KC blizzard, California fires are a call for better government, not just more of it | Opinion

In its recent editorial about the aftermath of Kansas City’s blizzard and the wildfires in California, The Star’s editorial board made a familiar argument: Government becomes indispensable during disasters, so we must embrace it — and the taxes that fund it — with open arms. But the lesson here isn’t about taxes or government indispensability; it’s about accountability and prioritization.

The editorial highlights snow removal as a quintessential public service. Plowing streets and clearing snow are basic municipal functions — services most residents expect in exchange for their tax dollars. But that’s only half the story. When governments underperform, taxpayers foot the bill for inefficiency, not the service they deserve. Neighborhoods that remain impassable days after a storm aren’t failed by logistics — they’re failed by governance.

Public officials’ response is usually some claim about limited resources. But if that’s the case, why are so many municipal budgets bloated with programs far outside their core responsibilities? Too often, local leaders spend lavishly on nonessential amenities — stadiums, entertainment districts and streetcars — while basic services such as road maintenance, snow removal and public safety fiscally starve.

The editorial then extends its argument to California’s wildfires, suggesting the fix for future catastrophes is through monumental public investment in fire suppression. But disasters aren’t blank check exercises for government expansion — they’re opportunities to question whether current spending is effective, efficient and accountable.

California is a great example, but not in the way The Star’s editorial board believes. Golden State fire policies are a monument to decades of regulatory overreach and environmental mismanagement at local, state and federal levels.

Exactly none of that is effective, efficient and accountable. It’s policy failure writ large in the ash and rubble. And it led to an editorial so rife with straw man arguments that it’s a wonder The Star itself wasn’t declared a fire hazard.

Kansas City residents who question government spending priorities are not anti-government; they are pro-accountability. They know that every dollar spent on frivolities — or given away to developer — is a dollar unavailable for snowplows or public safety. Even when taxes are directed toward such priorities, such as Kansas City’s anti-crime COMBAT tax, there is little or no effort made to measure if those dollars are providing a positive return.

When budgets try to accommodate everything under the sun, core missions of government — public safety, infrastructure and basic services — are diluted.

The Star calls for a “national conversation” about disaster preparation and funding. But good governance doesn’t mean throwing money at every problem or preparing for every conceivable disaster at all costs. It means focusing resources where they are needed most and being honest about trade-offs.

There’s appetite for better service, even if Star editorial writers don’t see it. Kansas City is filled with neighborhoods and businesses that pay private plows to do what the city will not, parents who pay out of pocket to educate their children when the schools do not, and business districts that bear the costs of private security because the police cannot.

As taxpayers, we have a right to demand better.

We don’t need more excuses about why streets remain unplowed or why wildfires rage unchecked. What we need are governments that embrace their core responsibilities and prioritize their budgets accordingly. The lesson of Kansas City’s blizzard and California’s fires isn’t that government is essential — it’s that government must be effective. Only then can we justify the taxes we already pay, let alone the ones we’re inevitably asked to pay tomorrow.