This past Independence Day my family and I celebrated our country’s birthday by attending multiple events in neighboring villages. During those events, attendees were asked to clap in appreciation of veterans, first responders, teachers, and other professionals who “take care of us.” In each instance I reflected upon the disconnect between taxes, government services, and the American mindset, particularly at the local level.
I often hear people express their frustration over the cost of property taxes. As a property owner myself, I understand and empathize with these sentiments. However, upon an objective review of the property tax bill, one would observe that the vast majority of our property taxes pay for vital services, such as the salaries/benefits of our village’s firemen and police officers. They pay for public libraries staff/services, and they pay for access to quality public education. I often see Back the Blue flags and hear the phrase “Back the Blue” by many people who don’t want to pay the Blue.
For those residents who choose to send their children to public school, their return on investment is significant. The average property tax bills in Brookfield ($7,174), La Grange Park ($8,150) and Riverside ($10,613) are inadequate to cover the per pupil cost. Particularly at the high school level, where per pupil cost ranges from $14,498 (RB) to $17,760 (LT). Thus, it is the retired residents, households without children, and private school families, who collectively underwrite local public education for public school families.
This not to say that we should not question any allocation of our tax dollars, particularly at the federal level. Our democracy requires patriotic citizens to be informed and engaged. And we should have discussions about how our tax dollars are spent and critique pork spending. When politicians engage in corrupt behavior or misappropriate tax dollars they should be voted out of office and, if appropriate, be held legally accountable.
That said, taxes are the admission to a functional democracy.
A few years back, while working at a subsidized government apartment building, I would have weekly conversations with a self-described fiscal conservative Republican. Actually, “conversation” is technically inaccurate. He would vent and share his frustration with “the government,” government spending, and those “free loaders” who were using government services. Upon completion of his soliloquy, he would promptly exit my office, barely allowing me the time to wish him a good day. After a number of months had passed, I decided to preemptively share a story with this resident.
On a wintery Friday morning, he entered my office. He politely agreed to my request to share a story with him. I told him of a guy I knew who grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. He attended public grammar school and public high school. Upon high school graduation he enlisted in the army. After serving four years, he used the GI Bill to pay for his tuition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Fast forward 40 years, this gentleman is residing in a federally subsidized government apartment building, where his sole sources of income are a small Veterans Pension and Supplemental Security Income.
When I finished, the befuddled resident looked at me and said, “What’s your point?”
Shawn Lewis is a resident of Brookfield.
