Independence Day

This article was featured in The Bulletin (Philadelphia-area newspaper) on 7/19/10. You can read the online newspaper version here or catch the print column every other week.

During our final meeting before the Fourth of July, our Board of Supervisors (the local governing body in Newtown Township, PA for which I serve as Vice-Chairman) was faced with a difficult and emotional decision: Should we fund fireworks for our community in the face of a bleak financial outlook? Celebrating our nation’s independence with fireworks is a time-honored tradition in Newtown, but escalating costs and declining revenues meant we had to make tough budgetary choices. So, do you jeopardize a key community event in favor of fiscal responsibility, or fund the fireworks and risk a future tax hike?

Moments like this occur often in local politics. Unlike the federal government, municipalities can’t print money, issue endless mountains of debt, or finish the year in the red. The mandate is clear: Balance the budget or go bankrupt.  As such, local officials must constantly face the harsh reality of either reduced services or higher taxes. There is little alternative.

However difficult, such forced balance can be a beautiful blessing in disguise. We cannot pass debt onto future generations, leaving fiscal responsibility to our successors, or delay tough decisions in favor of political pandering. We cannot say “yes” to every request, or promise voters a utopia and spend others’ money to pay for it. A local leader’s philosophy on the role of government is constantly tested.

This was one such moment. The night prior, in a Financial Planning Committee meeting, we told our police chief to reduce his request for video monitoring equipment, and asked our technology head to pare back important operational software requests. Were fireworks more important than public safety or administrative efficiency?

As our board meeting progressed, I felt anxiety over the decision. I thought, “Do we want to be the ones that take away fireworks for hundreds, if not thousands of residents? Do we want to break a revered tradition and send our residents to other municipalities (or worse, New Jersey!) for the Fourth?” I’d campaigned on strict fiscal discipline, low taxes, and constrained spending, but since taking office I’d also learned the acute human impact of each of our decisions.

Then it hit me: What day were we celebrating? Independence Day. The day our country declared its separation from overbearing government, affirmed its unwavering defense of liberty, and sought a new nation bred of individual freedom and responsibility. Who were we to spend others’ money?

Independence, in many ways, means the freedom to choose. Any dollar government spends is a dollar taken from its citizens, and when that occurs, government has made a choice. By spending our residents’ money on fireworks, therefore, we were deciding how their hard earned money would be spent. In trying economic times, perhaps they would be willing to forgo fireworks. Perhaps they would prefer to save that money to meet rent, save for a home, or buy a car. Why not let them decide?

For Independence Day, the decision was clear: If the community wanted fireworks, let’s come together and make it happen. No government, no bureaucrats, no administrators legislating choice. But a community of private citizens committed to honoring tradition, history, and Independence, willing to donate to a worthy cause.

A few nights later, as I sat with my family and watched the fireworks light up the sky in Newtown, I smiled knowing our community had met the challenge. Volunteer and private organizations had come together to raise funds, and the fireworks were magnificent. Government got out of the way, and let Independence ring.

Everyday, our leaders are faced with similar decisions. Many might seem small—the fireworks represented about .01% of our annual budget—but every decision to defend liberty is invaluable. Liberty enables communities to come together, individuals to succeed, and societies to pursue prosperity. It is a fundamental human right, unalienable and foundational to our nation’s exceptional success. Too often, however, our leaders forget the creeping pull of government control. They forget that government is not a self-sustaining entity; it is funded directly by citizens. They forget that government action does not occur in a vacuum; it replaces individual choice and responsibility. They forget that as government grows, liberty shrinks.

That is why, as we begin to head into election season, it is every citizen’s responsibility to champion small government and freedom. Let our actions tear to shreds empty rhetoric and false promises. This Fourth of July, we decided that Independence is best honored not by fireworks, but by Liberty.

-Matt Benchener is Supervisor of Newtown Township and Founder of TruPolitics.net