Special interests lobby our state officials and the result is unfunded mandates where the many taxpayers get stuck paying while the few benefit. This is particularly devastating at the municipal level.
A possible solution is to consider total compensation as wages, medical, and retirement benefits combined. We could start negotiating total compensation and budget accordingly. This would effectively insulate the taxpayer from special interests and technically would not adversely affect anyone (from the standpoint of total compensation).
Just an idea that doesn't involve getting creative about how we impose more taxes and fees.
