The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.

Tolls on the Cape Cod bridges to help ease the Cape's fiscal problems?

A Cape lawmaker resurfaced the old idea as a partial antidote to the fiscal crisis facing many communities, hit by rising costs and the loss of some federal funding. But it was immediately dismissed by Massport and Gov. Maura Healey, who said "I don't support tolls on the bridges."

Proposal for new taxes rejected on Beacon Hill

So much for that. But that doesn't mean cities and towns on the Cape and elsewhere don't have a serious problem.

"We're seeing cost pressures at the local level that are starting to outstrip things I think we've ever seen before," said Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. "You don't think about your city or town when you turn on the faucet or flush your toilet or start driving on that road, but they're all provided, paid for and supported by local government and the taxes associated with local government."

But the governor's plan to let cities and towns increase hotel, motel, meals and auto excise taxes has been dead since its arrival on Beacon Hill more than a year ago.

Where to get new revenue?

"The starting place should not be, in our view, what are the new taxes we can raise," said Shayne Kavanagh, senior manager of research for the Government Finance Officers Association. He said communities in search of new revenues could review and modernize their assessment practices, look for ways to squeeze revenue out of public land like empty parking lots, and promote more dense housing and commercial construction.

"The general rule is more intensive types of development will generally speaking tend to be more revenue-positive," says Kavanagh.

But to Jim Stergios, co-founder of the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance, an anti-tax group, "growth is what's going to help us in this regard. Since 2010, the state's budget has grown by 120%. Massachusetts residents, the average household income has only risen 62%. You cannot squeeze more water out of a rock."

No doubt, the cost of living is high around here. But for many of us, so is the quality of life. The desperation of the Cape bridge toll idea and the immediacy of its political rejection speak to the jam we're in.

And for now, the political will to do much about it is a no-show.