Cost of Living

Too many Vermonters are doing everything right and still watching the cost of living climb faster than their paychecks. Housing, healthcare, childcare, energy, groceries, transportation, and especially property taxes are putting more pressure on household budgets every year.

Property taxes have become unsustainable for too many Vermonters. We need to address both sides of that equation: how much government asks communities to spend and how we raise the money to pay for it. Simply shifting costs around or creating another fee isn’t enough.

We can’t keep responding to every challenge by passing the full cost onto families who are already stretched thin.

That means being more disciplined about how government spends money, but affordability isn’t just about cutting. We also have to address the things driving household costs in the first place: housing, healthcare, childcare, energy, and the other necessities families can’t simply choose to go without.

When state government considers a new program, mandate, fee, or tax, we should ask a basic question: What will this mean for the family trying to make a household budget work?

Vermont should be a place where people can build a life, raise a family, retire with dignity, and still have something left at the end of the month.