I was talking to my neighbor a few minutes ago. He proposed an interesting strategy for the homeowners to exercise more control over the reckless spending policies of the Town of Berlin’s administrators.
He suggested that the homeowners get together and in July, submit their tax payments into a pool of funds, to be kept and escrowed in a bank account organized in some sort of trust. And that these homeowners then demand accountability of their governmental elected officials and municipal employees in the spending of their tax monies before releasing them to the tax collector.
I thought that this idea was not only innovative and interesting, but ingenious since it has the potential of being an effective maneuver to exercise control over the spending of our tax dollars. Imagine: what if a significant number of homeowners in Berlin, Connecticut, organized and paid their taxes, but held them in an escrow account, until Town officials abided by the wishes of its constituents and citizens on how to spend their tax payments before relinquishing those monies to the tax collector? We all know that money talks. How would the Town be able to operate without our tax monies if a majority or at least a significant enough number of homeowners participated in this strategem of exercising more control over the spending of their taxes? My neighbor feels that it would be effective in implementing control over a town government that appears to be spending monies recklessly, customarily without obtaining the approval of its citizens first.
So I decided to publish his proposal in an attempt to elicit feedback from other property owners in Berlin. Can you imagine if this strategem proved effective in Berlin, and then it was implemented on a grander level, such as on the state level, involving thousands of taxpayers in Connecticut, pooling their income taxes into an escrow account, and demanding their representatives and senators to obtain their approval prior to spending their monies? Wouldn’t it be great to hold these people hostage to our final approval?!
If enough people did organize and pooled their tax dollars, and held the Town accountable, I cannot imagine but that it would be effective. If merely 10% of the taxpayers so organized and contributed their tax dollars into an escrow account, would the Town of Berlin be more attentive to the taxpayers if $5 million was being withheld? What if 50% of the taxpayers organized, would the Town of Berlin listen to the wishes of its citizens if $25 million was being withheld?
The people of a town, a city, a state, and a country ultimately do have the power to control their government if they organize. And what better way to organize then to collect and control the tax dollars. If enough people do this, it would be very interesting to see the results, wouldn’t it?
Think about it. Of course, we need a leader, a voice, to get this started. Anyone interested in joining the bandwagon?