Emerson Lynn

1 week ago | samessenger.com | Emerson Lynn

The Vermont House last week passed its education reform bill, inviting a less-than-enthusiastic response from Gov. Phil Scott and the promise from the Senate that it would go a different way. The governor said the bill had little to recommend, except it satisfied the procedural need to move the legislation from the House to the Senate. He said the bill’s timeline was too long and it falls short of the money it would save, among other things.

2 weeks ago | samessenger.com | Emerson Lynn

It’s good to know that perhaps there is a limit to the chaos President Trump is willing to suffer. His 90-day pause on his ill-conceived “reciprocal” tariffs gave the markets reason to think the darkest of scenarios would be avoided. On Wednesday the indexes soared to historic levels, following his announcement. On Thursday, however, the markets gave back half the prior day’s gain.

2 weeks ago | samessenger.com | Emerson Lynn

The annual meeting of the Vermont Bar Association is a pedestrian affair if there ever was one. Achingly quotidian. This year’s meeting was the exception. Every Vermonter should be thankful. Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber stood before his colleagues and told them our constitutional democracy was being threatened by President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump was attacking the rule of law's foundation.

3 weeks ago | samessenger.com | Emerson Lynn

President Donald Trump’s gift on “Liberation Day” was a $3,800 bill, the estimated yearly cost his wall of tariffs will cost each Vermont household, according to the Yale Budget Lab. That’s if they do not buy a car. For perspective, Vermonters almost lost their minds last year when told their property taxes would go up 14 percent, or roughly $700 per affected household. The president’s bill could be more than five times that amount.

3 weeks ago | samessenger.com | Emerson Lynn

Consumer confidence has fallen to a 12-year low as Americans continue to be besieged with daily reports about how their states and communities face the loss of their federal funding. Vermont is no exception; roughly 40 percent of what we spend each year comes from the federal government. That is a shade over $4 billion. Vermonters have already been warned by the feds that about $375 million of that total has already been cut, or placed on hold. Sen.