[ex-springfielder]

Originally Posted by Brrrmont

I would be giving up the 100K salary to go back to teaching for a mid 40's salary....I know, I must be crazy, right? Corporate America is not for me. So can I make it up there on a teacher's salary?

Maybe the reason your taxes are so high on LI is that you're making 100k to teach for 180 days a year. Go to work in corporate America and you'll start out with two weeks of vacation and 10 paid holidays like most Vermonters have who also have one of the lowest income levels in the country. Maybe that's part of why vermont is such a mess, both the ex-governor Howard Dean and the senator Bernie Sanders came from NY.

[tkln]

Ooh, ouch. That wasn't so bitter now was it.

I live in NYC and I certainly don't make 100K, I make about 1/2 that, and I get even less paid holidays than the 10 you mention, so where does that leave me? Don't make the assumption that everyone who comes from NY is rich or that we have it so easy cuz we live in a city where there is money to be made. Out of the 8 million people who live in city (not counting LI), I would bet that most of them are struggling to get by like myself.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by tkln

Out of the 8 million people who live in city (not counting LI), I would bet that most of them are struggling to get by like myself.

My NYC and NY state friends would definitely agree with you. Every one of them is either in the process of moving away or hoping to move away if they can swing it, not because they lack love for NY, but because it's just financially unsustainable for them. This includes friends earning 3-4 times what my husband and I earn, with jobs that include full benefits and union protection.

[joe moving]

I think you read incorrectly. He is in corporate America - he's a software guy making 100k in LI.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by ex-springfielder

Maybe the reason your taxes are so high on LI is that you're making 100k to teach for 180 days a year. Go to work in corporate America and you'll start out with two weeks of vacation and 10 paid holidays like most Vermonters have who also have one of the lowest income levels in the country. Maybe that's part of why vermont is such a mess, both the ex-governor Howard Dean and the senator Bernie Sanders came from NY.

Yes, on LI our taxes are high partially due to school budgets. My school portion of my taxes represents almost 67% of my total tax bill. (My school taxes in VT are closer to 45-50%.) LI teachers have a powerful union and have wonderful contracts. It can be a bit disturbing to see high end import cars in the parking lot which belong to the teachers who have been there a long while. Meanwhile, I am rolling up in my 8 year-old car which I bought used 2 years ago. UGH

Bernie Sanders was born in Brooklyn, NY which is geographically a part of Long Island. When people refer to Long Island Nassau and Suffolk County is what is meant. We are worlds apart. Just like Bernie Sanders and his politics....

Bernie Sanders received his start at the University of Chicago...like Barack Obama, and later went on to Harvard....like Barack Obama.

Howard Dean was born on LI, but was raised in a fabulously wealthy area and was sent to private schools in Manhattan, Rhode Island and the UK. Howard Dean's upbringing was not remotely like that of the average, working class Long Islander.

You can't blame NY for Howard Dean or Bernie Sanders. NY has only the unfortunate designation of being their place of birth. Their politics and views were shaped by their parents and their liberal college educations.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by joe moving

I think you read incorrectly. He is in corporate America - he's a software guy making 100k in LI.

We prefer to say we live or work on LI. To state otherwise would be suggesting we live underground. (Given the manners of some of my fellow LIers, they just might!)

[68vette]

I just received my tax bill in the mail today. Total property tax bill is almost 4200 dollars. The portion that is for municipal is less than 1000 dollars while the rest is tax for education. I only wish the education tax was 45-50%. When I bought my home 13 years ago the property tax bill was less than 1000 dollars. One of the reasons I moved to Vermont was because it was more affordable to live than Fairfield county, Ct. My property tax is now about the same as my mothers home in Ct and I'm making less money than if I lived in Ct. This is one of the many reasons I'm upset with the situation here in Vt and the direction we are heading. I like living here, but enough is enough. Many people in the state are at a financial breaking point. We are in a vicious cycle of increased costs to the point that people can't afford to live and the solution often times is more social programs so people can survive, which only means more taxes to pay for the programs.

[OhBeeHave]

From what I am seeing, the only advantage to the schools in my area in VT is the smaller class size.

What I don't understand is that the districts are receiving a fair portion of taxes from 2nd homeowners who aren't sending their children to the schools -- which is certainly not the case on LI. Where is the money going?

[tkln]

A part of me wonders if it is in fact the small class sizes that contribute to the cost of schools. I graduated highschool in 1990, with 4000 kids in my school at that time. Who knows how many are in there now...but in the end, no matter how many kids you have, you still need teachers for all the different subjects, you need an auditorium, a gymnasium, sports fields, science labs, etc, and you still have to provide heat and electricity.

So how does that work? If the population in VT was larger, would the tax cost for schools be less because more residents would pay into it?? Is the problem compounded by having rural areas where you can't combine two schools into one because of the long commutes?

[OhBeeHave]

The schools in VT are much smaller in size, capacity, numbers of teachers, programs offered -- you name it.

How are commercial entities taxed with regard to schools? After I posted, I thought about the commercial tax base and how much it does/doesn't offset the tax burden of the residents (and non residents.)