Senator Bernard Sanders (I-Vermont) (left), Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, joined Dr. Robert A. Petzel, Under Secretary for Health, in highlighting how VA is bridging health care and information technology. (Photo courtesy of VA)
It’s no secret that Bernie Sanders wants to increase death taxes. That, along with his other proposed taxes, seems to have triggered a burgeoning movement for tax reform in an effort to stem the tide of fleeing Vermonters from the Green Mountain State.
Even Granola Lefties Not Buying into Sanders’ Policies
Mr. Sanders, who won another landslide reelection last year, obviously is highly popular in Vermont, a state where Dick and I have traveled extensively during our 25+ years of riding Harleys. When we first started traveling Vermont back-roads, our joke was to be prepared. There were few tourist-friendly facilities (before a handful of McDonald’s were finally allowed into the state). Thankfully for Vermont tourism, things have gotten a little more welcoming.
What hasn’t gotten friendlier or stronger in Vermont are family-owned dairy farms. Dick and I were shocked on a road-trip through Vermont last summer at the dearth of cows in pastures and fields. The whole family-owned dairy industry seems to have disappeared. Apparently it has been taken over by big agriculture, where barn-ed cows never see the light of day.
Even Granola Leftists Wary
As James Freeman continues from yesterday’s column on Bernie, even in this bastion of “granola leftism,” his policies are becoming a tough sell.
The WSJ urges Democrats to take a closer looks at the results of Vermont trying to set up, for example, Sander’s signature health-care proposal.
Why a Democratic Governor Abandoned the Idea:
- an 11.5% payroll tax
- a 9.5% income tax, and more increases to come
Furthermore, the WSJ points out, “progressives couldn’t even get single payer up and running for about 625,000 people in a state with a decent health profile.”
Mr. Sanders continues his rant about the “billionaire class” and giant multinational corporations, but does he not realize his opponents include many smaller businesses, too?
Vermonters Cannot Afford Bernie
A broad coalition representing companies and farms of various sizes is urging repeal of the federal death tax on the grounds that it reduces capital formation and triggers huge compliance costs while raising little in federal revenue. The letter from the Family Business Coalition to repeal champions Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) and Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.) notes that even prominent liberal economists have published work on the tax’s “stifling effect” on jobs and growth.
Enacting just a portion of the Sanders agenda has been a crushing failure for Vermont.
Read more here.
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