Can I get some links describing Dean's economic record in Vermont?

[WilliamPitt]

I'm looking specifically for the cuts he made in various social programs. I already have the Globe story about the captive companies. Anything on the tax breaks he handed out would also be appreciated.

As always, say 'Poop' as often as you like to keep the thread kicked. Thanks in advance.

[JohnKleeb]

1. poop poop

j/k
I dont know where any are Will. I am not a researcher.

[SahaleArm]

2. I'm sorry but those records are sealed...

Though a judge may open them up just in time for the general election; that should be fun.

[Patriot_Spear]

3. Start here.

http://econ4dean.typepad.com/econ4dean/

[Jerseycoa]

4. kick

:kick:

[dave29]

5. I thought journalists

did their own research?

:eyes:

[WilliamPitt]

6. That's what I'm doing

[dave29]

8. no you are asking

others to do it for you. I've seen you look up your own links before, I think you are highly capable!

[sujan]

9. The assumption is wrong

A 'Journalist' that is....

[Rainbowreflect]

11. I don't get why anyone feels the need to make this kind of reply.

If you can't or don't want to help just move along.

[helleborient]

13. Annoyance with duplicitousness might be one...

Feigning neutrality in "public" to maintain nonprofit status...while swinging away in the most partisan fashion here.

[helleborient]

7. I guess journalists only do it when it's really investigative research

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. Here's one

Dean slashed millions of dollars from all sorts of social programs, from prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients and heating assistance for poorer Vermonters to housing assistance funds. In defending his cuts to social programs, Dean said, "I don’t think I have to shy away from that just because I’m supposed to be a liberal Democrat."8

Throughout the 1990s, Dean’s cuts in state aid to education ($6 million), retirement funds for teachers and state employees ($7 million), health care ($4 million), welfare programs earmarked for the aged, blind and disabled ($2 million), Medicaid benefits ($1.2 million) and more, amounted to roughly $30 million. Dean claimed that the cuts were necessary because the state had no money and was burdened by a $60 million deficit.9

But during the same period, Dean found $7 million for a low-interest loan program for businesses, $30 million for a new prison in Springfield, VT, and he cut the income tax by 8 percent (equivalent to $30 million)–a move many in the legislature balked at because they didn’t feel comfortable "cutting taxes in a way that benefits the wealthiest taxpayers."10 By 2002, state investments in prisons increased by nearly 150 percent while investments in state colleges increased by only 7 percent.11

Indeed, Dean’s mix of "fiscal conservatism and social liberalism" seems to be not much different than Bush’s so-called compassionate conservatism, and certainly paralleled Clinton’s signature combination of liberal "I-feel-your-pain" rhetoric with neoliberal policies.

http://www.isreview.org/issues/32/dean.shtml

[dave29]

12. There you go Will

from the International Socialist Review

a good place to start

[SahaleArm]

16. I thought Dean was a proponent of Revolutionary Marxism? n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

17. Hey!

It's DEAN'S record! Right there in black and white. Do you have any evidence to refute it?

Here's the sources used for that article....hardly Socialists.

1 Gary Younge, "Winners and losers," Guardian (UK), May 5, 2003.

2 Katha Pollit, "Selling Dean short," Nation, September 1, 2003.

3 Marty Jezer, "On Howard Dean," CommonDreams.org, April 24, 2003.

4 Sarah Schweitzer and Tatsha Robertson, "A meteoric rise in Vermont politics," Boston Globe, September 22, 2003.

5 Laura Blumenfeld, "Empower Play: The pitch that works for Dean," Washington Post, October 1, 2003.

6 Jake Tapper, "On the campaign trail with the un-Bush," Salon, February 19, 2003.

7 "Challenge of tough times," Rutland Herald, January 8, 1992.

8 Jack Hoffman, "Dean: Time for ‘serious cuts’," Rutland Herald, December 29, 1991.

9 All figures come from a collection of articles in the Rutland Herald: see Christopher Graff, "Governor set to cut spending," July 11, 1995. Also see, Chris Graff, "Dean balancing act enters tough phase," December 17, 1995 and Diane Derby, "Hundreds protest governor’s plan to cut Medicaid," November 2, 1993.

10 See Jack Hoffman, "Budget boosts housing; VIDA funds," Rutland Herald, September 9, 1992; Frederick Bever, "Dean wants larger cut in state tax," Rutland Herald, December 23, 1998; Jack Hoffman, "Dean outlines his case for cutting income tax," Rutland Herald, January 9, 1999.

11 Interview with Anthony Pollina by Democracy In Action at the Progressive Party offices in Montpelier, Vermont, July 9, 2002. Anthony Pollina ran for governor against Dean on the Progressive Party ticket in 2000. Available at www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/pollinaint.html.

12 Elizabeth Mehran and Mark Barabak, "State residents see a new Dean in presidential race," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2003.

13 Tapper, "On the campaign trail."

14 John Dillon, "Dean to feel pressure from left at convention," Rutland Herald, May 10, 1992.

15 Hoffman, "Dean: Time for ‘serious’ cuts."

16 Miles Benson, "And politicians wonder why they aren’t trusted," Newhouse News Service, March 5, 1995.

17 Bryan Pfeiffer, "Advocates deride Dean," Rutland Herald, July 11, 1995.

18 Ibid.

19 Diane Derby, "Dean sorry for remarks on welfare," Rutland Herald, January 23, 1993.

20 Robert Piasecki, "Hunger: A growing problem," Rutland Herald, June 16, 1994.

21 "Who’s the real Howard Dean," BusinessWeek, August 11, 2003, p. 58.

22 Ibid.

23 Economic Policy Institute, from U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics data, available online at www.bls.gov.

24 "The cool passion of Dr. Dean," Time, August 11, 2003.

25 Tracy Schmaler, "Pollina criticizes Dean for a lack of college funding," Rutland Herald, September 28, 2000.

26 "Dean outlines his strategy for providing health care," Rutland Herald, February 19, 1991.

27 "Challenge of tough times."

28 See "Advocates deride Dean."

29 See "Democratic presidential candidates continue to reinforce pro-abortion positions," National Right to Life News, June 2003.

30 Mark Steyn, "Democrats are turning to…this guy?" Chicago Sun Times, July 6, 2003.

31 From an interview conducted by the author on October 4, 2003.

32 Schmaler, "Pollina criticizes Dean."

33 See www.deanforamerica.org.

34 Michael Colby, "The Man from Vermont is not Green (he’s not even a liberal)," available online at www.Counterpunch.org, February 22, 2003.

35 Lisa Wangsness, "Dean green on trail but Vermont knows better," Concord Monitor, August 22, 2003.

36 David Halbfinger, "National Briefing: Kerry attacks Dean for Bush pact," New York Times, October 2, 2003.

37 Wangsness, "Dean green on trail."

38 John Dillon, "Dean and Pollina pitch ‘green’ records," Rutland Herald, March 19, 2000.

39 Ibid.

40 David Gram, "Dean’s comments on civil liberties cause alarm," Rutland Herald, September 14, 2001.

41 Jack Hoffman, "Dean explains philosophy, plans," Rutland Herald, August 21, 1991.

42 Wilson Ring, "Governor wants to get tougher with criminals," Associated Press, December 10, 1994.

43 Diane Derby, "Dean reignites talk of death penalty," Rutland Herald, November 2, 1997.

44 Diane Derby, "Dean rejects federal grant," Rutland Herald, May 10, 1999.

45 Josh Frank, "Howard Dean’s constitutional hang-up: Dean would rather execute an innocent man, than let a guilty one walk free," available online at www.Counterpunch.org, August 12, 2003.

46 Anthony Pollina, from an interview conducted by the author on October 6, 2003.

47 "Racial Harassment in Vermont Public Schools," Vermont Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, February 1999, p. 1.

48 Ibid., p. iii.

49 Available at www.deanforamerica.org.

50 "Defending American values–protecting America’s Interests," Drake University, Iowa, February 17, 2003, available online at www.deanforamerica.org.

51 Fred Hiatt, "Defining Dean," Washington Post, August 25, 2003.

52 See James D. Besser’s interview with Howard Dean, Jewish Week, October 8, 2003.

53 "Restoring American leadership: A new direction for American foreign policy," speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C., June 25, 2003, available online at www.deanforamerica.org.

54 William C. Symonds, "Who’s the real Howard Dean," BusinessWeek, August 11, 2003, pp. 59

[dsc]

20. Yes and I posted it

not once, not twice, but on several occasions. You can look for the most recent time in the first thread "The Dean Deception" by cryofan it is on page 2 or 3 of this forum.

It gets down to the fact that only two things can be checked on line. Of those two, one is a flat out lie by them and the other is baldly inaccurate though I can't find out who is at fault. The college vs prison quote is just a lie. College funding increased by close to 50% (47% to be accurate) and the income tax cut was around 5.4% not 8%. I can't get the original source so they may have accurately reported that.

Links in that other thread.

[Nazgul35]

49. Gee wouldn't it be nice...

if every candidate had a record of executive experience that could be looked up on lexus-nexus? Ya know, one where there is an actual record of legislation....

[helleborient]

15. So, is Wesley Clark a socialist?

Or do his supporters just like spreading Socialist propaganda?

I'm curious.

[in_cog_ni_to]

19. See post 17. n/t

[AWD]

24. Stop calling Clark a socialist

Republicans HATE being called that.

[SahaleArm]

37. Well I guess you're voting libertarian? n/t

[DancingBear]

43. Jeff, please stop comments like these

You're running for office, and such comments are beneath you. I hold you in high esteem, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Thanks

DB

[BJ]

26. There is no organization within the United States...

that is more "socialist" in nature than the American military.

General Clark spent his adult life in a highly socialistic/hierarchial organization, the U.S. Army.

[jamesinca]

14. Here are a few of his quotes and maybe some starting points

I will be interested in your findings, everything I can learn about these guys is helpful. Nothing like an informed opinion.

" I am most proud of out fiscal stability. I left the state in better shape than I found it." Howard Dean- The Washington Post, 8/3/03

"I think people here feel pretty strongly that everybody is equal, and that includes the governor. The governor doesn't drive around in a limousine in this state, and there's a reason for that" Howard Dean- The Advocate, 5/23/03

Are you putting this together for a Truthout.org article, a new book or are you just trying to educate yourself about the current front runner? I know earlier in the year you posted an argument about John Kerry being the man, is your opinion still such? In any case I would like to read the findings if you should post or publish them. I have enjoyed your books in the past and recommended them to people, when can we expect another?

[ShimokitaJer]

18. If it's facts you're looking for...

Slinkerwink has some great posts on the topic here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=16930&mesg_id=16938&page=
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=16930&mesg_id=16939&page=
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=16930&mesg_id=16941&page=

Of course, somehow I doubt I'll be seeing any of these facts in your eventual article

[WilliamPitt]

21. I'm not writing an article

This is for my own personal edification.

[dave29]

25. then by all means

please let us know what you find.

I will gladly give you one link to start your quest for intellectual enlightenment.

www.deanforamerica.com

[dsc]

22. With all due respect

if you have lexis nexis you are in far better shape than we are to do this.

On edit I would kill for Lexis Nexis btw.

[BJ]

23. Do a Google search like I do.

[KaraokeKarlton]

27. If you want actual facts and not opinion

Start here:

http://www.vermont.gov/

[WilliamPitt]

28. Thanks

[KaraokeKarlton]

32. No problem...and I also suggest

That before making any assumptions about whether something is good or bad that you use the second link media sources to look into what the Vermont press reports on the issue.

Two perfect examples why it's important to do this is the Captive Insurance issue and the Springfield Prison issue. If you aren't aware of the circumstances surrounding these things you aren't going to be informed enough to talk about it.

As a journalist dedicated to truth in reporting it is your responsibility to NOT be lazy. I would also strongly suggest that you check out the various state social agency sites and find out what the actual services here are. Most of those sites offer statistical figures that shows whether or not there really were any significant drops in numbers of people covered. I know the Reach Up (welfare) site has such figures.

[dave29]

35. sigh

you are the better person than I today, and better rep for the Dean camp. Guess I have the short fuse right now.

sigh

/end combative campaign mode

[WilliamPitt]

39. I assumed, quite correctly

that I was not just going to get 'anti-Dean' stuff in this thread. You've been a great help, and I appreciate it.

[dave29]

41. and my apologies to you Will

I assumed the worst, and I wish you the best in your search.

[WilliamPitt]

42. No sweat, dude

It's hard, sometimes, to get out of battled mode. :)

[KaraokeKarlton]

44. Well, what I gave you will be neither anti or pro Dean

My candidate is not perfect and he has made some unpopular choices at times. However, he never made choices like that without just cause and much thought and consideration.

Regarding budgets...any executive (governor, president or business) makes cuts. It's part of the job. If they didn't ever make cuts then they went into debt.

Some here would have you believe Dean is the devil incarnate. That's hogwash. He's a great leader, was a great governor and will make a great president.

I just want people to have impartial information to make their own judgements on...not this Socialist, Republican, Green and radical lefty crap used to try to paint Dean as someone he's not.

[bitchkitty]

62. ???

I thought he said it was for his own personal knowledge, and you lecture him on his responsibilities?

[KaraokeKarlton]

78. Is it your business what I say to Will?

He knows why I said what I did and he doesn't have a problem with me saying it...so why do you?

[KaraokeKarlton]

29. and here

http://www.politics1.com/vt.htm

[curse10]

30. I've got access to Lexis

a quick search of "howard dean" and "budget cuts" in Vermont news sources brought some stuff up, but I wouldn't be able to post it here- no linkage.

I can email article to ya, if you'd like.

An example: "Until recently, only Vermonters with very low incomes eligible for Medicaid were able to receive public assistance to help pay for their prescription drug costs. After much legislative discussion and advocacy by seniors, Vermont has three pharmaceutical assistance programs that help people with higher incomes up to $20,052 (single person) and $26,988 (couple).

This year, Gov. Howard Dean proposes to eliminate one of these programs and drastically reduce benefits in the others. For Peterson, this means her family's $20,256 income must absorb an additional $4,056 in pharmacy bills. Twelve thousand other seniors who have co-pays of $2 to $4 will be charged 50 percent of the cost of each prescription." From The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT) February 11, 2002 Monday

[sandnsea]

31. several years of articles

This link has several years of articles within it.

http://rutlandherald.com/deanarchive/19992000.html

[curse10]

33. thanks sandnsea

I bookmarked that link- will read the articles when time permits :-)

[TopesJunkie]

34. Bowel Movement Galore!

So, what's this all about? Why do you want the links?

[WilliamPitt]

40. I want to get my facts straight on Dean's record

I am beginning to fully accept the inevitability of his nomination, and I want to be armed with all the data. Dean, for the most part, has a record that cuts against my ideological grain, but if he is going to be the nominee, I'm going to have to defend him starting September 1st.

[hedda_foil]

46. What in the world does Sept. 1 have to do with anything?

It's long after the Dem convention and before the Republicans'. With a little luck, our nominee will be determined well before our convention in July to give the party a chance to come together and counter the Rove ads that will be mounted in the spring and summer. September 1 is a very odd date.

[frustrated_lefty]

36. Try

http://www.nwaforchange.org/nwa/downloads/Election_Guide/09dean.pdf

[madfloridian]

38. Here is a link. You have good research skills, mine are inadequate.

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=119

[WilliamPitt]

45. Thanks

[FrenchieCat]

47. Here's some information

about the property taxes that went up by 87% while he was governor:

http://vermonter.forclark.com/story/2003/12/22/17849/194

Property Taxes Rose 87% Under Dean in Vermont

'When Howard touts his fiscal conservatism, people need to be informed remind people from other states (especially New Hampshire!) of the crushing property tax increases we suffered
under the Dean administration here in Vermont.'

[Zynx]

48. Property taxes go up with increases in home values. This is misleading.

[AP]

73. Property tax burden didn't go up at all for the top 4% of income earners

in VT during 90s.

Also, property tax burden shifts to individuals thanks to all the deals cut with big businesses, which, I understand, Dean loved doing (eg, captives and IBM).

www.itepnet.org has the report. It was linked here last week.

[AP]

72. Property Tax in VT.

VT seems to have a high degree of regressivity in the way property is taxed.

According to that ITEP report that was posted here recently, the top 4% of income earners saw no increase in their property tax burden in the 90s, and the bottom quintile saw the greatest increase in that burden (4%).

Does anyone know how VT taxes property?

Didn't Dean try to pay for some educational reform program this way?

Sort of reminds me of how he expects to pay for health care.

[Nazgul35]

50. why don't you try reading some of the threads...

attacking Dean's economic record in Vermont....Dean supporters have posted over and over and over again...ad nausium....responses to those attacks....even the one you make mention in above....

edited for not reading the whole thread and being stupid

[mouse7]

51. Gonna write a bitter, hatchet piece, Will?

I seem to remember a whole bunch of long-involved posts from you about not doing the work of damaging Dems for the neo-cons. You seemed to portray yourself as above that sort of thing.

Not going back on that, are you Will?

[WilliamPitt]

52. As stated, this is not for an article

Had you read the thread, you'd know that.

Fuck shit piss fuck fuck.

[Green Mountain Dem]

53. This whole thread is......`

Fuck shit piss fuck fuck..where are you going with this ??

[WilliamPitt]

54. Ask mouse7

:)

...and look in the 'Straight up: Will you vote for Dean' thread.

[GalleryGod]

88. Just love the Homage' to Terry Southern

but...please try an original rant and not "Candy's"

:puffpiece:

[LiberalTexan]

80. Will, I sometimes ask things like you do,

but you have to admit that the WAY you phrased the question puts people on the defensive. You didn't ask for anything good that Dean did or ask for anyone to compare the two sides of the story. You only asked for the negative (what we all know to be the negative from the way we see it) and therefore folks are questioning your motives. Piss fuck piss shit fuck. Look at it from the other side. :)

[frustrated_lefty]

55. Will

You asked: "Can I get some links describing Dean's economic record in Vermont?" and then followed with: "I'm looking specifically for the cuts he made in various social programs."

I honestly have a difficult time treating this as a serious statement or request from you. It's been stated and re-iterated you are a Kerry fan. More power to you on that end of things.

You have chosen to take on the roll of an investigative journalist. You come out and ask for "links describing Dean's economic record in Vermont?" This is objective, it sounds like you are just asking for information, information you may later sift through and analyze for yourself. That's great.

You follow that with: "I'm looking specifically for the cuts he made in various social programs."

That sounds to me like you aren't interested in objective data, you're interested in negative commentaries.

I guess my question to you is, do you really have an interest in learning about candidates, or are you just looking for modes of attack? Based on what you write, it oftentimes appears as though you pursue the latter course.

[WilliamPitt]

56. Truthfully

I have read a great deal about Dean's record in Vermont, but in passing. A lot of that reading suggested strongly to me that his policy ideologies match mine little, if at all. But as I said, that was read in passing, and I want to collect the data here so I can make a more informed decision.

As for looking for 'modes of attack,' I'm not sure what to tell you. I can give you my word that no truthout piece will be coming from this. If I find out stuff I don't like, I will talk about it here, because that is what people are supposed to do. Honest discussion doesn't always have to be defined as an 'attack.'

[batman]

58. Here is some information

http://fordean.org/aa/issues/press_view.asp?ID=2057

Dean and his defenders dispute these allegations, insisting that no benefits were taken from anyone while he ran the state for almost 12 years, and that overall, spending on social services increased by a third. Dean and his supporters say the criticism obscures the complex choreography of balancing a state budget and overshadows a record that left Vermont in better fiscal shape than most states in recent years.

"It is just not accurate," said Sean Campbell, Dean's former finance commissioner. "We are a state of 600,000 and we have managed to support social services at levels that are remarkable compared to other states. What John Kerry and Dick Gephardt need to do is look at what programs were in Vermont when Dean took over, and what programs were there when he left."

[frustrated_lefty]

59. I believe no turthout piece will come of this

You said: "I'm looking specifically for the cuts he made in various social programs." You're asking for negative pieces.

In the face of that, I think you might also check: http://deandefense.org/archives/000709.html

One of the links I gave you, from the National Women's Alliance, should not be ignored. There are valid assessments in there, if you choose to review them.

[curse10]

57. And, on the environmental front...

from the Burlington Free Press, March 15, 2002

The Department of Environmental Conservation does the dirty work to keep Vermont among the cleanest states in the Union. The department, part of the Agency of Natural Resources, does things such as monitor water quality, measure acid rain pollution and issue land-use permits.

That kind of nitty-gritty government service isn't much appreciated among the public, who take it for granted, or among state legislators, who are usually drawn to more exciting programs than hazardous-waste management or dam-safety oversight.

For the past few years, the department has been in a make-do mode as it tried to recover from a 10 percent budget cut imposed in 1994. Vital services such as tight enforcement of groundwater permits began to lag, due to a conscious decision by the department to focus scarce resources on other areas.

The stormwater issue blew up last summer after the state Water Resources Board toughened pollution standards for a new Lowe's Home Improvement Center in South Burlington. Among the revelations spawned by the Lowe's controversy was that the Department of Environmental Conservation had allowed 1,000 stormwater permits to expire a direct consequence of earlier budget cuts. The department had other financial problems due to program management errors, but the stormwater fuss disclosed a worrisome gap in Vermont's environmental defenses and aggravated uncertainty over the state permitting process.

This is not a blame-game story. It is a case study of how Vermont has consistently failed to match public expectations toward government with the resources to meet those demands.

"It's a chronic problem that hasn't got a lot of attention," said Christopher Recchia, the department's new commissioner who has been sounding alarms about his agency's situation. "There is an assumption that if you squeeze harder you'll get better results. We're at the point where that doesn't work."

Even if Gov. Howard Dean's recommended fiscal 2003 budget increase for Recchia's department were approved, the staff-intensive agency still would be shorthanded by 18 people. The raise would finally restore most of the strength the agency lost in 1994, but it doesn't respond to the additional environmental workload imposed by federal and state lawmakers and regulators the past few years.

And from January 13, 2002

The radio talk show was nearly over before a call came in that got a rise out of Gov. Howard Dean.

For almost an hour, he had calmly parried inquiries from listeners on budget cuts and charter schools. Then came the call from East Montpelier: What did Dean think about the latest move of the Conservation Law Foundation ?

The governor let loose. He blasted the foundation as an "extremist'' environmental group that would "stop at nothing'' to get its way. "All they do is make people mad,'' Dean said.

Controversy, while not part of the foundation's stated mission, is often a result. The organization is the legal ace of the Vermont environmental movement and a fierce advocate for clean water, clean air, and what it considers to be smart land use. The foundation's emphasis on enforcing pollution laws sets it apart from other green groups that focus on education or lobbying.

Since the foundation opened an office in Montpelier 14 years ago, it has evolved into the most contentious and some say, the most influential green group in the state. In the process, it has clashed with many people and entered into a feud with Dean, just as he explores a presidential run that could lead to national scrutiny of his performance on environmental issues.

The foundation's Vermont staff were dismayed but not surprised by Dean's tongue-lashing, which erupted on Vermont Public Radio's Dec. 4 "Switchboard" call-in program.

After all, the foundation has become a sharp critic of Dean's environmental record, blasting him in newspaper ads last year for what it views as non-enforcement of clean-water laws.

The relationship between Dean and the organization's Vermont director, Mark Sinclair, was already strained. Dean had dumped Sinclair who had worked briefly in the administrations of both Dean and Gov. Madeleine Kunin from two advisory councils and had stopped seeking his advice.

Now Sinclair a Cornell law school graduate whose $95,000 salary falls just short of the governor's doubts Dean will take his calls.

"I don't even try anymore," Sinclair admitted.



Sorry, no links to lexis

[curse10]

60. And here's more clips from articles on budget cuts

From Burlington Free Press, September 8, 2001

Managers across state government had just figured out how to cut $8.7 million. Now a new financial storm cloud is on the horizon.

Taxes fell $9.6 million short of expectations in August, according to a revenue update issued Friday.

The news is disheartening as Vermont now realizes the effects of the slowing national economy in very real ways,'' said Kathleen Hoyt, secretary of administration.

Just two months into the fiscal year revenues are sinking below the levels needed to pay for the state services authorized by the Legislature in the spring.

Gov. Howard Dean ordered managers a month ago to look for cuts totaling $8.7 million. Department decisions about what to cut came out Friday.

Those cuts weaken water cleanup initiatives, challenge the state's capacity to lock up criminals, and slice into support for higher education. A legislative panel will review and approve the cuts this month.

From Januar 14, 2002

Even as the Statehouse hallways rang last week with the shouts of Vermonters' protesting state budget cuts, legislators were warning that even deeper cuts could be on the way. Rep. Richard Westman, R-Cambridge, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state might need to find $15 million to $17 million more in cuts in the current operating budget. He'll find out Tuesday when experts give their revenue projections for the coming months. Gov. Howard Dean had said he would use surplus money to ease further cuts, but by the end of last week he had changed his mind.

The University System in Vermont had some troubles during Dean's reign, according to this article date May 14, 2000

The University of Vermont's fiscal 2000 budget is $310 million.

University of Vermont students will pay 3 percent more in tuition in the coming school year, under a plan approved Saturday by the UVM board of trustees.

Tuition for in-state students will climb from $7,464 this year to $7,692 in 2000-01, an increase of 3.05 percent. Out-of-state tuition will go up from $18,672 to $19,236, or 3.02 percent.

Room costs will rise about 4 percent while meal-plan rates are scheduled to go up 2 percent next year.

The tuition increases were approved as trustees voted in favor of a general-fund budget for 2000-01. The $157,250,000 plan is up 3.45 percent from the current budget of $152 million.

Next year's budget includes a 4 percent raise in the salary pool for faculty and staff and a 9 percent increase in benefits, said Provost Geoffrey Gamble. It also includes $2.5 million to be saved from the university's new voluntary-separation program and another $1 million in cuts throughout the university. Forty-one faculty members and 78 staff members have signed up for the voluntary-separation buyout.

The $3.5 million in savings is needed to balance a budget that's been hurt by declining student enrollment in recent years. The voluntary-separation program has worried some UVM employees who fear the loss of large numbers of experienced instructors could hurt quality. University President Judith Ramaley noted that Saturday, calling the budget-cut process "a period of anxiety and fear."

All of these are snippets of the articles from Burlington Free Press so as to not violate copyright stuff. Unfortunately I couldn't find internet links to these articles. I guess use lexis or head to the library for a turn at the microfiche :-)

[batman]

61. so this is about digging dirt on dean now?

i dont recal the poster asking for information on the environment in vermont. but since its now open for debate.

"++ The Environment: Dean's Vermont "has one of the most progressive environmental programmes in America" according to the London Times. As former Vermont radio and television talk show host Jeff Kaufman points out, "During his decade in office, Governor Dean helped protect more land from development than all previous governors combined; ... he administered a 'best practices' agriculture plan that preserves land and water quality; he helped form the nation's first statewide energy efficiency utility (preventing more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000); and he championed a commuter rail system to lower traffic congestion and pollution while diminishing urban sprawl (in its last report on sprawl, the Sierra Club ranked Vermont as the second best state in America for land use planning)." Vermont also followed California's lead in establishing regulations on greenhouse gas emissions that go beyond standards set in the Kyoto Protocol. According to the New York Times, Dean "is calling for the auto industry to build cars that get 40 miles per gallon by 2015 and for 20 percent of the nation's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. ... s president he would close the loophole that exempts sport utility vehicles from gas-mileage standards, ... make the Environmental Protection Agency cabinet level and work to re-establish the Clinton administration rules limiting roads in national forests." Even when Dean was judged less favorably on environmental issues, the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council Elizabeth Courtney recognizes that pressing economic circumstances impacted his decisions ("in the early 90s the rest of the country seemed to be pulling out of the recession and Vermont seemed to be languishing in it") and acknowledges Dean's general qualities as governor: "fresh candor and intelligence. You always know where Howard Dean stands. He is candid and honest in his communications with Vermonters, and he is appreciated for that. He's also very bright, and he has a clear sense of his direction." The San Francisco Chronicle reported that " Pope said that although the Sierra Club had some disagreements with Dean's land-use policies, Dean did 'fabulous things in Vermont.'"

[curse10]

63. well, this is what I found when I did a search for

"howard dean" and "budget cuts" in Vermont

Budget cuts were a direct cause of water pollution in Vermont. It's very relevant.

[batman]

64. and a bit of the other side

http://www.deantv.org/vt_environmental_record.htm

i think if you search for budget cuts and any state youll find things you dont like

[curse10]

65. um, yeah

from a pro-dean site of course there are going to be good things. I did my research using news sources.

I just have issue with anyone who is anti-Conservation Law Foundation. They are a good environmental watch-dog group- and are anything but extremist. If Dean thinks they are extremist what does he think of Green Peace? Are they terrorists?

[frustrated_lefty]

66. k, give me a sec, I believe Dean has protected something like

445,000 acres of land. Be kind enough to give me 15 min, I'll find the link, I recall the reference.

[frustrated_lefty]

69. Here's a start

http://sv4dean.blogs.com/sv4dean/2003/08/

edited for more links:
http://www.cse.uiuc.edu/~wilmarth/deandocs/Record_-_Agriculture.pdf
http://www.counterpunch.org/colby02222003.html
http://www.deanvolunteers.org/DeanVolunteers/press_view.asp?ID=999
http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1822&c=4

[batman]

67. use your sources to refute mine if you choose

who is anti-conservation law foundation?

"Howard Dean is an excellent candidate for president," *Courtney said, praising in particular Dean's focus on energy conservation. "Howard and I didn't always see eye to eye, but I think his heart and his mind are in the right place."

*Respected Conservation Law Foundation attorney Elizabeth Courtney

[cryofan]

68. Here is an article with some cited sources

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Throughout the 1990s, Dean’s cuts in state aid to education ($6 million), retirement funds for teachers and state employees ($7 million), health care ($4 million), welfare programs earmarked for the aged, blind and disabled ($2 million), Medicaid benefits ($1.2 million) and more, amounted to roughly $30 million. Dean claimed that the cuts were necessary because the state had no money and was burdened by a $60 million deficit.9
....
Most of the Democrats in the legislature rebelled against Dean over the budget cuts, and he ended up depending on Republican votes to pass most of his proposals. At the time, a local Vermont newspaper wrote, "The biggest items on Dean’s agenda for next year are likely to provoke more opposition from the Democrats than the Republicans. Nevertheless, Dean said he feels no particular pressure to deliver the goods to his party or to promote the Democratic agenda."15

In the mid-1990s, Dean even aligned himself with the likes of Republican Newt Gingrich on his stance on cutting Medicare. He opined at the time, "The way to balance the budget is for Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans pensions, while the states cut everything else."16
....
The Rutland Herald described how one protestor, Henrietta Jordan of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, "said it would be much fairer to raise taxes on people with expensive homes and cars, children in private school and a housekeeper at home than to cut programs that helped the 66,000 Vermonters living with disabilities."17 Dean responded callously, brushing off the pleas of Vermont’s most vulnerable by saying, "This seems like sort of the last gasp of the left here."18"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The rest of this article is here:
http://www.isreview.org/issues/32/dean.shtml

[frustrated_lefty]

70. Unfortunately,

this has been refuted more than once:

The four primary thrusts that I see in this thread questioning Dean’s record essentially propose: 1) Given his record in Vermont, we should be concerned that he’ll attain the presidency and process to slash social programs; 2) he has previously pursued policies which might be considered regressive income taxation, requiring lower income tiers to shoulder a perceived disproportionate burden; 3) he refuses to use Roe v. Wade as a litmus test for judicial appointments; and, 4) he flip-flops.

Regarding slashing of social programs, what exactly did Dean do in his 11 years in office?

1) as of the year 2000, Vermont was rated 2nd best in the nation for the quality of medical care provided to Medicare beneficiaries
2) as of the year 2003, Vermont was ranked 3rd best in the nation for prescription benefits provided to Medicare beneficiaries
3) signed into law managed care consumer protections that are among the toughest in the nation
4) established the “Success by Six” program, in which Health care providers, social service agencies and others cooperate to connect parents with resources ranging from job training to parenting classes
5) overhauled Vermont's traditional system of paying for public schools with local property taxes, shifting funds from rich towns to poor towns through a "sharing pool," sparking an explosion in education spending,which has been up by 40% since 1997
6) ensured that virtually every child under 18 and more than 90 percent of adults are eligible for health coverage.
7) created the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee to identify strengths and weaknesses in the community response to domestic violence
8) established initiatives which included mandatory work requirements and lifetime maximum benefits, but were balanced by their support of children and their working parents with health care, child care, and job training (more at: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/ngachn/child~36.htm)
9) increased investment on Child Care Services by 176% since 1991
10) instituted the first state protocol for abuse investigations. In return, Vermont saw a 45% decline in physical and sexual abuse of children. This included a 64% decline in physical abuse victims ages 0-3 and a 43% decline in physical abuse victims ages 0-6.
11) increased human services funding by 33%, and education funding by 25%

I could go on. Based on a record like this, I find it hard to perceive him as a bungling idiot who intends to randomly slash social programs. What he HAS done consistently is show a willingness to tighten the budget for a purpose: balancing it. We’re not talking about “starving the beast” here, or making efforts to permanently cut programs. If anything, it seems to me he has a record for making short-term sacrifice in order to achieve a sustainable economy with adequate funding for social programs.

A few specific claims were made in the original post: “Throughout the 1990s, Dean’s cuts in state aid to education ($6 million), retirement funds for teachers and state employees ($7 million), health care ($4 million), welfare programs earmarked for the aged, blind and disabled ($2 million), Medicaid benefits ($1.2 million) and more, amounted to roughly $30 million.”

Did the cuts in state funding for education coincide with #5 posted above, for example? Or was it a short term cut made which he later corrected for starting in 1997? Either way, spending on education is up 40% since 1997. The author states he cut retirement funds for teachers and state employees. On the other hand, “signed into law agency fee protection for the state employees union, thereby providing union security for state employees” (http://www.nwaforchange.org/nwa/downloads/Election_Guide/09dean.pdf)

[cryofan]

74. what about the quotes? n/t

[frustrated_lefty]

75. The one's you made?

They were taken out of context. See my preceeding post for clarification.

[frustrated_lefty]

76. Dupe, delete please.

Dupe, delete please.

[frustrated_lefty]

77. To clarify,

if you bother to read my response, I quote your quote word for word. And reply to it. Noy much work, actually, you guys raise the same point so often, I have a stock response on file.

[Name removed]

71. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[zulchzulu]

79. This site has some good stuff about Dean's record

http://www.deanforamericans.com/record.htm

[ibegurpard]

81. Oh, yeah great stuff!

A site devoted to nothing but SMEARING Dean. Is this the site Gephardt set up? Also really catchy how close they made to the official Dean site: www.deanforamerica.com

[KaraokeKarlton]

86. Amalgamated Inc owns the domain name

I ran a DNS on it.


Registrant:
Amalgamated Inc.
P.O. Box 26783
San Francisco, CA 94109
US

Domain name: DEANFORAMERICANS.COM

[frustrated_lefty]

82. A Faux site? It seems equally fair and balanced.

Why not try: http://www.nwaforchange.org/nwa/downloads/Election_Guide/09dean.pdf

[KaraokeKarlton]

85. Well, if you want to trust a site run by a chemical company

then I guess that would be good.

The domain is owned by Amalgamated Inc.

[Auntie Bush]

83. voted for Dean but now I wouldn't

My Mother's Health Aids all said they HATED Dean because he CUT so much from the Health Care System and Social Programs in order to balance the budget.

I had always voted for Dean and was surprised to hear the Aids rant about him...but I had never paid much attention to politics or health care issues before...I just knew I liked him...he was a Democrat and the Republicans had ruined our budget and he was cutting programs out of necessity. If any Deanies think he is a liberal...they're wrong!He's very fiscally conservitive! He will CUT anything to balance the budget and it will hurt...so get your band-aids out! You might need some Kleenex too!

[frustrated_lefty]

84. AntiBush, how do you plan

to fund social programs without a balanced budget?

[stickdog]

87. Thanks for promising to defend Dean, Will.

Truthout will be proud of you.