This article shows that the Douglas administration is against allowing ballooning mortgages to be adjusted by a judge to help homeowners be able to make reasonable (and still profitable) payments to their banks and keep their homes:
Paulette Thabault, commissioner of Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance Securities and Health Care Administration, said the proposal will likely include aid for small community banks and oversight by state banking regulators, both good news for Vermont.
“We are happy it will include small community banks,” Thabault said.
And the new regulations that were being contemplated as part of the bailout bill – but have since been removed – would have allowed mortgage terms to be changed by bankruptcy judges.
That would be a mistake, Thabault said.
In USA Today, States consider privatizing lotteries, Douglas shows how he subscribes to the corrupt and destructive philosophy of feeding the greed of Wall Street at the expense of taxpayers, and shucking it as a benefit to the public:
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Betting on the state lottery for some quick cash?
Get in line: State governments across the country are thinking the same thing.Courted by Wall Street investment houses, Vermont is one of more than a dozen states where proposals have been floated to lease state lotteries to private investors.
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is a strong proponent of the idea, and has been talking up a proposal by investment bank Lehman Bros. under which the state would get a one-time, up front payment of $56 million – plus annual payments growing from the $23 million annual profit it earns now – if it leases its lottery to a private concern.
The goal would be to “allow someone with some new ideas to innovate and make it more successful,” Douglas says.
And there’s just plain bad judgement:
“I am quite confident that any nominee for the vice presidency has been well vetted by Sen. McCain’s campaign,” Douglas said.
“I believe Gov. Palin is qualified,” said Douglas, who has gotten to know Palin as a fellow state chief executive.
Sep 3, 2008 Barre Montpelier Times Argus
Word has been circulating for many days now that former Seven Days columnist Peter Freyne is very ill. Details are sketchy and unconfirmable, but the word is clearly out at this point. We certainly have no interest in compromising Peter's privacy by forwarding unsubstantiated rumors. All of us at GMD, however, very much want to wish him the best and encourage other Vermonters to think of Peter and send him whatever thoughts/prayers/strength you can.