Candidates talk about economic ideas
Burlington Free Press, July 15, 2008, by Nancy Remsen (link to article).
Remember that 1992 political catch phrase “It’s the economy, stupid?”
It’s clear that Vermont’s gubernatorial candidates believe that this year’s election is largely about the economy.
At 11:30 a.m. Monday, Progressive Anthony Pollina came to Church Street in Burlington to discuss two ideas to help the Vermont economy without raising taxes. His suggestions: a new credit card — VermontCard — that would pay dividends to a special state fund for agricultural and energy projects and a new network for merchants to help them negotiate lower credit card fees.
“We need to find creative ways to start investing again in Vermont,” Pollina said.
Over the lunch hour, Democrat Gaye Symington told the Burlington Rotary Club that her experience in the Legislature, her determination and new ideas would move the state out of the doldrums and encourage new energy-related businesses.
“We do have a crisis coming up this winter,” she told the two-dozen Rotarians at the Hilton. She suggested more remedies would have been available to Vermonters “if we had had some creative thinking at the table. As governor, I will bring new ideas to the table.”
Last week, she released her “Efficiency Pays” plan, which would allow Vermonters to improve heating systems and weatherize, and pay for the improvements as they realize the savings. She also proposed a biomass business incubator to promote research into new technologies and stimulate a critical industry.
Meanwhile, the campaign staff for Republican Gov. Jim Douglas released statements pointing to news stories about the popularity of the recent tax-free weekend. Douglas proposed the two-day tax holiday late in the legislative session as a shot-in-the-arm for the state’s retail economy.
Lawmakers questioned the impact of such a brief holiday, arguing people would postpone purchases to take advantage of the tax break. Also, the state would lose perhaps $2 million in revenue. They went along with the holiday as part of a compromise on a larger economic stimulus package.
Monday, the Douglas campaign said Symington’s continuing criticism of the holiday showed she was out of touch with Vermonters — especially as anecdotal evidence mounted about its success.
Douglas, who returned Monday from a meeting of the National Governors Association, will promote the next steps to help businesses in a campaign appearance today in Essex Junction.
Business people of all political stripes will offer testimonials this campaign season. Monday, Pollina recruited several to support his credit card proposals — including Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.
“I’ve been trying my entire career to do good without additional cost,” Greenfield said. That’s why he supported the VermontCard idea.
Pollina campaign officials noted that “reward” cards require businesses to pay the reward so with a VermontCard, businesses would pay the contribution to the proposed farm and energy fund. To offset this, Pollina wants to reduce the fees merchants pay.
That’s why Pollina wants to create a merchants network that could negotiate lower processing fees — perhaps as much as 20 percent less for some merchants.
When asked why merchants haven’t banded together to negotiate lower fees, Pollina said, “They don’t have a leader who could organize them to do that. This is, quite honestly, a simple approach to a problem for a lot of businesses. There are ways to do things, if we think differently.”
Contact Nancy Remsen at 651-4888 or nremsen@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com