Teachers like to ask three questions about political issues: 

Who benefits? Who pays? Who decides?

Holden residents this month join communities across the state facing proposals to over-ride existing tax limitations in order to maintain town services and meet shared responsibilities for public education. In Holden we have clear answers to those three questions: all of us benefit from the services provided by the town and by our excellent schools. Property owners, including those who have no children in the schools, almost always agree that public education is a public good.

Who pays? Well, we pay most of the cost through the property tax and fees for some services. We also rely on state appropriations funded by state (and sometimes federal) taxes, which many of us also pay.

And who decides how we will balance benefits and payment? We do! What is remarkable about local government is that we decide on the budget at town meeting, which we all can attend, and on the over-ride, we decide by referendum, when we all can vote. It is up to us!

A tax increase this year will be extra hard because prices for everything we and our families need are higher than ever. Not everyone will agree that the benefits for our common life outweigh the costs. The last thing we Americans need are more self-righteous divisions. Instead, as we decide in the next few weeks whether we can afford what we are asked to pay for, we all might learn at least three things.

First, and most important, we actually do share responsibility for our community and our schools: that is a fact and not an option. Second, we can learn once again that, on these matters of self-government at least, we can actually fulfill those responsibilities. We have access all along the way: at open meetings of finance and school committees and the select board, at town meetings where we decide together on the budget, and, when needed, referenda to decide together, in this case on additions to our public revenues. There is no excuse for indifference. And third, we may learn that we, or at least many of us, myself included, should pay more attention to state government, where decisions get made about shared statewide responsibilities that make a difference for us and our families. And all of that is connected to other states and communities: we cannot ignore national decisions also made in our name.

We Americans have been working on our experiment in self-government for 250 years. It is a beautiful thing, but it takes work. We answer the “who decides?” question by saying that we do, together. The upcoming decision about taxation will show that we mean it here in our towns and district. But we all have some work to do in our state and our country. Self-government remains our commitment and the discussion, deliberation and decisions of politics is our public work. Politics matters. Let’s renew our faith in that democratic idea as we decide together who benefits and who pays for our common home. 

– David O’Brien, Holden