As I write this I have the luxury of sitting on a nice deck overlooking Keuka Lake in upstate New York. The temperature is about 78, (they thing that is hot!) there is a light breeze blowing and the water is lapping gently at the shore. A couple of skiers are in the distance and on sailboat glides by.

We have enjoyed the last several days with friends at their cottage in this dyllic setting. To say that this is a cottage is a little overstating the situation. By our standards it is a modest 3 bedroom, one bath home... winterized for year around living and air conditioned for the three times that a Floridian would think it was hot.

All this would be very nice (and is) until you start talking about taxes... We Floridians are very concerned about taxes and the New Yorkers should be. The taxes on this modest home/cottage are $4,600. Yep... that is four thousand six hundred dollars. In Florida if the taxes were over $1,000 we would be squealing!

OK, so I know this is high priced real estate. It is the place for the people in Rochester to hightail it to after work on Friday. And you might ask, but what services are they getting. Sewer, nope! Every cottage has a septic tank. Water? Nope. Every cottage has to bring water, drill a well of suck water out of the lake and use it as is or install a purification system.

I have yet to see a policeman, and I guess they have fire protection. And I am sure they plow the roads in the winter, but I am not going to confirm that first hand.

How does this fit into Polk County? You could easily say.... See, we are under taxed and we surely can afford that 5 cent a gallon tax that was voted down, but overruled by the county commissioners. We have heard from our national leaders about all the high taxes in other countries and we should be happy about our "low taxes".

But another way of looking at the situation is that if the government can collect it, it will. If they have it, they will spend it. If they have it they will not be as efficient as they might be. These small towns have seen a bonanza in tax dollars and have they spent it so you would notice? No. The lesson is that more taxes does not automatically a better government make.

As you check out the higher taxes in the north you have to ask, what more are they providing to these taxpayers. It appears to be Not much. They will tell you that their schools are better. I would like to know for sure. They have more road maintenance because of the winter weather. And this county does not have a lot of heavy industry to tap for taxes.

But in the end you cannot justify basically double or triple the taxes we pay. The quality of life is not appreciably better and possibly worse... if you count the snow and rain nine months of the year. And another sad thing is that long time land owners on the lake are literally being taxed out of their home. The people from Rochester have a choice... the older couple who have been here forever may not have that choice. You can say, that they will be well compensated for their land. But money doesn't always cover the hurt of leaving you home.

I think the lesson is that we should demand a lot from our commissioners... expect more and you will get it. And that higher taxes do not always lead to better government.

But in the meantime, I have the best of both worlds... live in Florida with half the taxes and I have friends in New York willing to pay these taxes so that I can come visit. Excuse me while I head for the hammock.