Local Government Consolidation

Here we are in the 21st century, but in my opinion, many local governments remain mired in the era of the Founding Fathers. Here in Ohio, we have 88 counties. Now, I'm sure there were lots of reasons 88 counties were formed two hundred years ago, but in this day and age, does Ohio need 88 separate government entities? Likewise, many big cities have been in decline for quite some time. Their populations have dwindled as people took to newly formed suburbs, creating extensions of the mother city. Again, here in Cleveland, if I took the time to count them, I suppose I'd find something on the order of 75 suburbs. All of the various entities cost lots of money to operate, but all have similar services that are provided to residents. So, do cities need all of these separate suburbs?

I'm not claiming that any type of government consolidation will be easy, as there are lots of parochial interests at work, but there has to be a way, perhaps step by step, to combine government entities, while still giving certain "autonomous" government functions to various locales. You may have to check me on this, but I believe in northern Italy, the German speaking area is part of the whole of Italy, but has some independence in certain governance matters. Likewise in France, where the German speaking areas in Alsace have a similar situation. If the Germans and the French and the Germans and the Italians can set aside some of their differences, certainly we can set aside our far less contentious differences as Americans. I'm sure Mayor Whatshisname will not want to lose his power in his little bailiwick of 5000, and that County Commissioner May Belline won't want to relinquish authority in her capacity of serving her constituents in her little county that was once very rural, but is now urban.

Then we have the great bugaboo of America...race! Black politicians (primarily, but not exclusively in cities) will not want to dilute their power by having demographic changes made to the electorate (that is the addition of large numbers of non-Black voters). Some non-black citizens will not want to be given responsibilty (that is taxes) for large numbers of Black and poorer folks of any race.

I don't know how the rest of the country administers school systems, but here in Ohio, it seems a bit crazy to me. Each city controls the public school system. This has really created a serious funding problem, as obviously, if you live in a wealthy suburb, your schools get lots of money; however, if you live in a working class suburb or the city proper, not as much money is available. It all baffles me. Again, there has to be some consolidation in this nutty system, and people need to realize that kids are all in the same boat. We need kids, wherever they live, to have good educations, now more than ever, with all of this "globalization." Again though, lots of self interest is at work here, real or perceived.

It still comes down to the idea (I'd actually say "fact," according to some studies) that all of these small governing bodies take lots of money to provide the same services.