. The PSB has become a major facilitator of CapitOlism moving us from a once noble republic and state from – Of the people to – From the People -, from – By the People – to -Bypassing the People – and from -For the People – to – Forsaking the People – making a mockery of our government and system of representation turning our cultural and historic tradition into a De Mock racy. The Public Service Board is guilty of gross Public disservice and must Go!
Inventory and optimization of underutilized infrastructure community conservation corps would specialize in reclamation, restoration and conservation.
Urgency rooms. Urgency rooms would complement the function of emergency rooms, without the excessive overhead cost, addressing medical issues that don’t necessarily rise to an emergency status but do require reasonably early assessment and attention. Frequently patients are dispatched to the emergency room because their primary physician is not available or the patient does not have adequate insurance coverage. Along with an immediate cessation of unjustifiably excessive opiate prescriptions this would greatly reduce the exploding cost of medical care.
The MITUS Touch. With the gargantuan growth of trade and budget deficits we must return once again to making our own. That is, – Made In These United States – and locally join the Vermont MOOvement, and Make Our Own in Vermont.
Endangered Spaces Act. With the daily horrifying destruction and loss of critical land, and our most treasured life, culture and soul defining spaces we must act immediately to halt the abominable often treasonous betrayal of early Vermont sacred covenants. We can not move from Vermont to Whirrmont, to Grismont to eventually Were Mont. This land was purchased with the sweat and blood of noble Patriots. We are not the owners of its destiny turning everything sacred and irreplaceable uniquely Vermont into a commodity for sale. We are the stewards of this precious land charged with preserving and passing it on to our heirs.
Mental floss. To deal with the frightening explosion of mind-cuffed cell phone zombies and comatose consumers addicted to a tyranny of bloviation and mindless clichés, incapable of enlightened unencumbered free thought, it is incumbent upon our state government to make available to the public, mental floss, where we could clear the clogged neural passages and return to our great tradition of rational inspired thought and perhaps even, reason.
Agri-cultural preserve. All of Vermont would be declared a permanent Preserve guaranteeing the preservation of all agriculture, our rural and occupied areas and all cultural and historic resources including every structure over 50 years of age. A part of this program would be the establishment of a support fund for family size dairy farms ensuring that their receipts for dairy production must exceed their operating cost. The public could participate with the purchase of “Good Earthkeeping Green Bonds.”
Spirit of 86 In the “Spirit of 1786” when our three-year-old nation was on the verge of economic collapse and foreign takeover our government moved to create a new Constitution that would “Regulate Commerce and Trade” to insure national sovereignty, balance trade and guarantee the preservation of national resources. We must today, in response to a severe national and state crisis, establish two new agencies for both state and national level.
A strategic resource administration and a state and national sovereignty act. To be a truly sovereign nation and state, certain defining absolutes must be established and enforced. For strategic resources we shall define and designate once and for all what constitutes strategic resources; natural, cultural, historic, social, philosophical, moral, natural and man made. And then implement legislation that gives absolute control and authority over these life and soul defining and sustaining resources.
Low CARB diet. Vermonters need to go on my previously described low CARB diet.
Fiscal franchise. Finally, every Vermonter, every American, has a direct impact on the direction and condition of our economy. Every time you spend a dollar you are casting a vote, supporting a specific enterprise, a product, a nation, a process. Always be cognizant of the direct and immediate effect of your transactions, exercise your fiscal franchise with your dollars and sense.
Rustan Swenson
Shoreham