Position #1 – Economic Justice for Vermonters

The financial thefts that occurred on Wall Street and direct effects on Vermonters must be articulated. Those crimes must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under Vermont law. In addition, concrete steps must be taken to expose and fight back against unconscionable contract clauses imposed by credit card companies which result in staggering debt for young and low income Vermonters.

Ed Stanak’s Full Position Statement for Economic Justice for all Vermonters

If judged merely by the sheer volume of laws already on the Vermont books to create, regulate and otherwise control the actions of banks, insurance companies and myriad other forms of modern financial institutions, one might conclude that Vermonters are well protected from abuse and harm by the unfair and dishonest actions of profit hungry corporations.*  Unfortunately, the experiences of many Vermonters have been that they benefit little from the laws on the books because  the state fails to act on their behalf in order to oppose and prevent unjust effects on their economic well being.

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Position #2 – Corporate Personhood – a False Legal Premise

Corporate personhood is a legal concept that a corporation may be sued in court in the same way as a real human being.  The U.S. Supreme court has increasingly used corporate personhood as the grounds to expand the “constitutional rights” of corporations which have resulted, among many things, in the passage of campaign finance expansion which as created super PACs and runaway corporate spending in politics.

Full Position Paper #2 – Corporate Personhood – a False Legal Premise

The false legal premises which have been used  to extend constitutional protections to corporations must be exposed and  concrete steps taken to rescind those protections.

The fact that corporations are treated as the equivalent of real people, or “natural persons” under the laws of Vermont and the United States has resulted in the corruption of democracy through unfair influences on elections. Similarly, the law extends due process rights and privileges to corporations which in turn cause suffering and undue economic burdens on real people. This position paper focuses on proposed changes to the legal status quo so that large for-profit corporations will no longer be afforded equal treatment with natural persons in the application of the law.

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Position #3 – You Have A Right to Privacy

Corporate and government actions diminishing rights to privacy must be brought into the daylight and rolled back.  The current age of the internet and long time advertising practices have combined to create a growing disclosure of all sorts of information on individuals.  Many people have no idea how much of their online behaviors and buying habits are being tracked.  This must be investigated, brought to the public, and assessed for legal intervention on behalf of Vermonters.

Position Statement #3 – Privacy Rights

Vermonters have become subject to increased surveillance by both commercial entities and government agencies.  Some may feel that the term “surveillance” is too strong of a term to utilize in a discussion of the data gathering by providers of electronic services and the similar collection of information on citizen actions and movements by government.  However, the dictionary definition of surveillance is “close observation.”  Can any informed Vermonter discount the contemporary powers of observation to which we are all subject?

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Position #5 – Vermont Yankee – Shut it Down!

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant

Position Paper #5 – Closure of Vermont Yankee

Nuclear Power Station

 On January 19, 2012, the United States District Court issued a decision concluding that two enactments of the Vermont legislature, having to do with the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station in the Town of Vernon on the western shore of the Connecticut River, were pre-empted by the federal Atomic Energy Act and thus in effect rendered null and void. One act had prohibited the operation of the nuclear facility  “unless the general assembly approves and determines that the operation will promote the general welfare.” The second legislative act mandated that the construction of any new storage facility for spent nuclear fuel was subject to state approval and that storage of spent fuel at the site after March 21, 2012 required the approval of the general assembly. The court held that the “overwhelming evidence” concerning the legislative history for these acts “was grounded in radiological safety concerns” and a desire to empower the Vermont legislature to act on these concerns in deciding the continued operation of the nuclear power station. The Court also found that other provisions of the Vermont legislation violated the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. The District Court’s decision is currently on appeal to the 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City.*

The purpose of this position paper is to provide an alternative approach to the Entergy suit.

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Privatization Hurts Vermont

Privatization of Public Services

The corporate takeover of public services must be stopped. Specific steps must be taken under existing Vermont law to investigate the hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful state contracts with corporations and prevent future such contracts.  We are seeing more and more the impact of privatization on a national, state, and local level – prisons are becoming inhumanely overcrowded and mismanaged, valuable state resources are being auctioned away from our future generations, and jobs are being lost from the public sector and thus the public eye, all in the name of cutting fiscal corners.  The long-term results of privatization is a loss of public accountability, natural resources, and public sector jobs.

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Position #4 – End the “War on Drugs”

Position Paper #4 – End the “War on Drugs”

Misguided Policies and Waste of Resources

Legalization of Cannabis Products and Increased Public Revenues

The so-called “war on drugs” dates back at least to the 1930s when laws were enacted by state and federal governments criminalizing certain types of drug use. The “war” – an unfortunate choice of words  describing what are actually government social policies – escalated tremendously in the 1980s with a massive increase in expenditures of public funds and huge growth in prison populations. The purpose of this position paper is to examine the criminalization of cannabis products (marijuana and agricultural hemp) in Vermont and to suggest an alternative approach.

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