Survival

“I’m a 71-year-old divorcee who has to survive on $1400 a month. I qualify for fuel assistance and Green Mountain Power discounts but am cold every winter day.”

Business Incentives

“Be careful about giving businesses tax incentives if you shift the tax burden to other businesses and tax payers.”

Buffer Zones

“Enact buffer zones along lakes, rivers and streams. It protects water, property, water quality and wild life habitat.”

Education

“Vermont has to come up with a different way to pay for education. This year’s town meetings made that point. Our school boards have to start being a little more frugal.”

Cell Phones

“It’s a proven fact that using cell phones while driving is deadly and they should be banned all together.”

School Choice

“Please consolidate supervisory unions and small schools but please preserve school choice in Vermont. Every school simply isn’t a good fit for every child.”

Nanny State

“Vermont needs to be less of a nanny state. People need to be able to do more on their own instead of having the state and property owners pay for all their bills.”

Marijuana

“Marijuana culture introduces young users into drug culture. It affiliates them with people who have access to other illegal substances.”

“If marijuana is to be legalized in Vermont it should be subject to the same restrictions as alcohol and taxed in the same way cigarettes are taxed and be subject to the same health conditions.”

“Wait to see the results of Colorado perhaps 3-5 years before risking Vermonters’ health and well-being.”

Minimum Wage

“If there’s an increase in minimum wage this would hurt small businesses. If you increase the wage and minimum wage goes up, what about people who have been working for only 10 or 15 dollars an hour?”

Property Taxes

“Property taxes are much too high and need to be evaluated and reduced in order to attract individuals to own property in this state.”

Parking

“Montpelier needs to provide more parking. Montpelier needs more space for parking.”

Senator Bill Doyle serves on the Senate Education Committee and Senate Economic Affairs Committee, and is the Senate Assistant Minority Leader. He teaches government history at Johnson State College. He can be reached at 186 Murray Road, Montpelier, VT 05602; e-mail wdoyle@leg.state.vt.us; or call 223-2851.