By Jack Hoffman Economist Art Woolf wrote recently that Vermont spends too much on education because taxes are too low for many residents. Woolf was referring specifically to resident homeowners who qualify to pay school taxes as a percentage of their income rather […]
Tag: jack hoffman
Op - Ed, Opinion
Act 60 turns 20
By Jack Hoffman The Equal Educational Opportunity Act, better known as Act 60, is 20 years old on Monday. On June 26, 1997, at an outdoor ceremony in Whiting, Gov. Howard Dean signed into law Vermont’s unique and groundbreaking education […]
Rockin' The Region
Rockin’ the Region with House Blend
This Friday I recommend you kick off Memorial Day weekend in Tinmouth at the Old Firehouse with House Blend. Get there early as this huge group usually packs the place. House Blend is an eclectic, 16-member (sometimes up to 20) […]
Op - Ed
At best, the new educational tax law is unfair
By Jack Hoffman In addition to pushing up property taxes in many towns, the education reform bill passed in the closing days of the session violates a fundamental principle of fairness in Vermont’s education funding system: towns with the same […]
Opinion
Vermont doesn’t need more low-wage jobs
By Jack Hoffman Thousands of Vermonters work at jobs that don’t pay enough to meet their families’ basic needs. That leaves Vermont taxpayers paying tens of millions of dollars to pick up the slack left by employers who pay so […]
Opinion
A solution needs a defined problem
By Jack Hoffman There wasn’t a lot of substance in this election season. “Where’s the beef?” isn’t a question we hear much during campaigns anymore, as Jon Margolis lamented in his column in VTDigger.org last week. But while candidates may […]