Sacrifice

It’s time to acknowledge what each of us already knows. Anything of value usually costs money and involves personal sacrifice.

I have been fortunate to earn an exceptional living. Of course, it was borne of my parents’ sacrifices to provide the tools to enable that success. Likewise, despite my better-than-average salary, I live modestly; choosing to invest my resources toward the betterment of my children’s future. As a town, I believe we need to approach matters similarly.

Our current infrastructure is either lacking or deteriorating. That needs to become a priority of our tax dollars. Everyone agrees until the bill arrives and then no one wants to ante up because the benefit will likely be disproportionately enjoyed by those that come after us. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the beast.

So the mindset that prevails is usually one where we look to higher branches of government to provide. That’s flawed…and an approach that simply isn’t going to work as available monies become scarcer for various reasons. We need to take care of ourselves and the best way to do that is through succeeding generations.

Again, it comes back to money. Where is it going to come from? From us, in the form of taxes. But we all know we can’t shoulder any bigger burden. That leaves one option. With resources finite, they must be reallocated. Everyone complains that taxes are too high but complains again when services are reduced. You simply can’t have it both ways despite the “smart growth” rhetoric that has raged for years. Good infrastructure breeds economic development, not the other way around.

It’s going to take time. There won’t be a lot, if any, immediate gratification. In short, it’s going to mean sacrifice. No one likes it but it’s necessary. If we’re methodical, we can build the base we need to thrive.

Since we agree the current tax burden is excessive, we need to begin with reducing it and prioritizing where our tax dollars are utilized. We could debate where best that is for eons but I’d suggest we start by cutting expenditures uniformly 20-30% across the board. Every service feels the pain equally. That alone forces us to do more with less to provide as much as we can and will serve as a means to eliminate the “waste and inefficiency” we’re always hearing about but have a hard time identifying. Just like you and me, the powers will have to ask themselves what they can do without when faced with having less money.

With a proper Comp Plan in place (priority one), we can begin to whittle away at some of what is needed. Some of that involves rectifying (and yes, paying for) problems created by past mistakes. It’s likely to be slow and ugly getting started but I believe it will be worthwhile in the end.