January 20,2012; Peter Hirschfeld; Rutland Herald
But in singling out the earned-income tax credit, Shumlin has ensured a more rigorous review of other tax expenditures that might be used to fund the expanded childcare subsidies, or other programs for which lawmakers are seeking funding.
Sen. Tim Ashe, a Chittenden County Democrat/Progressive and newly installed chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that in his hunt for $17 million, Shumlin might have failed to scrutinize adequately the merits of the source from which he decided to take it.
“Just because the governor has settled on that particular funding source, I think the Legislature should take the broad view and say if we want to fund childcare, and use that as our starting point, then what are the array of options?” Ashe says. “And it may be that there is something that we would believe is far more appropriate to take from to give to childcare.”