Publications
The Public Assets Institute provides sound, timely, and accessible fiscal and policy analysis.
We publish research reports, both in house and in collaboration with other individuals and organizations, and prepare press releases, opinion pieces, and presentations on topics related to our current work.
Reports
Beyond Belt-Tightening
Jack Hoffman (August 2008)
If the administration and the Legislature stick to the fiscal policy they have followed in recent years, Vermonters will be forced to forgo more than $100 million in government services next year. The public won't know the details until the budget reaches the Legislature at the start of the next session. But one thing is certain: $100 million is not the kind of gap that can be closed with a little "belt-tightening."
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Rising Energy Costs Plague State Government, Too
Paul Cillo and Doug Hoffer (August 2008)
Like families and businesses, Vermont's state government uses energy to heat and light buildings and fuel vehicles and equipment. And each year the cost of energy is taking a bigger bite out of the budget.
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2009 Budget: Election-Year Caution Postpones Facing Trouble Ahead
Jack Hoffman (June 2008)
According to the latest projections, the Legislature appropriated about $13 million more than the state is expected to collect in General Fund taxes and other revenues next year. In the scheme of things, the shortfall is small — 1 percent of General Fund spending. And a small surplus at the end of the current year is expected to cover that deficit. But the deficit is a sign of troubles to come if Vermont continues on its current path.
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No New Taxes, but...
Jack Hoffman (June 2008)
Despite a pattern of declining state revenues, the administration and the Legislature managed to avoid raising taxes in an election year — at least taxes that are likely to affect a broad range of voters. That won't mean, though, that some people won't be paying more for certain government services. General Fund revenues are expected to increase nearly $10 million as a result of actions by the Legislature.
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Measuring Economic Development: What Do Subsidies Buy?
Jack Hoffman (June 2008)
The Vermont Legislature is taking another run at figuring out what the state is getting for all of its economic development efforts. Existing laws that would enable evaluation have been ignored for years.
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Economic Stimulus Needs New Money, Fast
Jack Hoffman (May 2008)
An analysis of the governor's "economic stimulus" plan reveals that there is little new money in the proposal, and many of the business breaks are unlikely to produce the increase in demand that is needed right now.
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Some Necessities Cost More, Others Don't
Paul Cillo and Doug Hoffer (May 2008)
Vermonters' median income kept ahead of inflation during the decade from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. That should have produced more buying power for the average person. But the cost of big ticket items — health insurance, gasoline, heating fuel, and housing — all rose faster than Vermonters' incomes.
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Vermont's 2009 Budget: The State Should Step In, Not Step Back
Jack Hoffman and Paul Cillo (March 2008)
The state budget is more than a list of spending priorities for the ensuing year. It's a critical policy document that shapes where Vermont will be next year, the year after, and five or 10 years from now. The state's political leaders have a responsibility to recast the budget debate so that average Vermonters — and even lawmakers who are not on the Legislature's Appropriations Committees — can join the discussion about where the state is headed, how it should treat its citizens, and what kinds of services it should provide.
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Read an op-ed that refers to this analysis.
School-Budget Voters Are Minding Their Own Purse Strings
Deb Brighton and Jack Hoffman (February 2008)
Vermont's 10-year-old school funding system has helped to reduce disparities between property-rich and property-poor towns, and it has done so without encouraging the overspending that had been predicted.
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Where They Come From; Where They Go
Jack Hoffman (December 2007)
According to the latest information published by the IRS, more people moved out of Vermont in 2006 than moved in. However, the new arrivals had more income than those who left — on average about 15 percent more per exemption.
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Vermonters' Incomes Outpaced School Taxes (1996-2006)
Paul Cillo and Jack Hoffman (December 2007)
Even before the Legislature passed a law last session designed to pressure communities to curb the growth of education spending, Vermonters had started to act on their own. Data from the Vermont Education Department show that school spending growth has been slowing for the past four years.
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The Governor's Budget Release: Earlier is Better
Paul Cillo and Jack Hoffman (December 2007)
Everyone who is part of the state budgeting process needs timely information. The Vermont Legislature can gain precious time for itself — and for the public — by moving up the deadline for the annual release of the governor's budget.
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The State of Working Vermont 2007
Paul Cillo and Doug Hoffer (September 2007)
An issue brief highlighting Vermont employment, wages, and workforce trends, drawn from 2006 government data. It is produced in cooperation with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
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A Citizen's Guide to the CLA: Vermont's Common Level of Appraisal Adjustment for School Taxes
Paul Cillo (2006)
An 8-page booklet explaining how the CLA adjustment helps to make the property tax system more fair. This booklet also describes how school taxes can go up even when a town's school budget doesn't.
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Analyzing Health Care Reform's Impact on Working Households:
A New Methodology
Deb Brighton and Paul Cillo (December 2006)
This report unveils a new methodology to evaluate the impact of any new health insurance plan on the economic momentum of low-income working households. It then uses this new analytical tool to evaluate Catamount Health, the health insurance plan included in Vermont's Health Care Affordability Act of 2006, on households that are
eligible for this plan.
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Vermont Household Budget Affordability Analysis
Douglas Hoffer and Paul Cillo (October 2006)
An issue brief comparing median and upper income Vermont household expenditures. For the median household, transportation, food, housing, and health care consume over half of the budget. For the upper income household, forty percent of income is left over for discretionary spending.
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Read op-ed and editorial that refer to this analysis.
Analysis of General Fund Transfer to Education Fund
Paul Cillo (September 2006)
An issue brief showing that the transfer of money from the state General Fund to the Education Fund has been less than required by statute for the past two years. The result: $25 million more in property taxes.
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The State of Working Vermont 2006
Allison Churilla (September 2006)
Published jointly by the Carsey Institute and the Public Assets Institute
An issue brief highlighting trends in economic and labor force characteristics of Vermont's workers produced in cooperation with the Economic Policy Institute's national report, "The State of Working America 2005/2006."
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A Citizen's Guide to School Funding: Vermont's Act 68
Paul Cillo (3rd Ed., February 2006)
An understandable 24-page guide to Vermont's school funding system. This booklet also describes how to pay school taxes based on income, and how to calculate homestead tax rates.
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Earning More, Losing Ground
Deborah Brighton and Paul Cillo (February 2005)
Prepared for the Voices for Vermont's Children
A five-year trend analysis of Vermont's minimum wage, public assistance, and the cost of basic needs (1999-2003)
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Presentations
Public Infrastructure and Economic Development
Speaker's notes; Paul Cillo (March 29, 2006)
A presentation to the Rural Economic Development Working Group (Vermont legislature).
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Op-Eds
State budget cuts will hurt Vermonters
(August 2008)Read it here
State spending should reflect Vermonters' needs
(March 2008)Read it here
Poor towns aren't gaming Act 68 system
(February 2008)Read it here
Just the facts, please
(October 2007)Read it here
School-financing law is working
(February 2007)Read it here
Vermont's School Finance Law Is Still the Best
(January 2007)Download in pdf
Taxes are not the biggest burden
(October 2006)Download in pdf
Press Releases
February 20, 2008 release
School-Budget Voters Are Minding Their Own Purse Strings (report release)Download in pdf
October 10, 2007 release
Public Assets Institute Hires Jack HoffmanRead it here
September 6, 2007 release
Vermont's Workforce Well-Educated but Underutilized (The State of Working Vermont 2007)Download in pdf
February 22, 2007 release
New Analysis Finds Vermont Hit Hard by Cuts in President's Budget for 2008Download in pdf
September 12, 2006 release
(The State of Working Vermont 2006 report)Download in pdf