vermont

Vermont, the Land of Healthy Firsts

May 25, 2011
This small New England state was the first to join the 13 Colonies. Its constitution was the first to ban slavery. It was the first to establish the right to free education for all -- public education. This week, Vermont will boast another first: the first state in the nation to offer single-payer health care.
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Sanders Lets Fly at GOP Senators

Dec 17, 2009
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, was far from pleased with certain of his Republican colleagues Wednesday when his attempt to add a single-payer amendment to the Senate's health care reform legislation was met with stonewalling tactics from his GOP peers. Here, he lets it rip, slamming what he calls their bid "to bring the U.S. government to a halt."

Sen. Sanders Unfiltered: Wall Street Off the Rails

Aug 11, 2009
In this installment of Brave New Films' "Senator Sanders Unfiltered," the independent federal legislator from Vermont points out what's becoming hard to dispute or ignore, however much other members of Congress might do both: Wall Street, along with the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, practically runs Washington.

Go Ahead and Sue

Mar 5, 2009
The Supreme Court stood by that most American of rights Wednesday -- the right to sue. By a 6-3 vote, the court decided that federal oversight and warning labels do not protect the pharmaceutical industry from lawsuits. The one-armed Vermont musician involved in the case was thrilled, and not just because she got to keep $6.7 million.

Infrastructure Spending Shafts the States That Need It

Feb 18, 2009
ProPublica did some digging into the infrastructure spending bundled into the stimulus package -- the $100 billion that promises have the biggest impact in terms of job creation -- and found that Wyoming is getting more than $20,100 per unemployed worker while Michigan, a state on the verge of a labor apocalypse, is expected to have to make do with just $2,434.37.