One might be inclined to think that it’s just a municipal problem, but I can easily dredge up examples of HOAs and country clubs that face the same problem: Incumbent members/residents resist paying higher fees, the quality of services drops off, old members/residents leave (and leave behind unfunded liabilities), the organization struggles to bring in new members, and the death spiral begins. Baumol’s cost disease remains undefeated.
Property taxes are the worst, except for all of the alternatives.
One might be inclined to think that it’s just a municipal problem, but I can easily dredge up examples of HOAs and country clubs that face the same problem: Incumbent members/residents resist paying higher fees, the quality of services drops off, old members/residents leave (and leave behind unfunded liabilities), the organization struggles to bring in new members, and the death spiral begins. Baumol’s cost disease remains undefeated.