15
The people vs the government
The recession has ratcheted up the tension between citizens and their leaders. Nowhere is that more vivid than Colorado Springs. In November, voters refused to triple their property taxes. The city has responded by turning off lights, cutting police and fire services and asking people to mow their own damn public parks.
More than a third of Colorado Springs streetlights went dark on Monday. The police department has put its two helicopters up for sale. Pools, museums and recreation centers may close. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. More from the Denver Post:
The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.
Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.
Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.
The debate in Colorado Springs is similar to budget battles raging across the country. Financially crippled city and state governments say they need citizens to sacrifice, pay more taxes or they'll face cuts to vital services. The financially struggling citizens tell the government to cut salaries and waste and get spending under control:
"I guess we're going to find out what the tolerance level is for people," said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. "It's a new day."
Colorado's situation is unique in one respect - its famous Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Passed in 1992, TABOR gives the people a vote on tax increases higher than the sum of inflation plus population growth. That's why Colorado Springs held a referendum on the property tax. Essentially, TABOR allows voters to decide how much government they're willing to pay for. Some say that's how it should be:
States that impose an effective tax and spending limit create a better business tax climate compared to states that pursue profligate fiscal policies, such as California. Critics who argue that state spending should not be constrained by tax and spending limits are really arguing that government should grow more rapidly than the private sector.
Critics argue that TABOR has crippled Colorado's ability to provide education, health and other vital services, especially in a tough economy. This was written last April:
As the country emerges from recession, TABOR will tighten its grip on government, preventing it from quickly restoring services lost in hard times, and catching up on projects that have been put off.
Even in economic recovery, parks will stay brown. Buses parked. Police overworked. Fire stations unbuilt.
"You have a bad year," Vice Mayor Larry Small says, sighing, "and you have to start all over again."
But other states have considered this notion of giving voters a direct say on any significant growth of their government, rather than leaving it up to the politicians who were elected to make those decisions. Good move or a bad one?
Caption: Because of streetlight budget cuts, photos of Colorado Springs may now only be taken during the day.
Pages
It's hard to say anything when you don't know how the local taxes are structured. Is it property tax, an income tax? Has the recession changed how much taxes the government takes in? Are more people unemployed, did people get rid of their houses and/or cars? Have businesses closed down during the recession?
If the choice is to either cut services or raise taxes then something changed in how the city generates or spends it's tax income. You could argue that cuts could be made elsewhere, like getting rid of the Vice Mayor instead of the landscaping budget but the cuts have to come from somewhere otherwise you run a deficit.
Somewhere, somehow, the Math doesn't add up right.
You see all these people, namely Republicans, who hate government. It can't do anything right (except they worship at the altar of the most ineffective and of course violent branches like police and military). In a democracy, the government is the people. So they have problems. They are very uncivilized and this shows it.
I very much hope this marks the beginning of the end of our Reagan culture.
We were told that "greed is good," regulation is bad, and that the wealth will trickle down. All wrong, at least to the extent these ideas were sold.
Greenspan went around championing the market as infallible, but as he admitted to Waxman, he was wrong. That view is ill-founded.
Nonetheless, these ideas, and the ideology they are components of, still pervade.
But not for long!
Lack of trash service, street lights, and scaled-back public safety will do a great deal to restore our appreciation for all we've come to take for granted. These and other costs will be the horrible price of our 30-year addiction to borrowing and profligate spending.
But all that's okay, so long as we're finally able to ditch this unsustainable, morally-depleted culture.
It's past time for our nation to get reacquainted with the law of the farm!
I don't understand why taxes need to go higher when the population is increasing at a regular rate and hence taxes are increasing at a dynamic rate.
Taxes are rarely reduced on a local level, but cuts can always be reverse during a good economy.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GySmzLw3zs&feature=related" target="_blank">A similar small Colorado town</a>
Amen to the People! Government and Taxes grow to fill more than available revenue! They will never have enough. Let them focus on what matters: Education, Police, and Fire. I'm sure they have some shinny new offices with nice new furniture. I’ve been to some companies that still have office supplies from the 80’s! They need to get on the Dave Ramsey Plan!
If there is less money coming in then there has to be cuts to the money being spent. Landscaping definitely falls under non-essential and the people of Colorado Springs should be proud that their city is making the cuts needed to maintain a balanced budget.
Government should be run for the people and if the folks in Colorado Springs don't want these services they shouldn't have to pay for them. That said, it doesn't make the idea of visiting or living in Colorado Springs very appealing. I hope some of the budget crises around the country will result in fruitful discussions about taxes and services. People always rail against taxes but few are willing to see basic services cut.
Further there is a reason why we generally operate as a representative democracy. The average citizen isn't well-informed on issues, and I think we're better off not having the public micromanage every issue.
Pages
