Lesson #3
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass in front of him. " How much is an ice cream sundae ? " he asked. " Fifty cents. " replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his
pocket and studied the coins in it. " Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream ? " he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. " Thirty five cents," she brisquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. " I'll have the plain ice cream, " he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
- author unknown, but appreciated -
Representative of Franklin-1
Fairfax & Georgia, Vermont
VEPC is in trouble.
The Vermont Economic Progress Council
has not developed and evolved as intended.
It has not preformed as expected when it was established in 1998.
Four legislative committees are looking at the program
to see if there can be a better way to grant tax credits
for businesses interested in coming to or expanding in Vermont.
So far research done by these legislative committees
has revealed that millions of dollars of tax credits
have been distributed with little evidence of economic benefit to the state.
On Friday last week, Senator Vince Illuzzi testified in our committee
on the progress made in the Senate to improve Council.
A public hearing last week revealed some real concerns
on the part of the public and Vermont business.
At least two bills are being written in the Senate
to help improve the operation at VEPC.
What is the current status ?
There is general agreement that things at VEPC need to change.
A moratorium on VEPC credits would not benefit anyone.
Even with its flaws, the program is all we have (so far)
in Vermont and shutting it down wouldn't be beneficial
in our efforts to encourage business.
Among the changes being discussed are an annual cap on tax credits,
such as $10 million or $15 million,
with performance reviews required for businesses who take the credits.
Also, being discussed are changes in membership on the VEPC Board.
The changes might include inclusion of the Tax Commissioner,
organized labor and an advocate for the public.
Many legislators are also feeling there should be public disclosure
of the amount of awards given to businesses.
Tax credits are difficult things to evaluate,
but they should be fair,
businesses should be able to anticipate them
and the rules should be the same from applicant to applicant.
I'll keep you informed as this work continues.
On another note....
Some readers may be interested in action taken by the House
in response to the concern of many Vermonters
regarding judges' oaths of office.
Last week the House passed H517 on to the Senate.
It is a bill that proposes a judge or justice take and sign
his or her oath of office on or before April 1 of the year of retention
or within 10 days after retention vote of the General Assembly,
which ever is later.
This issue was discussed quite a bit last month at the time we were
voting on the Supreme Court justices and their retention.
If some are confused by the Vermont Constitutional language,
this should leave no doubt as to when a judge's oath must be taken and signed.
The bill is now in the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
And, on another note.....
I voted to sustain the Governor's veto on S74 because
I believe in the primary principle of one person one vote.
This is one of the most vital components of our Democratic society.
The bill proposed to create a superboard to oversee the pension investments
of three public retirement systems.
The new board was to be called the Vermont Pension Investment Committee
and would have been comprised of representatives from
the Teacher's Retirement Board, the Municipal Employee's Board
and the Vermont State Employees Board.
My main problem with the bill was that some members of these boards
were going to be unable to vote for their representation on the superboard.
Under S74 all the trustees serving on the Municipal Board
would serve on the VPIC.
But S74 would only have allowed one half the trustees serving on the boards
for the state employees and teacher's systems to select their representatives
to the VPIC.
I didn't think this was fair.
More than that, it was absolutely contrary to one of
the most fundamental American principles: equal representation
through one person one vote.
It seemed to me the bill created two distinct and unequal classes
of trustees on these Boards:
those who are eligible to vote and those who aren't.
The selection of these VPIC board members
is very important to the state of Vermont.
If for some reason the investments do not perform as expected,
the taxpayers of Vermont will have to make up the difference.
We guarantee the retirees their pension by law.
There is no chance the retirees will get shortchanged.
The Board will oversee the investment of assets
of all three retirement systems,
which combined total more than $2.6 billion.
Our objective should not be to force
a particular politically motivated outcome.
Our objective should be for the full membership
of the existing Boards to make appointment decisions
based on who is the most qualified.
I absolutely support the concept of unitization
of the assets for investment purposes.
An important point is that for years the 3 systems
have been combining and have a contract
with one actuarial firm, one custodial bank
and have had one pension consultant firm.
The Boards currently work together to hire
one common money manager for investment already !
They can continue to do this and save money if they choose.
The last point on this issue I'd like to make
is that the bill is easily fixable.
A short amendment that does not restrict
a trustees ability to cast a vote
for the VPIC board membership would do it.
Rep. Flory made such a motion when the bill was
before the House in February, but it failed.
Constituents can contact me on these issues at
cbranagan@leg.state.vt.us
Representative Carolyn Branagan
Franklin-1, Fairfax/Georgia
Vermont House of Representatives
800-322-5616
802-527-7694
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