A symptom of a greater problem worldwide

[Prudence]

I both agree and disagree. We had a similar taxpayer funded stadium fiasco up here. It got voted down, but the local officials built it anyhow and handed us the bill. Don't even get my dad started on that one...

However, recent local politics have illustrated the potential hazards of the referendum/initiative system. We have a local rabble-rouser whose claim to fame is no/low tax initiatives. He keeps proposing these initiatives to roll back car taxes, property taxes, etc..., and of course people vote for them. Who wouldn't like to pay fewer taxes? And I might even conceed that the first one or two helped cut unneeded waste in government. But he just keeps on going and eventually they start cutting core services. There are the usual arguments: My kids are out of school so why should I pay for public schools? My house has never burned down, so why am I paying for the fire department? It gets to where we have a separate levy for each public service - schools, roads, fire department, police, medic one, etc... And that's not the job of the public. That's what legislators are paid to do. Why are my taxes paying legislative salaries when Mr. Watch Salesman gets to make the budget decisions? And elections are expensive! Why do I have to vote on every spending decision? What are the legislators doing, anyhow?

I'm not sure how this helps the discussion. I'm still at "agree and disagree." On the one hand, I don't think legislators should override the clear will of the people -- whether stadiums or quasi-governmental organizations. On the other hand, sometimes the people don't know what the hell they're doing and vote to mandate smaller class sizes and teacher raises and simultaneously vote to cut property taxes back to 1984 levels -- thus removing most of the public school funding. (Heck, I'd be all for getting everything I get now, only paying nothing, too -- but I'm smart enough to know that's not possible.)