Through a chain of events that I won't bore you by reciting, I find myself the Democratic candidate for First Selectman of the very small town I live in. (I expect that's surprising. It is to me.) This suddenly makes me think about problems I really hadn't considered much before.
Our town's main industry is agriculture. We don't really have a main street. There's a liquor store, an auto repair business, an acupuncturist, a seamstress (really) and a chain saw shop. We have a sawmill and a campground. That's about it. Our problem is that agricultural land pays very little in real estate taxes, which means that almost the entire burden of financing the town falls on residential property. We also have a small population which means there are only about 100 kids in our elementary school (pre-K through 6) and maybe 48 of our own kids in a regional 7 through 12 school, for which we pay by the head. Because the schools are so small, they are very expensive. You still have to pay a principal and a janitor, and maintenance on the, spread out over few pupils, with small class sizes. We could send our kids to a classy private school for the same money.
Oh yeah, this is not a wealthy town. The median household income is toward the bottom of Connecticut towns. But the property taxes are near the top, because based on what you see in the previous paragraph, they have to be. Many people whose families have lived here for generations can't really afford to live here any more. There is state aid to education, but the formula doesn't allocate as much money as we need because while our families aren't wealthy, they aren't officially below the poverty line either, at least not many of them. Now you're seeing the problem.
Financing public schools and other municipal services from residential property taxes is a really bad policy. But it's ubiquitous -- it's how we do it everywhere in the U.S. And now you can begin to see why rural and small town people are alienated from government. The reasons they are getting screwed, and the potential solutions, have nothing to do with the stories they are being told by Republicans, but to tell you the truth, Democrats aren't doing much about it either. If I win in November,* this will be my problem. I have a couple of ideas about what to do, but they'll go up against some natural reservations people have about the town's identity and character. I'll keep you posted.
*Normally I wouldn't be worried about this possibility, since being on the Democratic ballot line is not considered a qualification for office here, but so far the Republicans don't have a candidate. We'll see.
5 comments:
First of all no one "finds themselves" to be a Democratic candidate for office. You volunteered.
This will be interesting for you. It's one thing to be on the sidelines and kibitz.
It's another when it's your turn in the barrel.
I think the timing is perfect as you ponder "retirement." You bring a lifetime of experience in the arts, fundraising, social policy awareness and medical establishment expertise to the table -- in addition to being a down-to-earth landowner who can build with wood, fix a car and chop down trees and prepare them for firewood.
And for god's sakes, you're gonna be the only candidate who can play the guitar, saxophone and trumpet! They're lucky to have your hat in the ring to educate and support them, and it will have blessings for you as well.
Mazel tov.
Well DQ, that's all very flattering but it doesn't have much to do with the job I'm contemplating.
As for volunteering, of course I did, but it happened essentially because we had a need and nobody else to fill it. I felt more or less obliged.
Three simple ways to measure wealth: How much you get; how much you got; and how much you spend. None are perfect, but taken together they paint a pretty good picture.
Income and sales taxes bracket that list, and in an agricultural economy land and wealth were close to synonymous, but we're long past that. "Real" property taxes are more of an anachronism today than buggy whips. Yup, your town is pretty much screwed.
However, I could really get behind a modern equivalent; a net-worth tax.
Wealth tax is already being practiced in Florida with the "Intangibles Tax".
Everyone always wants higher taxes as long as someone else is paying them.
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