(Host) Despite numerous meetings over the past few days, the Douglas Administration and Democratic leaders at the Statehouse have failed to reach an agreement on a plan to bail out the state’s Unemployment Insurance Fund.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel has the story.
(Kinzel) The two sides are engaged in what they call "shuttle diplomacy" by holding numerous meetings with offers and counter offers flying back and forth.
Here’s the basic problem; the recession has caused the state’s unemployment rate to go up and Vermont is now borrowing roughly $5 million a week from the Federal government to meet its obligations to laid off workers.
Historically, the fund has been financed by employers, and until a small change was implemented last year, the same taxable wage rate for businesses had been in place for almost 30 years.
Speaking on VPR’s Vermont Edition, Governor Douglas said he wants a compromise that doesn’t place too great a burden on the state’s business community:
(Douglas) "I think it would be ironic if the businesses of Vermont who are the ones who create jobs and hire people were forced to pay so much in taxes that they had to eliminate jobs. The idea is to get people back to work and we have to find a way that spreads the sacrifice in order to accomplish it."
(Kinzel) And Douglas says a plan proposed by the Democrats, which includes a waiting period for benefits, doesn’t go far enough in reducing employee costs:
(Douglas) "This is a serious time when everybody has to be a part of the solution and that means folks who have lost their jobs – in most cases through no fault of their own – and I think it’s important to add that when we look at how struggling families are faring after a job loss that there are other benefits available to them from our state."
(Kinzel) Chris Curtis is an attorney for Vermont Legal Aid. He’s urging the Democrats not to make any cuts in worker benefits:
(Curtis) "I would point out that workers really didn’t get us into this in the first place. It’s a lack of action in adjusting the employer contributions over 25 or 30 years that have created this problem."
(Kinzel) And Curtis says it’s unfair to reduce benefits for unemployed people:
(Curtis) "The people who have lost their jobs and no longer have any income – who’ve already sacrificed by giving up 43% of their income – for the Administration to be picking the pockets of those people is unconscionable."
(Kinzel) The Governor plans to meet with Democratic leaders on Monday in an effort to find a compromise. If no agreement is reached at that time, the Democrats say they’ll press ahead with their own plan.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.