Every year, when budget writers in Montpelier begin their work — and legislators begin to determine what to spend — the backdrop of these conversations is marked by a unavoidable reality: Vermont has a serious problem with its unfunded liabilities. All together, we have a total liability of just over $8 billion — that’s billion, with a “b.” For comparative purposes, that’s larger than our entire state budget. These liabilities are composed of our teachers’ pension ($3.4 billion), teachers other post-employm … (read more)
