WOOFs

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a WOOF. WOOFs are Well Off Old Folks. We’re the fastest growing demographic group in Vermont. There are now more of us than there are students in school. Vermont attracts people like us. We have enough money to buy the expensive houses that working families can’t afford. We enjoy a decent income from Social Security, pensions, and distributions from our retirement accounts. And perhaps some business equity or an inheritance.

In fact, the average household income for us WOOFs is about 20% more than that of a working Vermont family. And a large proportion of us enjoy a net worth of over $1 million.

And yet we pay less in taxes than those wage-earning families that we are working so hard to attract. We pay no Social Security tax, very little income tax, and no tax at all on much of our wealth. My total tax bill this year is far less than that of the young family next door.

For them, life is just barely affordable. For me, it’s quite comfortable. Many of us WOOFs would be happy to contribute a fair share of our income and property to support our schools.

If I contributed 1% of my net wealth and 5% of my income each year, Vermont would get almost enough from me to support one student in school. Yes, I’d be paying more than I pay now in property and income tax. But the young family next door, contributing at the same rates, would pay considerably less than they do now.

Perhaps these are the ways and means to support quality education in Vermont.