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Phil Scott on Budget & Economy |
Republican Bruce Lisman presented what he calls a multiyear approach to recast state government. "I'd manage the damn budget. Set spending at 2-3 percent per year to reset our finances and no new taxes. And find 2 percent efficiencies with a brilliant, motivated management team. Recharge our government by bringing real managers into it, those people we find not because we know them but because they're talented," Lisman said.
Both Republicans have said the state's health exchange has hurt the business climate in the state.
There were a number of areas within the speech where I do have concerns, one being that, while I agree we have a structural problem with the Medicaid cost shift, I'm hesitant to fund the 'fix' through a payroll tax. Opening the door to even a small increase will, in my opinion, lead us to further tax growth. Once that seed is planted, we have a te over-fertilize, and I fear there will be further proposals to increase taxes on Vermonters and small Vermont businesses, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
