BCT Editorial – 7/22/08

This page was last updated on July 23, 2008.

Modern times; Editorial; Beaver County Times; July 22, 2008.

The editorial subtitle is “State can’t keep patching flawed property-tax system.”

Review editorials for the past several years and you’ll find “tax modernization” is a Times euphemism for “tax shifting,” preferably from local to state. This is a recurring push for proponents of big/central government. You see, it’s even easier to tax and spend taxpayer earnings in Harrisburg (and Washington) than it is locally. Face it; local taxpayers tend not to build things like bridges to nowhere and Woodstock museums with their own money.

Along with a local to state/fed tax shift goes control over how taxpayer earnings are spent. As the saying goes, “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” What should be local responsibilities become controlled by Harrisburg and/or Washington. I believe local responsibilities should stay local and the residents of each municipality and school district should be able to choose the tax mix and rates that make the most sense for their demographics. Local responsibility and choice would be true modernization. If you think this is what the Times means by “tax modernization,” I believe you have another think coming.