[jiggy2011]

This is the classic dilemna, everyone wants good public services but low taxes.

The argument is often that either ways should be found to deliver better services for lower cost, or that money should be diverted away from something else instead of a tax raise. Or people want a tax increase for somebody else but not themselves to cover it.

[yaok]

>everyone wants good public services but low taxes.

Everyone??

Typical right-winger: I want low taxes and don't care about public services (although naturally I'd prefer public services to no services).

Typical left-winger: I want public services and don't care about low taxes (although naturally I'd prefer low taxes to high taxes).

[philwelch]

Normal voters aren't ideologues, they're self-interested human beings.

[yaok]

Agreed. My point is just that each person tends to favor one or the other.

In truth, it's a false dichotomy for everyone except the super-rich. People could have both low taxes and good social services if they would be willing to tax the super-rich to the same extent that we did so back in, say, 1950.

[philwelch]

Hell, even 1985. 91% tax rates probably aren't good policy regardless of the bracket.