On Saturday, I found myself in downtown Benson and Four Oaks, and that got me to thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of small-town downtowns.

In Four Oaks, my daughter and I walked past Austin’s General Store, surely the poster child for what town leaders hope to accomplish downtown. For whatever reason, Austin’s was closed Saturday afternoon, so we couldn’t go inside, but the exterior rivaled any storefront anywhere. It was obvious that the owner had invested no small sum in giving the store curb appeal.

In Benson, no building quite matched the exterior aesthetic of Austin’s General Store, but most were well done and well maintained. Shopkeepers there have invested time and money too.

But in Four Oaks, Benson and other small towns across North Carolina, many buildings stand in disrepair and, therefore, stand in the way of revitalization efforts. In Benson, one building was crumbling, so much so that a brace appeared to be holding the building’s two floors together. That’s not an indictment of the owner. Circumstances beyond his or her control might explain the building’s sad state. Moreover, that building has more than enough company in downtown Benson.

But until circumstances change, downtowns in Benson, Four Oaks and elsewhere will continue to fall short of their potential. And that potential is to attract people who want to be able to walk out of one storefront and into the one next door.

To their credit, small towns try to help property owners, often with grants to improve building facades. But a lot of buildings in a lot of towns need more than facelifts; they need substantial renovations. And that’s a job for the private sector, not taxpayers.

nnn The problem with promises is they’re hard to keep. So be wary of promises, especially from politicians.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I went to Myrtle Beach to watch Minor League baseball. Myrtle Beach is in Horry County, S.C., where the Board of Education had apparently promised to cut property taxes if voters agreed to raise the sales tax. Voters said yes, but now school leaders are saying they might be able to grant only half of the tax relief they promised.

I’m sure voters in Horry County gladly agreed to exchange property-tax relief for a higher sales tax. After all, through the sales tax, newspaper editors from Smithfield, N.C., help pay for schools in Horry County. Put another way, if visitors pay higher sales taxes, residents will shoulder less of the burden of operating their schools.

Or, that is what Horry County residents thought. Instead, a county school official says property owners should expect only half of the tax relief the board of education promised.

I could argue that Horry County residents should pay for Horry County schools and that Horry County residents were trying to get something for nothing when they voted for lower property taxes and higher sales taxes. But that’s human nature, and besides, if someone offered to pay for my daughter’s education, I’d let them. Instead, my problem is with the politicians who made a promise but might now renege of that promise.

I have no problem with taxes. I like public schools, police and fire protection, streets without potholes, paved streets and so on. But at every level of government, it seems, our politicians have an insatiable appetite for spending. If given the chance, we should say “no thanks” to their tax promises.