Although many believe that amalgamating local governments into one larger government can save taxpayers money, in reality it does the exact opposite. AIMS Senior Fellow Brian Lee Crowley writes of the Nova Scotia example, in which municipal governments amalgamated, resulting in higher taxes and lower quality services.
In Canada tried consolidation: It didn’t work, Crowley argues that smaller governments are better at identifying local needs and creating appropriate services to accommodate them. In addition, local political facilitates competition – a necessary component for successful governance. There are two kinds of competition among local government: competition within municipalities, and competition between municipalities. Crowley explains how both kinds of competition benefit the local communities.
Crowley encourages the people of Maine to not follow the Nova Scotian example. Instead, he suggests they consider the academic and practical evidence that shows big government is not always better than small government.
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