Saying that no one likes taxes seems obvious, but this truism nonetheless drives many political discussions.

Elected officials at all levels are constantly working to find ways to tell voters that they are cutting taxes, whether they do so or not.

Republicans find social programs to cut and tell everyone they save money by spending more on the things the programs once covered. The Democrats are simply trying to shift the tax burden to those who have more money and tell the rest that they are saving money, while the rich just raise prices and we spend more there.

And in the meantime, essential public services like fire departments, garbage collection and education are scrambling for money to meet demand, even though they know no one wants to give them money in the first place.

Consider, for example, the Georgia General Assembly’s recent ploy to be effective on the tax front.

Even though the state doesn’t collect property taxes, state lawmakers still hear complaints about high property taxes because no one pays attention in civics class and the blame for everything is shifted to the nearest authority.

To make it seem like they are doing something about a funding formula that they have no part in, they have proposed a new constitutional amendment that will further ruin local government funding.

This question sounds good on paper. Given that rising property values ​​are outpacing inflation, this new measure would prohibit local governments from increasing property taxes by more than the annual increase in inflation, thereby saving homeowners money.

And of course, cutting funding for things like schools and local police departments.

The state does not cover all of these costs. Local homeowners do it. But in the rush to cut taxes, they will cut those powers to the bone to save a few bucks on their tax bills.

The Walton County Board of Education estimates that if this measure had been implemented in the last five years, it would have collected $26 million less during that period.

Is this cut really worth it, considering that most of this money goes to paying teachers?

Sure, local governments can go too far in their spending, as our Board of Commissioners can sometimes demonstrate.

And the change in the law allows local governments to opt out, even though it’s a burdensome process that’s guaranteed to make local governments look greedy and leave state lawmakers free to celebrate their “tax-saving ploy.”

In the wake of the shooting at Apalachee High School, the WCBOE plans to spend nearly $500,000 on school security improvements in the coming months.

Would they then have the money? Or are a few tax dollars worth more to us than the answer to this question?

Stephen Milligan is news editor of The Walton Tribune. Email comments to [email protected].