BRATTLEBORO-Over the last few weeks, I’ve been knocking on doors in Brattleboro for Amanda Janoo. It’s remarkable how many people I’ve talked to who say, Phil Scott is a nice guy but it’s time for a change. We need new ideas, because what he’s been doing isn’t working.
Some of the most alarming stories are about Vermont businesses closing due to the last straw — tariffs on Canadian goods and services.
People are looking for a governor who demands the tariffs be reversed, who will lead other governors to do the same. Instead, as Amanda Janoo says, Phil Scott has been “managing our decline.”
We’re looking for new ideas, leadership, and a willingness to work with the Legislature to accomplish what needs to be done. Amanda brings all that and more.
So many of our problems are rooted in economic challenges — the affordability of housing, heating oil, groceries, gas, and healthcare. Where is Phil Scott’s outrage that 45,000 Vermonters will lose their health insurance due to the Trump administration’s cuts to Obamacare? And don’t get me started on the cynicism and malice of these cuts having been voted on more than a year ago but set to go into effect only after this November’s midterm elections.
Amanda recognizes the backwards economics of this plan. People without health insurance don’t go to the doctor while their problem is still small. Instead, they get sicker and end up in the emergency department, costing everyone, including our stressed hospitals, much more money. Her plan for universal, free primary and preventive care makes so much more sense, saving millions by preventing the much-more-expensive care.
She also understands the economic roots of much of our housing shortage. Since Covid, we’ve spent $780 million to build 4,400 new homes in Vermont. But at the same time, 5,000 homes have been converted to vacation rentals. That’s a net loss for Vermonters who need a place to live, and this trend worsens the prospects for our kids who want to stay in Vermont and start families.
Amanda understands that we need to incentivize housing for long-term residents by raising taxes on second homes and short-term rentals, and by lowering taxes on primary residences, where Vermonters live.
New ideas, based in Amanda’s economic expertise and years of experience helping governments across the country and around the world build economies that put people first — that’s what Amanda Janoo will bring us. She’s committed to investing in Vermont businesses, which keep the money they make circulating here, instead of sending the profits to Boston or New York or the Middle East.
It’s time, neighbors. The old ways aren’t working. Together, let’s say thanks to Phil Scott, but vote yes to a change, to Amanda Janoo.
Cindy Jerome
Brattleboro
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