In recent years, the question at the center of the Great American Debate concerns the role of government. What kind of government do we want?
Do we want, as Ron Paul might suggest, a minimalist government that offers little in the way of services and, theoretically, the maximum amount of individual liberty, or do we prefer more government services, correspondingly higher taxes and, theoretically, less individual liberty?
For years now, this is basically the only debate we have been having. All these other issues: taxes, social programs, health care, same sex marriage; all of these questions and more are different perspectives on the main question.
We are thinking about this because we are watching Waldoboro town officials struggle to prepare the warrant for a special town meeting vote Sept. 11 on four budget articles voters rejected at the annual town meeting June 12.
Last week the board of selectmen could not come to a consensus on how best to frame the questions, much less present them in a manner that enlists the unanimous support of the budget committee.
The whole affair reminds us once again why we respect our local public servants. It is much easier to stand on the sidelines and shout than it is to get into office and carry the standard. Once you are in the proverbial hot seat, difficult choices must be made and every choice is bound to make someone unhappy all the time.
The bottom line is this: the economy is still reeling, state and federal support is ever shrinking and local officials have to find a way to make ends meet with the money they have available, all the while knowing the buck stops with their constituents.
State and federal legislators can slash a program and claim they cut the budget, but the reality is that the needs served by whatever program, and the money needed to address those needs, don’t go away just because a majority of legislators say so.
The needs just roll downhill until, in Maine, it stops at the door of the local taxpayer.
For municipal officials, the choice is a stark one: fund it or not, and if they fund it, the money has to come from the local pockets in some form, shape or fashion. There is simply nowhere else to turn.
