8:50 PM
samavadey
If my community wants to double our property taxes this year to build a monorail from the pizza shop to the diner, that is our prerogative. If we want to add 100 police and firemen to our current workforce of about a dozen, that is a decision for us to make. If we to invest more in our schools, that is our prerogative too. The same goes if we want to cut spending.
In my town of several thousand I have a voice. I can be heard at town council and school board meetings. I can gather a few dozen similar thinkers and make an impression. I can talk to my local Representatives at the grocery store or the diner any morning (instead of getting an e-mail back from Representative or Senator telling me that his mailbox is too full to process my question, but can I send it another time). I can run for office without needing Chinese, Saudi, or George Soros' money. I won't win every debate, but I will be heard. That is the essence of democracy, and that is how as many decisions as possible should be made.
Escalating control to the state or federal level creates a version of the Prisoners' Dilemma that advances the power of government. Each town chips into a big pool of money, and then feels compelled to spend because everybody else is spending from that pool. The amount chipped in keeps rising, and so does the spending. There is no incentive to not spend unless everyone stops spending, and that just won't happen.
Property tax caps are sold as a "conservative" idea. They are not; they are wolves in sheep's clothing. If you don't like the taxes in your town, fight them right there. Or, move and send a message that way. But don't ask big brother government to fight your battles for you; that is no different than demanding entitlements.
Posted in: US
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