By james art Madison likes to brag about her left-wing thinking. Across town, “in this house we believe” yard signs proudly proclaim the liberal attitudes many of us hold — that is, until we’re asked to live out those ideals.
Liberalism in its broadest sense is the belief that government should be used to provide services that benefit the public good. Madison’s upcoming $22 million municipal referendum is a test of how committed we really are to these ideals.
Complaints about bus routes, homeless services, trash collection, road conditions, snow removal, parks, libraries and police presence are common in letters to the editor. But when a modest increase in property taxes of $19 per month per household is put in place to continue these undervalued and underfunded services, many people can’t seem to put their money to the test.
If we really care about policies that deliver progressive services for us all, then we need to do the hard work and vote yes in the local referendum on November 5. Otherwise we would have wasted a lot of money on all those yards of signs.