The Uptown paper of record today editorializes on Forbes magazine ranking Charlotte as the 9th most miserable city in America — and of course gets it all wrong.
Ignoring that Detroit — Dee-frickin’-troit — tops Forbes’ most miserable list we get “let’s take a look at the excessively miserable company we keep: New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, for example. Is this ranking really an insult? Say what you will, but those are some prosperous, politically significant and culturally diverse places.”
Uh, OK. Talk about a low bar. But there is the small fact that Charlotte will not continue to attract folks and business away from those places if the Queen City becomes just as expensive, congested, and dangerous. What then?
Maybe raise taxes. In an error that seems more a freudian slip, the editorial advises:
As for commute time, the county has levied a 1 percent sales tax for mass transit, but most commuting is done on roads the state and federal governments are responsible for. That 1-cent tax for transit — recently reaffirmed in a countywide referendum — adds to the tax burden, too.
Uh, no. Mecklenburg County has a half-cent transit tax which raises $70 million a year to fund a $9 billion transit program. It is likely, however, that the half-cent will not pay for all the things CATS intends to do. Plus there exists a dedicated core of mass transit zealots who would dearly love to get ahold of a full cent and try to build a $15 billion transit plan. Maybe this “error” is just giving us tomorrow’s news, today.
And in point of fact, Charlotte’s high local sales and property tax burden did not factor into Forbes ranking, which looked at income tax rates.
