SCOTT BRINGS VISION FOR AFFORDABILTY AND BETTER ECONOMY
MONTPELIER (January 5, 2017): In response to Governor Phil Scott’s inaugural remarks today, the following statement may be attributed to Shawn Shouldice, Vermont state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB):
Today, Governor Phil Scott laid out a vision to improve Vermont’s business climate by making our state more affordable and strengthening the state’s economy. The state budget is bloated and making it leaner and more efficient will no doubt alleviate some of the budget issues we face year after year. A small business owner does not have the luxury of spending more than its revenue and neither should the state government. Vermont has borrowed from the future to pay for the present long enough. Governor Scott has called upon lawmakers to tackle our budget challenges, and we hope they were listening.
The small business community thrives on certainty and predictability and hearing today that the Governor values growing revenue organically as opposed to raising taxes and fees will certainly go a long way with our members to encourage them to keep the faith and remain in Vermont. There is no doubt that the Governor is focused on growing the small business community and recruiting new entrepreneurs to the state. The executive order that he signed today demonstrates that strengthening our economy is his number one priority and that is certainly something that small employers in Vermont were incredibly relieved to hear.