It’s so cliche, but it is the spending (stupid)

There is a story in the Free Press this morning about the legislative hearings on property tax.

Jim Stevens, 67, is retired, but works two part-time jobs as a mail carrier and bus driver to supplement his retirement income. He said he and his wife live on less than $24,000 a year in a home they purchased in Newark six years ago.

Thursday he drove to Montpelier with some of his neighbors to complain about the growing burden of his property taxes.

“My tax has gone up 53 percent since I came here,” he told members of the House Education and Ways and Means committees, the two House panels charged with examining ways to curb school spending and property tax growth. “I don’t know why you have to tax us to death.”

When he thought lawmakers weren’t paying close enough attention to the testimony, Stevens raised his voice. “Do you hear me? Do you hear the people who are talking?” he asked. “I’m not trying to tell you a sob story. I’m trying to tell you what is going on.”

Stories like this are typical here. I remember that first time I ran for City Council and went door-to-door, I heard story after story of senior citizens who were being taxed beyond their means. One woman was almost in tears, wondering if she would have to sell her home. And that was in 2003. Taxes have increased substantially since then.

One commonly offered solution is a shift from property taxes to an income tax.

Rep. Harvey Otterman, R-Topsham, promoted greater reliance on the income tax in his testimony, noting the value of people’s property doesn’t represent ability to pay taxes. “The income tax is the one tax that does represent your ability to pay.”

I agree that property tax is not a good indicator of ability to pay. I also know that the excessive property tax burden can make home ownership cost prohibitive for some people.

However, I caution people about embracing an income tax as the panacea for the school spending dilemma. If we do not get the spending under control, the income tax levels will inevitably creep up, even for those who cannot afford it.

According to this compilation of census data, the median income in Vermont for a full-time, year-round working male is only $32,457, and for a female that figure is $25,322. That means half of Vermonters make less than that.

If school spending continues to increase at current levels, the income tax will hit all Vermonters hard in a matter of no time.

When Act 68 was passed, it temporarily took the focus off the dollar amounts of the school budgets. Any new change in the funding mechanism could have the same effect. Hey, I’m not going to pay it, so of course I’ll vote “yes.”

What happens when the budgets get so big that the families who are just scraping by have to pick up part of the tab? Will the school budgets go back down?

This year, the Burlington School District is asking for a 9.08% increase. Our population is not growing at that rate. Our incomes are not growing at that rate. We cannot afford to sustain that rate of growth, regardless of the funding mechanism.

We need to control school spending.

The question is, will lawmakers take that seriously?