By Mike Smith In the early 1960s we still had racist state laws defending the widespread practice of segregation. Slowly — too slowly for many black Americans — those laws began to change. However, racism and bigotry don’t end by […]
Category: Op – Ed
Op - Ed
Is North Korea really the problem?
By David Russell Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Russell of Perkinsville, who is a retired renewable energy and securities consultant and whose writing appears in venues including the The Hill and Huffington Post. Military analysts surmise that North […]
Op - Ed
It’s the property tax that’s unfair in education funding
By Jack Hoffman Economist Art Woolf wrote recently that Vermont spends too much on education because taxes are too low for many residents. Woolf was referring specifically to resident homeowners who qualify to pay school taxes as a percentage of their income rather […]
Op - Ed
Good communication lies at the heart of democracy
By Lee H. Hamilton Do ordinary citizens still have a voice in Washington and in their state capitals? Despite the cynicism of these times, my answer is, yes, we do. But we have to exercise it. I don’t just mean […]
Op - Ed
Democrats fail to connect with economic message
By Mike Smith During the last gubernatorial election, and then again just recently during the debate over teachers’ health insurance, Vermont Democrats underestimated the potency of Gov. Phil Scott’s affordability message. Scott continues to force an economic debate by hammering away […]
Op - Ed
Witnessing Vermont’s changing landscape and economy
By Nick Richardson The economy and our landscape in Vermont are intertwined. Recreation, tourism, agriculture, and forestry, all key economic drivers, depend on the natural resources from our landscape. Indeed, the Vermont brand itself is inseparable from our land ethic- […]
Op - Ed
A state of satisfaction, with one big exception
By Jon Margolis Editor’s note: Jon Margolis is a political columnist for VTDigger. You know who really likes Vermont? Vermonters. According to a Gallup Poll, 61 percent of the people who live in Vermont say it’s “the best or one of […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
When our president disregards what it means to serve the public
By Angelo Lynn There he goes again President Ronald Reagan coined the refrain, “There you go again,” to disarm President Jimmy Carter’s repeated attacks during the 1980 presidential campaign. The refrain has made a comeback, in a completely different context, with […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
A carbon pollution solution
By Tom Hughes Last week Governor Phil Scott took another step towards real climate action. He signed an executive order creating a Vermont Climate Action Commission and reaffirmed the climate and clean energy goals set forth in the 2016 Comprehensive […]
Op - Ed, Opinion
Act 60: Twenty years after Brigham
By William J. Mathis Editor’s note: William J. Mathis is managing director of the National Education Policy Center and vice-chair of the Vermont State Board of Education, and a Goshen resident. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views […]