Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-07-07
Be Honest About Tax
Question; Hard to Fix
Good Roads Magazine Gives
Some Facts On Why
Taxes Are High

state election, we DIS usual Will nave
an omen season on the tax question
The favorite shibboleth of the candi
date for Office is that we must lower
taxes. This for the obvious reason
that it appeals to the people. Promise
are made without any knowledge of
the facts. No bill is paid more grudg.
ingly than the tax bill and no appeal
strikes home more acutely than a
promise to cut this bill.
Cause of Increased Taxes
Taxes have increased and there are
no indications that there will be much
Of a decrease. A tax is simply fund
made up of levies on the people to be
spent in doing certain things that are
beneficial to all the people and which
by their very nature can best be done
by group called the town, the vii
lage, the city, the county or the state,
instead of being attempted by individ-
uals Taxes, then, are the funds col
Iected from the people to purchase
services, labor, materials and property
for state, county city, village or town
use This is fundamental.
When we purchase any of these
things for individual use the cost is
far more than it was ten years ago.
Is there any sound reason why when
a unit of government purchases any
of these things that they should not
cost more? Obviously not. If an in
dividual builds a house today ne pays
more than he did ten years ago. Sim
ilarly if a city, town, or school dis
trict builds a school it costs more than
it did ten years ago, and any service
that we hire today costs more in
wages and salaries than it did ten
years age If we employ a school
teacher, an accountant, or any official
service for a unit of government it
also costs more than it did. This
is one of the obvious reasons why
taxes are higher than they were some
years ago. Things and services cost
more
Doing Bigger and Better Things
Another reason is that the state
the counties and other units of govern
ment are doing things that they did
not do some years ago We are build
ing county agricultural schools; we
are building consolidated rural schools
new grade schools and new high
schools, and especially in the educa-
tional field we are performing func
tions and mourning expenses that were
not demanded some years ago. We
are building more and better roads
because the automobile demands
them, and the people own the auto
mobiles That is another reason for
higher taxes Many new functions
have been taken over by the state,
counties, cities and villages which
were unheard of in the past
third reason that must not be
overlooked is that we are doing things
on a bigger and better scale than we
did them formerly building better
and bigger schools, higher type roads,
developing our educational facilities
to higher standards, and this costs
more money
little thought and little common
sense will convince anyone that there
is a sound reason for practically all
the increases in taxes There has
been a public demand for the doing
of things which involve the payment
of taxes. 1t has often been noted by
those engaged in the road movement
that every fall at the annual meeting
of the county boards delegation after
delegation appears and demands
roads in different sections of the coun-
ty When the taxes which are levied
for the building of these roads come
to be paid the usual grumbling re-
suits We want things done on a big
ger, better and broader plane and at
the same time human nature re-asserts
itself and we grumble when it is
necessary to pay for them
a FGfLlHGHI Editorial
These observations are brought
about largely by an article in the Capt.
tai Times, the leading LaFollette and
Progressive paper in Wisconsin, with
the bold and truthful heading why
Not Be Honest About the Tax Cues
tion?" 1t puts up the facts as they
are and does not attempt to coddle
the people and becloud the conditions
that exist We quote from the article
as it is well worth while.
Why Not Be Honest About The Tax
Question?
Isn't it time for the people of Wis
consin to get behind the smoke-screen
set up by politicians and demagogues
on the question of high taxes and to
fix the responsibility where the blame
properly belongs?
There is no question that causes
more confusion in the minds Of the
people than the question of taxation
There is no subject that lends itself
more to the misrepresentation AND
manipulation of designing and selfish
politicians