Benjamin Franklin once said: "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Maybe this quote needs to be updated to "death and higher taxes." Now, neither of us are economists, but we're pretty certain that taxes are going to increase in our lifetimes.
All western democracies face the same challenges: an aging population that, in general, lives longer, a lower ratio of workers (who pay more taxes) to dependents (who pay less taxes), and higher costs for and a greater reliance on social services such as healthcare, education and social welfare.
The demographic reality alone suggests that taxpayers will be squeezed more in the future. Even modest tax increases are unlikely to stem the decline of our social safety net. At best, they may even just preserve the status quo of long wait-times in hospitals, flat-lined or even decreased funding for schools and post-secondary institutions and a general retreat by governments from the provision of vital services.
In the upcoming municipal election, you will hear lots of talk about taxes, potholes, snow removal and trips to Asia. Some candidates will argue that our municipal government should focus on providing basic services - filling the potholes, removing the snow, collecting the garbage and making sure our streets are safe. All are very valid and necessary functions of municipal government.
But the reality is that municipal governments are now required to do much more. Take economic and community development, for instance. Other levels of government used to do this (and some still do, albeit in much more limited ways), but generally speaking, this responsibility has been downloaded to the municipal level by other levels of government, with fewer, if any, resources to pay for it.
So how should we respond to this dilemma? Well, we can take the "dog-eat-dog" approach of our southern Tea Party neighbours, decrease taxes and let the market decide the economic and social future of our communities. Or we can bite the bullet and make a conscious decision to support increased taxes in order to help municipal governments carry out the wide range of tasks for which they are now responsible. Is the latter path realistic? Probably not.
Why? Well, because no politician is going to get elected on a platform of higher taxes. We, the voters, want politicians to make promises about economic growth and future prosperity, new programs and innovative ideas, when we know, in our hearts, that such promises cost money and that few are willing to pay. In effect, we demand results from politicians but we expect them to deliver such results without raising our taxes. What we need is a reality check.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if politicians were frank with us about the fiscal and political realities that we face and the difficult sacrifices that we need to make? Wouldn't it be refreshing if the citizens voted for these politicians? Citizens need to be aware of the challenges confronting municipal governments in the 21st century and the politicians have a responsibility to tell us about the scope and the costs of those challenges.
Gary N. Wilson and Tracy Summerville are associate professors at the UNBC department of political science, UNBC.
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