HARDWICK – Last Tuesday, Governor Scott introduced his budget for fiscal 2026, in which he proposed big changes to our state’s response to climate change, public safety and public education, including partly paying for level property taxes this year by eliminating universal school meals for Vermont’s children.
Absent from Governor Scott’s proposal were real solutions and funding to address the multiple ongoing crises facing Vermonters. The governor’s budget recommendations fail to address the growing crisis of homelessness, the mental health crisis, the substance use disorder crisis or challenges in our public education system. His proposal does not make Vermont more affordable by providing immediate tax relief to Vermonters who need it most. Nor does it require wealthy Vermonters to pay their fair share of the tax burden.
Right now Vermonters are experiencing some of the worst outcomes in the nation on a number of issues, including housing. We have the fourth-highest rate of homelessness in the nation, and we have seen the largest increase to the cost of buying a home.
Mental health and substance use is another concern. We have the eighth-highest rate of overdose-related deaths in the nation.
Climate change is a concern. We produce more than twice the global per-capita average of green house gas emissions and the 2nd-highest rate in New England.
Another concern is public safety. While Vermont remains the safest state in the nation, the real challenges facing our communities can only be addressed by investment in social safety nets, evidence-based strategies for youth and young adults involved in the criminal justice system and swift access to justice by clearing out the backlogs in our Vermont courts.
Taxes are a concern. The wealthiest Vermonters pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than do middle-income Vermonters.
Progressives are committed to guaranteeing housing, healthcare (including mental health and substance use treatment) and an excellent public education system as a right for all Vermonters. We can do all of these things while improving the cost of living for working-class people if we demand that higher-income and wealthier members of our communities pay their fair share.
Vermont’s Progressive legislators will be doing everything in their power this session to ensure that the state budget lowers the cost of living for working Vermonters and addresses the fundamental needs of our communities, including affordable and accessible housing, mental health and substance use treatment and recovery supports, climate solutions and public safety through both accountability and community care. But they are in for a tough fight. Please join in demanding of your elected representatives a state budget that puts the needs of the most vulnerable Vermonters first.
David Kreindler is the chair of the Hardwick Progressive Committee.