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Ann Cummings: “The state is income dependent and that's why you get our…”

Featuring: Ann Cummings, Democratic | State Senator, Vermont

Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate

Published October 26, 2018 | Video Starts at 21:50

The thing that concerns me and that I think we could go more, you know, do more income into it. But as you get to higher income levels, income tax tends to be very volatile. The state is income dependent and that's why you get our feast or famine. Okay, ups and downs. State's big. We can rob Peter to pay Paul and get through. Sometimes Peter moves out of the state. Then sometimes schools aren't. Schools have one mission. (21:50–21:57)

CLAIM

Asserts that the state's revenue is highly dependent on income, leading to economic volatility.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Ann Cummings

“This is my 12th campaign. Every two years. I have been in the Senate for 22 years.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 01:01-01:08
“Yes, [healthcare requirements] are [required by state law in Vermont].”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 04:37-04:38
“30% of the city of Montpelier is tax exempt. Most of that is the state complex.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 04:50-04:57
“We had, at that point, we have a little over 8,000 people that lived here, but we had 20,000 people a day in town that we were providing…”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 05:20-05:34
“It has now become just a matter of course that the city of Montpelier gets a significant payment in lieu of taxes.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 06:43-06:51
“Money is very tight up at the state House.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 07:20-07:25
“There's more people that don't benefit from payment in lieu of taxes than do.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 07:25-07:31
“Revenues are just starting to pick up.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 10:04-10:08
“Vermont usually lags behind the nation in economic regrowth.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 10:08-10:16
“Because I chair the Finance Committee.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 11:29-11:32
“It isn't a problem with the pension system that we have.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 11:44-11:49
“The theory was that the pension money is invested in the stock market.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 11:56-12:04
“The feds changed the accounting standards.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 12:53-12:56
“We have been paying that, painfully paying that ever since.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 13:27-13:34
“The governor wanted to use that to buy down the property taxes.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 13:59-14:05
“Last year we were supposed to have a 9 cent tax increase and 5 of that was because we had done what the governor wanted the year before and…”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 14:08-14:24
“If we put it in to pay down our debt and take it off the principal, we would save millions of dollars over the life of that debt.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 14:40-14:53
“The Appropriations Committee has the payment schedule. I've been told that this was the worst year, that it'll start to ramp down so it's…”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 15:37-15:53
“The administration has said we're not raising any new money and we're not raising any taxes, we're not raising any fees.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 16:42-16:50
“It's hard to see how you're going to do a $20 million a year cleanup without raising any new money.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 16:52-16:59
“Originally, when this came up, the treasurer was tasked with coming up for a plan.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 17:04-17:12
“Because we were told very clearly that if we came up with any new revenue source, it would be vetoed.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 17:46-17:54
“The majority of people, 65, 70% pay based on a percentage of their income.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 20:51-20:59
“We have always as a state tried to have stability in school funding.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 22:11-22:19
“The higher you go in income, the more unstable it becomes.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 23:12-23:19
“We do veggie Vermont economic growth incentive where you get...a rebate on your taxes.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 24:08-24:19
“We did come up with a $36 million bond last year to increase affordable housing.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 27:29-27:38
“The cost of land in New England is very high.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 28:21-28:26
“We've got some of the oldest housing stock in the country.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 29:49-29:53
“Outside of Chittenden county, not very much [housing] is going up.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 29:52-29:57
“We are building affordable housing.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 30:02-30:05
“We have done downtowns, we have done neighborhoods contiguous to downtowns and given them some break from the regulations.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 30:21-30:36
“Montpelier's water source is in Berlin.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 30:50-30:54
“A large number of people could not afford [healthcare].”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 34:45-34:49
“What Vermont did before my time, so over 20 years ago, they said, look, you are going to take Vermont as a pool.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 34:49-35:03
“I have actually been putting a paid parental leave bill in for 10 years.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 36:25-36:32
“I had originally funded it out of the unemployment insurance.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 36:31-36:36
“We set it up as a form of self-employment that's modeled on New York where the employees actually pay in.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 38:03-38:13
“It passed. It did.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 38:32-38:32
“It got vetoed.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 38:35-38:37
“It will get reintroduced and I'll be a sponsor.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 38:46-38:50
“I supported the Senate Bill. I think it really worked at getting a regulated system.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 39:10-39:20
“There will be additional costs for law enforcement.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 39:33-39:37
“We had two bills that went through. One was a tax on e-cigarettes because they are becoming a major issue in schools with young people.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 40:23-40:37
“My committee put a tax on opioid producers feeling that they made the money off of opioids and in some cases knowingly.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 40:46-41:00
“It was a pharmacy in Illinois, Michigan that sourced from Canada.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 42:01-42:11
“Pharmaceuticals before the opioid epidemic became a cost pharmaceuticals. Medicare was set up. When going to the hospital was your major…”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 42:38-42:51
“Now if you go to the hospital at all, it's in one day and you are treated with pharmaceuticals.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 42:54-43:03
“They're coming out with new ones every day and they do miraculous things.”
Montpelier Civic Forum - Ann Cummings, Candidate for Washington County Senate | Uploaded October 26, 2018 | 43:05-43:10