(This column first appeared in Broad + Liberty)
Governance, like light, brings clarity and purpose when concentrated and near. Yet, when allowed to drift too far from its source, it becomes distant and scattered. Losing its focus, it creates darkness, confusion, and disarray.
Throughout history, a straightforward truth remains steadfast — representative governance is most effective when it remains closest to the people it serves.
Conservatives have long championed this philosophy, not out of disdain for government, but out of a deep respect for the autonomy of individuals and communities. This core principle is experiencing a renaissance on the national stage with efforts like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Yet the local level is where this principle perhaps shines the most brightly, where the consequences of governance — whether prudent or reckless — are immediate and tangible.
Residents of Philadelphia’s recently blue suburban counties are now grappling with this reality, as just a few years of financial mismanagement have culminated in substantial tax increases, with more to come.
Montgomery County Democrats approved a nine percent increase after a ten percent increase last year. Chester County Democrats voted to raise taxes by nearly 14 percent. In politically competitive Bucks, the only suburban county to go for Trump in November’s presidential contest, county taxes were increased by two million dollars in 2024, but Democrats held the line there for 2025. That there are local elections in Bucks this year is total coincidence, I am certain. Deep blue Doylestown raised local taxes by 20 percent.
Not to be outdone, Delaware County’s progressive brain trust managed to dig themselves a more than $80 million hole. They raised taxes last year by five percent. They raised taxes this year by 24 percent. And they’ve yet to come clean to the public that they will again face a massive structural deficit next year, likely more than $40 million after raising taxes by nearly 30 percent. In other words, Delaware County taxpayers are destined for a 50 percent tax increase over three years.
In the coming weeks and months, we at Broad + Liberty will endeavor to explain how they made this mess and why they are either unwilling or unable to be transparent with the public about the depth of this entirely avoidable “fiscal crisis”, as referred to by Delaware County Councilman Richard Womack, who is set to stand for re-election in 2025.
A rigorous analysis is necessary because the implications of their poor governance extend well beyond Delaware County’s borders. It also serves as a useful benchmark for those concerned about the trajectory of the entire region.
Unlike at the federal level, erroneous logic and poor execution have a compound and immediate effect in county government, where balanced budget requirements constrain a deeply flawed progressive worldview. Constituents feel the pain immediately and the available policy levers to ameliorate that pain are relatively few.
Such crises are the predictable result of profligate spending by county Democrats, who prioritize progressive vanity projects over fiscal prudence.
Consider the redundant creation of a county health department, a service otherwise provided by the state at no additional cost to taxpayers. Layered atop this is the county’s dismissal of a private operator so the politicians could run the prison themselves. The dramatic escalation of cost is accompanied by deteriorating conditions, as evidenced by every conceivable metric for both staff and inmates. Further, the explosion in lawsuits as a result of their mismanagement puts the taxpayer directly on the hook, where they were previously indemnified. As a result, spending on outside law firms is eight times higher than under the previous administration.
The bitter fruits of these ill-conceived expenditures have not only plunged the county into an accelerating downward spiral, but have also compelled those who can least afford it to bear the weight of the most regressive form of taxation: real estate taxes.
The bottom line is that at the local level, progressive pipe dreams can only be funded by regressive policies.
Critics may argue that the challenges of modern governance demand expansive and complex systems, but history tells a different story. The most successful governments are those which exercise restraint, trust their citizens, and focus on the efficient, effective, and equitable delivery of core services that provide a foundation from which our neighborhoods can prosper and grow.
When government remains disciplined, it can allocate resources where they are most needed: fostering a thriving economy for families and businesses, maintaining critical infrastructure, and upholding law and order. Conversely, when it strays into unnecessary or duplicative endeavors, it erodes trust, burdens taxpayers, and undermines its own basic functions.
This means rejecting the temptation to take on recurring expenses without sustainable funding, avoiding using one-time federal stimulus money to establish permanent programs, and keeping spending within the limits of what local taxpayers can reasonably afford while prioritizing and perfecting those services that matter most to our quality of life. Forgive me, but these really are neither abstract nor revolutionary concepts.
Good governance is not about how much the government can do, but about how well it does what it must.
The virtues of small government endure because they are rooted in the realities of human nature. When individuals are empowered to support themselves, they innovate, adapt, and flourish — when burdened by, or made reliant on, layer upon layer of bureaucracy, communities stagnate under their weight.
The election results of 2024 affirmed that conservative governance is not a relic of the past, but the salvation of the principles that made America great. Here at home, local elections in 2025 will determine whether salvation from the tremendous burden reckless progressives have placed upon the hardworking taxpayer throughout the region is possible. There could not be more at stake.
The principles that governed suburban Philadelphia for more than a century remain as relevant as ever today. There is a reason the city of Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the nation, and among the most violent. I can assure you that if all it needed to reverse course was more progressive politicians after nearly eight decades of Democratic control, the city would already be paradise.
The best government is the one that governs least, but governs well.
