The Vermont Legislature returns to Montpelier on January 3rd, and the Democrat Supermajority’s first order of business in the House is a 10 percent state income tax hike. Of course, the bill is titled “S.56 – An act relating to child care and early childhood education” because, you know, “for the children,” but….

Sections 24 -27 lay it out clear that should S.56 become law, income tax rates will increase by bracket from 3.65% to 3.8% (a 9 percent increase) on those earning $42,150 or less, from 6.6% to 7.3% (an 11 percent increase) on those earning between $42,151 and $102,200, from 7.6% to 8.3% (a nine percent increase) on those earning between $102,201 and $213,150, and from 8.75% to 9.6% (a 10 percent increase) on those earning more than that.

According to the Joint Fiscal Office, this would mean an overall income tax increase on Vermonters of $125.4 million in 2025.

Oh, but they’re not done yet! This bill calls for another income tax increase – a “Supplemental Personal Income Tax Increase” — in 2027 by brackets to 3.8%, 7.5%, 8.55%, and 10.05%, which would suck an additional $57.5 million out of working Vermonters’ wallets in 2028 on top of that.

What’s all this for, you ask? The complete hostile takeover of pre-kindergarten childcare – mostly small businesses run by women – by the bloated, corrupt, inefficient, ineffective, but politically powerful public school monopoly.

Yes, the same folks who for multiple decades were failing to teach our kids to read properly are locking special needs students in “blue rooms” when they’re not physically pinning them to the floor, who are responsible for over a dozen years worth of declining test scores, walked out on kids and families during COVID, and who are more interested in cramming woke ideology down students’ throats than teaching them how to balance a checkbook (and here I think we can see why)… want to start the process of miseducating and indoctrinating our kids a few years earlier. And they’re generously willing to perform this service for just a few hundred million dollars a year. Maybe make it half a billion when all is said and done—nice round number.

So, if you thought the new 0.44 percent payroll tax passed just last year that will start sucking $120 million directly out of working Vermonters’ paychecks this July, plus the anticipated 18.5 percent property tax increase would be enough to cover this early childcare nut, it seems you were grossly mistaken. After all, it’s not cheap supplying taxpayer funded childcare subsidies to families earning 575% of the federal poverty level. This means, yes, if this bill becomes law, Vermonters in the lowest income bracket will be paying 9 percent more in income taxes to provide benefits for people earning over $200,000 a year. Quit complaining, poor folks. That’s “your fair share,” according to the lingo.

2024 is an election year, and just so you know, S.56 was sponsored by 17 of the 23 Democrat Senators and passed the Senate last year on a roll call vote of 24-6. Every Democrat voted for it, and one Republican.

Now it’s in the House, and you have a chance to let your Representatives know what you think about all this. Please do!

The post Democrats Open 2024 Session with 10% Income Tax Hike appeared first on Granite Grok.

Oh, Love! The eternal rhythm, a symphony echoing through existence’s core! Is love a mere sentiment? Far from it, it’s the relentless beat in the human heart. Love, a master weaver, stitches reality’s fabric with intricate artistry, painting the world with hues of compassion, understanding, and boundless connection.

Love transcends time and breaks mortality’s shackles, granting glimpses into the infinite. It is the flame dancing with joy in newborn eyes, glowing with possibilities. Unbound by birth or death, love lingers like celestial fragrance, outlasting mortal limitations in the vast expanse.

If life’s a theatre, then love and only love take the lead, breathing life into the mundane, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, and guiding creativity’s flame. Love is a guiding star for art, poetry, patriotism, and philosophers’ pursuits, and love fuels unwavering fervor and unravels existence’s profound roots.

Love inspires, provokes emotions, and is an undisputed sovereign, ruling hearts with benevolence and poise. Love is the alchemy that transmutes despair into joy. Love is like the magician wielding its wand with divine precision and turning the commonplace into the extraordinary with regal decision.
Love, the sacred fire, warms the coldest corners, turning dwellings into havens, and is a foundation for homes and the mortar binding families in unbreakable bonds. Lit by love’s flames, hearths bring hope, dispelling shadows and illuminating unity’s path.

Love conducts the symphony as life’s music plays, melodies of shared moments.

What molds existence’s disparate elements into a masterpiece? Love, the sculptor – beyond mere attractive features, a synergy of souls connecting, creating profound beauty. An artisan of aesthetics, love illuminates gestures and smiles, crafting a beauty radiating from within, authentic and combined.

In the grand ballet of existence, love pirouettes with grace and passion. Without it, we’re spectators in a monochrome world devoid of vibrancy. With love, life transforms into a kaleidoscope, with emotions vividly painted, transcending challenges and bringing joy and fulfillment.

In love’s divine embrace, Earth becomes a celestial haven, mere mortals ascend to god-like stature, embraced by a timeless force.

Not a fleeting emotion but an eternal flame echoing through eternity, love is all we need – the alpha and omega guiding us to heaven on Earth.

And yet, even amidst the anguish and heartache, love’s essence remains eternal. It is a force that cannot be extinguished, for it resides in the deepest recesses of our souls. Though my heart may bear the scars of betrayal, I know that love has the power to heal and mend. Through the depths of our pain, we discover our resilience and capacity to rise above the ironies of life and find solace in the light of forgiveness.

Love, with all its complexities and contradictions, remains the guiding force that leads us through the darkest nights towards the promise of a new dawn.

The post Night Cap: The Power of Love appeared first on Granite Grok.

The polls show it, and the voters swapping parties prove it. There is a movement away from the Democrats and policies that do not resemble the Party of JFK or even Bill Clinton, for that matter.

2023 will be known as the year the Radicals went too far for even their own Party, and many are jumping off the Radical bandwagon and hoping it did not go so far down the wrong track that there is no getting back.

2023 was a disastrous year for America unless you intended to complete Obama’s mission to transform this once-great country into a Socialist dystopia. If that is your case, you partied last night like it was 1999.

2023 will be remembered as the year of the mandates and restrictions placed on the masses by a President with such a low approval rating that he has no chance of reelection. He went all in and did as much damage as possible, knowing he would only have one shot. But, Boy, did he make that shot hurt.

We have suffered the effects of bad presidents, but we always caught the problem in time so the next commander-in-chief could right the ship. Jimmy Carter was considered by many to be our worst president. He damaged our country at home and abroad, but Ronald Reagan came along and relit the beacon on the hill. There may be no Ronald Reagan-like president strong enough to right the wrongs of Joe Biden.

To list all of the radical, no, extreme actions taken by Biden and the Left would depress even the most optimistic. But we must write them all down to realize how badly we are hurt so we know how, or if, we can fix the mess.

Starting with the evacuation, or surrender, of Afghanistan, we showed we are not the world’s superpower but also that we lack strength and leadership. We turned away from twenty years of effort and walked away, leaving Americans behind as well as enough equipment to arm a small nation. Yet, we have the audacity to believe we can dictate the terms of engagement to Israel, which is defending herself after being attacked. We keep putting billions of dollars into Ukraine like a drunken gambler sitting at a slot machine waiting for cherries but only spinning lemons. We cannot defend our borders but tell others how to protect theirs. We are no longer the America that our needy friends can turn to for help.

At home, we squandered our precious energy independence for the sake of a dysfunctional effort to save the planet. We have imposed a death sentence on the internal combustion engine that built this great land. We think we can replace it with a battery-driven alternative and then rely on our number one nemesis, China, to give us the batteries. We are destroying our open land and seas with solar farms and windmills that are inefficient as they are ugly, and we call it progress. We are foolish and shortsighted and have not devised a plan that will work.

We still have a crime epidemic that is not unique to the big cities. Crime increases are everywhere and will escalate as the illegal aliens continue to pour across the Border and spread throughout the land. Fentanyl is still killing Americans and is just as critical as the human flow across the Rio Grande. The Border is hemorrhaging at 3 million illegals per year, and Biden, Mayorkas, and Harris contend the Border is secure.

Finally, we have inflation. Biden continues to preach the benefits of Bidenomics, but the reality is not positive. Inflation continues to outpace income, and with states putting Minimum Wage Laws into effect today, with some as high as $20.00 per hour, many will be seeing massive layoffs. That is not going to ignite the base.

There is nothing positive to report about Biden’s performance. Well, that is not 100% true. Biden does have only one year left in the Oval Office, which is good news for Americans.

The post Night Cap: The Pendulum May Be Swinging But Can We Recover appeared first on Granite Grok.