Tim Newcomb Internet service was agonizingly slow when Ed and Elizabeth Childs moved into their rural Corinth home in 2012. Nearly a decade later, it s not much better. The couple pays $75 a month for DSL service over the copper wires of their local telephone company, but it s useless for many modern tasks. Any kind of teleconferencing or uploading files is a real problem, Ed said. To upload video, even in a compressed format, you re talking hours and hours even days. So Ed, a retired electrical engineer, did two things. He joined the Space on Main in nearby Bradford, a coworking space where he has the high-speed internet connection he needs to develop a new business venture. And he joined the governing board of the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, better known as ECFiber.
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weekly political column. Tim Newcomb Here s something you don t see very often. In fact, it may be unprecedented in Vermont. One of the six statewide officeholders governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and auditor has hired a paid political staffer outside of her official, state-funded office in the first months of a new term. I never had paid political staff in the odd-numbered years that I recall, said former Democratic governor
Peter Shumlin in response to a question from Fair Game. In fact, because I m such a frugal Vermonter, I put off having a paid campaign staff as long as I possibly could. I usually didn t start that until the legislature adjourned in the election year.
Unemployment insurance bill will increase tax burden for Vermont businesses
Without legislative intervention, Vermont businesses will experience an enormous increase in the unemployment insurance tax rate as a result of COVID-19-related claims. A Senate committee has passed a bill to delay that increase, but at the same time also voted to add significant new benefits that will further increase costs to employers.
The Unemployment Trust Fund is paid through a UI tax on business owners. Pre-COVID, the fund had a robust $500 million balance. The tax is calculated in five schedule rates, with Schedule 1 the lowest. Higher rates kick in if the trust fund balance decreases, which it has by more than 50% due to pandemic-related business shutdowns and resulting increases in unemployment. Without legislative intervention, the resulting UI tax rate jump to Schedule 5 would cost a majority of businesses $186.00 per employee, more than tripling the current contribution of $58.00 per employee.