Taxes are too high in Wisconsin, and they seem to fall inordinately heavy on the property taxpayer. Businesses cannot flourish when people spend too much on taxes. And if businesses don’t grow, jobs don’t grow. In fact, jobs disappear. When that happens, poverty increases, and the demand on social services does as well. So at the same time that demand for government services goes up, there are fewer wage-earners to provide the necessary revenue. That’s a deadly combination.
Admittedly, we don’t know what the answer is, but we suspect there is more than one. Some states rely far more heavily on sales taxes or fees or special tax districts. Others perhaps rely more on business taxes or income taxes.
We do know this: It’s time to start talking about just what services government should be providing and to change the way we pay for those services.