Talk about panic setting in!
The local birdcage liner published a front page story on December 9th strongly indicating a desire by the Democrat controlled state government to pass a huge tax on home heating oil and propane gas. This – on top of the already outrageous prices being forced down the throats of our citizens – has caused a panic situation for many. And understandably so. The proposed tax increase would add 24 cents to the gallon of fuel oil, causing a projected increase of $800 per year just to heat your home for approximately eight months of the year.
I’d like to link you directly to the story, but for some strange reason, the publisher has scrubbed it from their web site. You don’t suppose there was any political arm-twisting going on there, do you? I didn’t think so.
Every single year our U.S. Senators get in line for additional federal funding for low income residents and they’ll be at the head of that line this winter. The Obama administration has cut funding for the program to the point where about half of the money provided a year ago will NOT be available this year. Throw a major tax increase on top of that and you can readily understand the anxiety.
For the record: The Governor hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll support this proposal from one of his party’s legislators. And I suspect his phone is ringing off the hook today from thousands of residents incensed at the very idea of a major state tax increase in an area that would mean life or death for many – especially in light of the dire condition of the economy at both the federal and state levels.
Officially, this State has 632,004 residents and 99,349 of them are on food stamps – nearly one in every six.
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, 14,093 of our residents are unemployed, but most believe the actual number is more than 25,000. Considering the high number on food stamps, it would be reasonable to assume that FAR more than 14 thousand are unemployed. Just one more example of how the federal government juggles the numbers and winds up with an unemployment figure that’s nowhere near the actual total.
And this is a State that voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama and elected an overwhelming number of Democrats to its House and Senate in November. The voters here have elected or re-elected Democrats to every high ranking political position for many years.
On election night, this State was declared an Obama victory before one single vote was counted. At 7:01 PM – barely one minute after the polls had closed – every news organization declared Vermont in Obama’s column.
Should any of us feel outrage and/or compassion for the citizens of Vermont now that her elected officials have proposed massive tax increases on their home heating fuel?
Well, yes….One of them, at least. But there’s not one single thing I can do about it.
This is what you elected, Vermont, and elections “have consequences”, so I’m told.
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