Would you ever vote to raise your own taxes? That's the question at the heart of a proposed bill that would require voter approval for all local government tax increases in Utah.

The short answer is yes. People do it all the time, even here. For example, 68 percent of voters in Salt Lake City approved a bond to build a new city library last month, even though city officials clearly said the bond would raise taxes by about $50 a year for an average homeowner. Two years ago, 58 percent of voters in Salt Lake County said yes to a quarter-cent increase in sales taxes to fund arts and recreation projects.But I'm not looking for a short answer. In each of these cases, voters were asked to approve tax hikes for specific purposes. The law requires a vote if governments want to make residents liable for debts. The state also tends to require votes for sales tax hikes. Both of these always are associated with specific projects, and politicians have a much easier time selling that kind of tax increase than ones to make the overall budget balance.

People can understand the need for more parks or for a jail, but they can't always understand the need for more money to keep a variety of programs going at once, and with good reason.

Look at it this way. If your teenager comes to you and wants $10 to see a specific movie and to buy some popcorn, you probably would be more likely to give it to him than if he asked you for $10 for no specific reason, even if he gave you a list of ways he might spend it. Chances are you'd give him a lecture on money management and spending priorities.

Voters don't take the time to examine the budget thoroughly. Instead they tend to demand that politicians cut somewhere else to cover the shortfall. Sometimes that is possible. Sometimes it isn't. But convincing the public that it isn't tends to be more hopeless than persuading your teenager to clean his room.

The other problem is apathy. More on that later.

The Utah Taxpayers Association, a watchdog group funded by businesses, is behind the proposed voting requirement. The organization notes, correctly, that the last time state lawmakers imposed such a requirement, in 1995 and 1996, property tax hikes dropped in half. But that's hardly a good barometer. Most local governments knew the requirement was only temporary and likely held back until the rules changed.

Don't get me wrong. I think property taxes are high enough, a fact driven home like a pick ax with every pen stroke last week as I wrote out my annual check to the assessor. But I also believe representative government is better than direct democracy.

Direct democracy can lead to ridiculous, even idiotic, decisions. A few years ago, voters in Utah County agreed to build a new jail. Then, three years later -- during the time when the state required a vote for all tax increases -- they voted against raising taxes to run it, delaying the opening for several months until the county could raise taxes without voter approval.

And you thought politicians were inconsistent.

We elect people to manage the budget and make sound fiscal decisions because we don't have the time to do it ourselves. If we think those elected representatives are doing poorly, we need to scream like banshees, and the system offers plenty of opportunity to do so.

State law already makes property tax hikes difficult. The so-called "truth-in-taxation" law won't allow local governments to take advantage of a booming real estate economy. In other words, they can't get more money out of your house just because property values increase. They are limited to the same revenue from year to year. If they want any more, they must declare a tax increase and hold public hearings.

Politicians always have to take the heat for raising property taxes, and that is only right. But those same governments have no way to account for inflation other than through tax increases. And that brings me to apathy.

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When Utah County voters decided not to staff the jail they had built, only 4 percent of the voters bothered to cast ballots. When Salt Lake County voters elected to build a jail -- a decision that has led to a proposed tax increase this year -- turnout was 8.7 percent.

Is it right to have less than 10 percent of the people making decisions for the other 90 percent? Of course not, and that's the strongest argument against direct democracy.

Nobody likes taxes. But we elect people who, we hope, are intelligent enough to study the budget and make sound decisions. Those people should be accountable, and, like it or not, they also should be given the freedom to govern as they see fit.

Deseret News editorial page editor Jay Evensen may be reached by e-mail at even@desnews.com.

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