Today I’m going to talk with you about an important fundamental issue in governance, and that is taxation, as discussed in a recent Colorado Politics article. Now, I admit, I’m tempted to write on the nightmare unfolding in the Middle East, but you have likely already heard or read a great deal about the crisis there.

If I did write on the Hamas attack, I’d likely talk about how I believe the assault on 22 different Israeli cities and the rest of the violence as perhaps the most foolish and self-destructive action such an organization can take. Though enjoying some early success, ultimately, I believe Hamas has doomed itself, at least as far as a presence in Gaza goes. Israel will be relentless, and with global support, given the attack, especially the attack on the young people at the music festival.

I’d also likely mention the crisis in the region has overshadowed a critical humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where a massive earthquake killed thousands. Sadly, even in a 24-hour news cycle, there doesn’t appear to be room enough for in-depth reporting on this natural catastrophe.

I’d also like to offer a thought or two on the bizarre GOP self-destruction that is their quest for a new speaker of the House. Election denial seems to be a job requirement for the post, and because the House can’t do any business until there is a speaker, the U.S. is unable to respond properly to the various global crises noted above. We’ll see if the Republicans can get their act together, given they run the House.

But I’m not going to talk about any of that.

Instead, I want to talk with you about the CoPo article mentioned above regarding taxes. It seems most of us homeowners are looking at significant increases in our property taxes next year, and that is in spite of the likely passage of Proposition HH, which will allow the state to use TABOR surplus funds to “reduce property taxes, fund school districts, water districts, fire districts, ambulance or hospital districts and other local governments.” If passed, and I’d bet a lot on it passing, HH will mean the average homeowner (like me, I guess) would see about $1,200 over the next three years to help mitigate the impact of increased property taxes.

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Now, not too many people genuinely enjoy paying taxes. I admit, I’m an odd one, in that though I’d rather have as much of my money as possible, I truly don’t mind paying taxes. I rather like having roads fixed, children educated, food tested for safety and the thousands of other functions of government properly taken care of.

And, ironically, your taxes are going up because of good things that are happening to your home’s value. Back when I was still an active-duty Air Force Lt Colonel, my late first wife and I bought our home in Colorado Springs, as our three then-teenagers didn’t fit too well into the 1,200-square-foot cinder-block homes the AF Academy offered (those same homes were great when the kids were little, as a military base is a great place to raise kids). We scouted around and in 1998 we found a house that met our needs. It was in a quiet neighborhood in a great school district, was on a cul-de-sac, and my commute was 20 minutes from home to office. And so, we signed a mortgage for the – to us – staggeringly large debt of $225,000.

Now, because of significant economic growth, especially lately (thanks, Biden!), the house is now valued at, I can’t believe it even as I type it, roughly $750,000. Recently, a home in the neighborhood sold for even more than that, so I guess I believe it after all.

It isn’t reasonable to say your home should be taxed only on what you paid for it, is it? As a house becomes worth more, it makes sense that the taxes you pay on that would go up. Heck, if the value of your home went down, wouldn’t you expect to pay less in taxes?

Because our state, and frankly our nation, are being well run these days (look up the job growth, inflation reduction and other economic indicators if you don’t believe me), our big-ticket purchases like homes are increasing in worth. In bad economic times (remember the crash in 2008?) values go down, but so too do wages and lots of folks lose their jobs. If one finds oneself unemployed, it doesn’t really matter how cheap buying a home might become. A growing economy is better all round, even if it does have its own set of problems.

I’m not saying you must actually be happy about our property taxes going up. Heck, I’m impressed you read this far in an essay about tax rates. It’s pretty boring stuff. But just as a happy and chirping canary in a coal mine can be an indication of good air, rising property values are a sign of a robust economy. And using TABOR money, via HH, to help take the edge off is another demonstration of good governance here in Colorado (thanks, Governor Polis!).

When the day comes, at some indistinct point in our future, when my wife and I sell this house, I won’t object to the property having more than tripled in value. Now, these increases are not without problems of their own, in that first-time home buyers face a very expensive market which is difficult to enter. But in general, rising property prices are yet another indicator of a robust economy.

I’ll be voting in favor of HH, and I appreciate the tax break. But I also will continue to pay my taxes and will be grateful for a growing economy.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.