Two sources today have revelations about Douglas's job cuts. You remember that late last year Douglas pushed to save money? Well, they didn't necessarily save money.

First, Dan Barlow reports in the Rutland Herald that Doug Racine has been able to squeeze information out of the Health Department and found out that at least six of the jobs that were cut were 100% funded by federal dollars. That's right: we didn't save a dime in General Fund money by cutting the positions.

Racine said the cuts were made because the department was told to cut a certain number of positions from its budget, but not a specific amount of money.

This morning in the Senate Economic Development Committee, Racine noted that these workers are probably now receiving unemployment benefits through the state.

“This is actually costing us more,” he said.

This follows on a story from Seven Days. Shay Totten has been able to dig up a very similar story.

The Body Count — Few people noticed that about a third of the 150 jobs Douglas cut from state government this summer were funded by the feds.

According to a tally by “Fair Game,” 22 of those jobs were fully funded by the feds; another 15 were at least half-funded (50 to 95 percent); and another 22 were less than half-funded by Uncle Sam.

Another 35 state-funded positions were on the books — some since 2006 — but never filled.

Like I say, the same story: Douglas wanted to be able to show job cuts, no matter whether they saved us any money, or no matter what services were lost.

We've heard the same story around here. Green Mountain Daily has learned that the Department of Education got its target from the Fifth Floor, and was able to cut enough money to meet its target without any job cuts. Guess what: the list came back from the Fifth Floor, rejected. Why? They didn't want to cut money, but bodies. Without the staff cuts, Douglas and his people weren't interested.

I guess you could chalk this up to the Scissorhands Phenomenon: he's not interested in governing, he has no interest in what the government actually does, but he definitely wants to be seen doing something. Regardless of whether it does anything for the people of Vermont.

Three guesses as to what that quote’s about.

“Think of it as a radio contest.”

Hmm… something that gets you a prize of some sort?  A chance to win inaugural tickets?  Perhaps a game?

Not so much so.

This is what Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden had to say about the following.  Per The Rutland Herald…

As the economy continues to slink downward, the Vermont Department of Labor has been swamped with new unemployment claims – and the state is now scrambling to get more workers in front of phones to help out residents who have lost their jobs.

Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden told lawmakers Wednesday that her department has seen a more than 100 percent increase in calls in the last two months. There were 7,300 weekly unemployment claims in November, she added, compared with 16,000 by the end of December.

This has meant that the state Labor Department often does not have enough staff to handle all the calls and Vermonters are getting busy signals or the “circuits are busy” message when they try to call.

And while the state has been adding staff to the call centers, Powden said Vermonters who need the services should keep on calling.

“Think of it as a radio contest,” she said. “Just hit the redial button.”

This is a little more serious than this sort of flip response.  But I bet if we wanted to save a little money, we could just outsource this to India.

(UPDATE: Looks like a release went out about an hour before I posted this, but contained no details.)

No details at this point, but sources report that the locally-owned Times Argus and Rutland Herald are collectively eliminating 14 jobs – including a reporter and an editor – in the face of the double whammy of the economic downturn and the general decline of the industry. Sounds like morale is rather low, as the assumption is there may well be more cuts to come.

Meanwhile, Shay is reporting further cost-cutting at the Burlington Free Press mandated from Gannett corporate.

This is getting a little scary, actually. There already isn’t enough of a press corps to keep up on what a vibrant press should be keeping up with. Cutting back on reporters is not going to make matters any better, and new media is in no position to pick up the slack, given that the small pool that is Vermont is not enough to support a professionalized site of the likes of Talking Points Memo (at least not under current business models).

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it! Prior DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities. The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer, July 17-19, 2009 in Burlington, VT!

Get your tickets today! http://www.DemocracyFest.net

Confirmed speakers and trainers this year include Alan Dechert from the Open Voting Consortium who will lead the discussion on Election Integrity, Dr. Deb Richter who has been a leading force for Universal Health Care for many years, Sheryl Rapee-Adams from Vermont Freedom to Marry who will bring us up to speed on Marriage Equality developments and actions, and Charlie Grapski who discovered election fraud in Florida and is now being persecuted by the corrupt authorities there.

Other sessions and trainings will include Grassroots Campaigning, Fundraising, Green Energy, Buying Local and more! Check out our schedule as it develops here: http://www.DemocracyFest.net/S…

Howard Dean will be there too of course! He never misses a DemocracyFest! We don’t know what he will be up to by July…Running for office? Chairing an organization? Mobilizing the grassroots in some new way that he has envisioned? Whatever it is, we’re sure it will be exciting. Come hear about his latest adventures at DemocracyFest!

We are currently seeking performers for this year’s event. If you are interested in performing (music, comedy, etc), please contact us at info@democracyfest.net

We look forward to seeing you in July at the 6th Annual DemocracyFest! Full Event tickets are only $55! Buy yours today before they sell out at http://www.DemocracyFest.net

The DemocracyFest Team

David, Denise, Ellen, Jessica, Laurie and Quintus

www.DemocracyFest.net

In my job I deal with the Department of Mental Health every day. I dealt with them when they were the Department of Mental Health, I dealt with them when they were the Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services, I dealt with them when they were the Division of Mental Health of the Department of Health, and I deal with them now that they're the Department of Mental Health again.

I had cases with them when all their offices and staff were in Waterbury, and I could walk across the parking lot to talk to them, and I have cases with them now that they're in Burlington, and they have to drive down to Waterbury to try cases, do witness interviews, and go to meetings on the Vermont State Hospital.

Now, apparently they may be moving again. According to a story in today's Free Press, the state's considering another move, back to Waterbury.

It's fine with me. I'm sure there will be some advantages in having DMH staff in the same place as the State Hospital (motto: “We'll be closing sometime”) and other departments who deal with the same clientele. It makes you wonder, though: are the same people who thought it was such a great idea three years ago making the decision that it's a great idea to move back?

The following is most of a post by David Z. over on the Prog Blog … link here:

As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I got to see the work of Douglas’ Tax Commissioner Tom Pelham in action. It was a remarkable sight. As he told of his reasoning for not recommending lowering the property tax rate, he made it appear as though his annual recommendation as dictated by statute, is just a formality.  He had no response when I questioned him as to the fact that it is actually law and that he tended to see it as a much bigger deal in the past when a political score could be made by the Governor that he would be lowering taxes! But now, the Governor saw the property tax as a potential pool of money that he could use for other purposes, so Tax Commissioner Pelham did not want to recommend reducing the rate by 1 or 2 cents per $100. (to the tune of about $10.1 million per penny).

Of course what is interesting is that when the legislature lowers the rate, the corresponding income sensistivity rate no longer goes down. It is set at a floor of 1.8% of ones income. This was set in policy a few years ago.

So oddly enough…when the penny rate is lowered…we are effectively giving a tax reduction to homeowners with incomes greater than $95,000, and to any non-residential property tax payers. In a strange twist of the law…the school property tax is now a mildly progressive tax (except it taxes everyone above $95,000 the same…without tiers).

I first heard of Barney Frank when I was a relatively new Legal Services lawyer back in 1981. It was the first year of Reagan's presidency, and also the first year Reagan tried to implement his war on the poor by killing off the Legal Services Corporation. We heard that the appropriation for Legal Services was going to be taken up, so a few of us went to watch the debate on the floor of the house on C-SPAN, which was also brand new at the time.

Although Frank was a new congressman (it was his first term), he was the floor manager for the Legal Services appropriation. I was completely impressed. He was pretty much everything you see when you see him today: smart, prepared, funny, and completely unwilling to back down from a fight.

We won the funding debate, and even in a year when Reagan was getting Congress, under Tip O'Neill, to give him just about everything he wanted, he never succeeded in destroying legal services for the poor.

Last week's New Yorker had a profile of Frank, much older (aren't we all) but otherwise unchanged. In a 2006 poll of Capitol Hill staffers by Washingtonian, published shortly before the elections that gave Democrats control of the House for the first time in twelve years, Frank was voted the brainiest, funniest, and most eloquent congressman—a notable achievement, since he often speaks in a barely comprehensible mumble. With the Democratic victory he is now a powerful committee chair, he's an expert on affordable housing, and I think the profile is definitely worth reading. The article suggests that because of his committee chair he isn't likely to be interested in a Senate seat, but I can't think of anyone who would be a better successor to Ted Kennedy when he leaves office.

The diary immediately below was to be my only one for the week, but The Guardian website up and posted the last piece I wrote for them. Wasn’t expecting to see it today:

According to the Old Testament, Moses led his people out of bondage and through the wilderness, manifesting miracles all the way. Yet when the promised land was finally reached, he was barred from entering it with his people as punishment for the most trivial of transgressions.

It’s a sad story, and you’ve got to wonder if the outgoing leader of America’s Democratic party isn’t relating to it these days.

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was the driving force behind the most profound changes to American politics since the civil rights era. As a tertiary candidate for the presidency, he was vaulted from obscurity to the top of the Democratic primary pack in 2004 until his campaign abruptly buckled under its own weight, pressure from political insiders, and the burdens placed on it by Dean’s own legendary impulsiveness. Despite this, Dean continued riding the unprecedented wave of rank-and-file, anti-war enthusiasm fueled by the new media revolution.

…Dean will soon step down (from the Chairmanship of the DNC). Though he spoke publicly of his interest in working in an Obama administration, it was leaked early that Dean wasn’t being considered. Though it may seem bizarre that the Democratic re-ascendence won’t include its chief architect, the die was cast the moment Obama announced that Dean’s nemesis Emanuel was to be his chief of staff. Despite Dean’s undeniable success, the usual suspects still want little to do with him.

Here’s a link to the whole piece. Hop on over and comment if you’re so inclined. I’ve already found they can be a tough crowd way over there.

(Doug– if you e-mail me the graphs, I’ll edit them into the diary. – promoted by JulieWaters)

this is a memo I sent recently to legislators on House Ways & Means, Senate Finance, House Commerce, and Senate Economic Development; it concerns the Financial Services Tax Credit program (a gift from Howard Dean to one of the Chittenden “Bishops” Harlan Sylvester, a securities broker AND a political broker)

note: unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to post the graphs, but I think you’ll get the point; especially when you read the last paragraph

note also that this is an opportunity to save money (or at least redirect it) that those who bitch about “welfare fraud” are loathe to acknowledge

TAX INCENTIVES REVISITED

As you consider what to do with the VEGI tax “incentive” program, I offer the following cautionary tale. Although not a perfect analogy, the Financial Services tax credit program (which was mercifully allowed to sunset) illustrates the risks of such a strategy.

The three graphs at right show job growth before, during, and after the program. In all three sectors, growth was positive before the program and generally continued with little change (except for Holding Companies where one firm bumped the number in `97).

Two of the three sectors grew during the market expansion in the late `90s but leveled off or declined with the recession (and one grew a bit after the program was scuttled). This shows why tax “incentives” are not long-term investments. Market conditions are much more important than taxes.

Here is the tale of the tape: job change by NAICS code.

523  32 more jobs then in `01

55111  22 fewer jobs then in `01

525  42 fewer jobs then in `03

So after spending over $10 million in foregone revenues, we have 32 fewer jobs now then before the last recession. And this data is from the 2nd quarter of 2008 (latest available). It will only get worse when the figures for the 2nd half of 2008 are published. And they call this economic development?

The graphs as Doug e-mailed them to me –Julie

Clicking on them gets you a version twice the size.

If you surf the blogs, you’ve probably seen by now that Senator Leahy is plenty po’ed in light of the newly released Inspector General report on the poiticization of the Bush Justice Department. While confirming what we already knew, it also specifically fingers Justice appointee Bradley Schlozman for lying under oath when testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Here are Leahy’s remarks on the floor on the matter.

Schlozman gets hammered in the report, so its impossible not to share Senator Leahy’s anger. Independent from questions about coordinated, large-scale investigations or mechanisms for accountability in regards to the many Bush excesses, it does seem at the very least that this guy should be held to account. Leahy’s attempts to demand accountability and enforce subpoenas on the Bush administration largely fell flat, and we can all certainly argue as to whether he should have or could have done more given a petulant and non-compliant executive branch,

But given that the Bush Administration is about to become no more, it would seem to behoove our senior Senator to demand some accountability, here, and do more than simply offer more verbal condemnations. If political hacks can’t expect punishment for spitting all over Leahy, his committee, and the Senate even when Dems have the Congress and the Presidency, that will send the ugiest of messages.

While there’s a catharsis to hearing one’s opinions echoed by one’s elected representatives, what we really need them to do is to do what we can’t: mete out some justice on these reprobates.