By Cristina Kumka, Staff Writer

Vermonters peppered Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., with questions on Saturday about the future of the national economy.

At a forum on Saturday, residents from Addison and Rutland counties said they face job losses, dwindling retirement savings and other financial problems. Some said they have to choose between heating fuel and food on a daily basis.

At two community meetings — one held Saturday morning at Barnham Memorial Town Hall in Lincoln and the other in the afternoon at Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon - many Vermonters expressed worry about the nation's economic future.

In front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 150 Lincoln area residents, Lonny Edwards of Lincoln told Sanders he lost his job in May as a high school humanities teacher at The Red Cedar School in Bristol.

Before he was laid off, Edwards was offered a $2,000 raise in exchange for health benefits for his family. Even with the promotion however, the new health care plan would have cost Edwards $4,000 more.

Before he was able to make a choice, Edwards said he was fired.

"I knew in November (of last year) that we were in an economic downturn because enrollment was way down," said Edwards, who is now working as a carpenter in Burlington, about two hours from his home.

When Sanders pronounced that Vermonters shouldn't have to choose between an increase in wages and health care, his comment was met with rounds of applause.

"We need a national health care system … that guarantees health care to all people," Sanders said.

Sanders said the job loss problem is two-fold: Layoffs are on the rise (about 533,000 Americans lost their jobs last month), and people who do find work often end up with part-time positions.

Sanders said that as the middle class declines, the Bush administration has been promoting the misconception that the economy is "doing well."

"What they meant by that was the people on top were doing well," he said.

The senator said Congress will try to reverse the toll the recession has taken on middle-class Americans by adopting a $400 billion "economic recovery package."

Some of that money, Sanders said, would go toward rebuilding Vermont's infrastructure and creating new sustainable energy and mass transportation projects.

"Now is the time to do it because we have growing unemployment and this could give people jobs," Sanders said. "The consensus among progressive economists and conservative economists is that if you don't increase employment, the economy won't improve."

Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras, among roughly 250 attendees of the second meeting in Brandon, urged Sanders to keep the infrastructure needs of municipalities, not just states, on the priority list if and when a recovery package is passed.

"I implore Congress to consider a bill provision mandating a certain percentage of federal funds be allocated for local projects, rather than risk monopolization of these funds by state governments and delay the intended national economic boost," the mayor wrote in a letter he sent to the state's congressional delegation.

"The Rutland region has lost over 200 manufacturing jobs in the last several weeks, and the city is in the position to literally put shovels in the ground tomorrow morning if funding were to become available," the mayor wrote.

In closing, Sanders said the point of both meetings was to give people hope that positive changes can be made in Vermont to stimulate the state's finances if everyone contributes, including the public and elected officials on both sides of the aisle in Washington.

"In the midst of a crisis, there are opportunities as well," Sanders said.

Sanders said a "major solar project" would be introduced in Vermont "shortly," and Vermonters should expect to see more efficient car models on the market in the near future.

"We need to put America back in a position of economic leadership and moral righteousness," he said.