It’s a proverb learned in childhood and then, so often, ignored.
We all agree there’s no such thing as a free lunch but we don’t always behave as if we do. Sometimes we let ourselves believe we really can have something for nothing.
Over recent years in Scotland, we’ve had a series of council tax freezes; keeping our monthly bills as low as possible has been a priority for the SNP.
But this policy – as has long been clear to anyone paying attention – is not about efficiency or value for money. Rather, it was designed to appeal to our self-interest. (Who doesn’t want to pay less for anything?).
The cost to us all of years of council tax freezes has been the erosion of vital services.
First, they came for the vulnerable, paring back support for addicts and others we might consider problematic. Then they started cutting everything, from bin collections to road repairs.
After a decade of keeping bills frozen, the pressure on local authorities became intolerable. In recent years, our council tax bills have started to rise again.
But the increases we’ve seen in the past are nothing compared to those we’re now facing.
A number of Scottish local authorities are about to start sending out new bills and the sums they’ll demand will hit us all hard.
Last week, Aberdeenshire put its council tax up by a tenth while Aberdeen City has just agreed to raise its by 9.85 per cent.
Residents may wonder why they’ve facing even bigger increases than those living in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
If you thought bloated new council tax rates were the end of it, think again. Not only will the SNP-Liberal Democrat administration increase monthly bills for residents, there will be further new costs and more cuts.
Parking charges, for example, are set to rise by 5 per cent while there will be a reduction in the number of free parking hours across the city.
Doubtless, shop, bar and restaurant managers across Aberdeen – people already struggling with ever-falling footfall on the streets – will be thrilled by this move which will only make a trip up town less appealing for anyone having to drive to get there.
The convenor of the council’s finance committee, Alex McLellan says the council tax rises are necessary to “protect the most vulnerable”. This, I have no doubt, is the case.
But we have only reached this crisis point because of years during which council funding shrunk.
Freezing council tax was a central part of SNP manifesto
When the SNP won its first Holyrood election in 2007, freezing council tax was a central part of its manifesto. Of course, having seen the popularity with voters of the policy, the nationalists wished to extend it.
But each year, as the SNP crowed about keeping bills down (and their opponents pledged to match their promise), we all saw the impact.
Now, we’re all paying the price for that particular free lunch.
Next May, there will be elections to the Scottish Parliament. Polls show the SNP still, just about, is on course to win a fifth successive victory.
We can be certain that, in attempting to achieve that win, First Minister John Swinney will not want to see a repeat of this year’s council tax increases. I would be astonished if, in advance of the election campaign, the Scottish Government didn’t throw the country’s 32 local authorities a bone or two.
I’m absolutely certain we’ll go into the 2026 election campaign with the SNP, Scottish Labour, and the Conservatives all promising to keep council taxes low. Of course they will.
More closed libraries are the price we have to pay for this
But more closed libraries, pot-holed roads, and decimated support services for the most vulnerable in society will be the price we pay for this.
I’m not, I should make abundantly clear, in favour of huge council tax increases. There are clearly efficiencies to be found in all local authorities which remain top heavy with overpaid managers.
But I’m also not in favour of lying to myself. I know the price of council tax freezes. I see it every time I walk along dirty, cracked pavements or look out of the kitchen window to see uncollected bins start to overflow.
I wonder, though, whether we’ll care about all of that when next John Swinney promises to keep council tax as low as possible. Are we really selfless enough to reject policies that we know cause longer term problems?
I’m not so sure. Times are tough and anything that promises to lighten the financial burden is surely going to appeal to voters.
We should remember, however, that a council tax freeze today means much bigger bills tomorrow.
Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers
Conversation