Leadership: Revenue Equals Services
by Miki SaxonThere are very few places where politicos are in favor with the exception of purely ideological grounds.
An exception seems to be Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada.
It was incorporated in 1974, has had astounding growth over the last three decades and is now the 6th largest city in Canada; located on the Great Lakes it larger than either Milwaukee or Cleveland.
What’s interesting is that the mayor, Hazel McCallion, is 88 years old and has held her office for the last 30 years.
Everyone is buzzing about the town being debt free, but in an interview in the Mississauga News she says,
“I think we have to talk in strong terms about subsidized social housing. I don’t think we’re doing a very good job. Quite honestly, the City of Mississauga is debt free, the City of Brampton is debt free and the Region of Peel is debt free—and still we have more than 13,000 families on the wait list. We lead the pack where wait times are concerned.”
I find it sadly amusing that few people anywhere want to understand that you get what you pay for and that includes government services at every level.
Taxes and revenues are directly connected and just because you don’t use a particular service doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary.
It’s called the “common good” for a reason.
Your comments—priceless
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Image credit: MercerReport on YouTube
April 20th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
We in the states seem to go through cycles, although the latest has gone on since Reagan. It’s all anti-tax, all government, unless one happens to be in deep trouble. I recently had a conversation with a friend who was anti-govt to the core, and asked her a simple question: Did you distrust the government prior to Reagan? Her silence suggested the answer to my question. The current status of greed is getting at least some of its come-uppance.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hi Dan, true and sad that their come-uppance had to come with come-downance for the rest of us.
And not to start a war here, but I find it interesting that your time frame coincides with the rise of the Christian Right who we all know are far more moral than the rest of us.
Or maybe we just need a new definition of moral along the lines of “it’s moral as long as you aren’t caught.”
Oops. I think my cynicism is showing.