Let’s think about this. Not only is billionaire Bruton Smith on tap to raid the taxpayers for a $80 million handout, he evidently has prodded state and local officials to consider giving Cabarrus County the Holy Grail — a dedicated local sales tax for road building.

Should that come to pass — a half-cent sales tax to build roads for a billionaire — we’ll know what an incredible fraud government in this state has become. Millions of hard-working taxpayers do not rate a dedicated source of funding to build roads to reduce congestion and improve their quality of life, but a billionaire throws and hissy fit and pretends he can up and move — and BOOM — here’s money for roads.

Then again, Bruton is just doing out in the open what the Uptown crowd manages to do mostly behind closed doors. We have a half-cent sales tax to build trains to benefit global corporations who merely hint that they will up and move unless they get what they want. Recall the hint that we had to build the Wachovia Arts Tower — or else. That was not done in public — nobody went out and gave interviews to that effect like Bruton did — but state and local officials still got the message and did the deed to the tune of $150 million.

Ask around about the cost of the trains. How much is too much? No number. We have to build them. Or else.

Now, Bruton reasons, it is his turn. He’ll get it without much of a fight. Kinda explains a lot.

Bonus Observation: Want to tie everything together? Remember that Bruton once asked that the Northeast light rail line to UNCC be extended out to his speedway? Even offered to help pay for it. Were our local officials smart rather than scared and easy to manipulate, they’d take the half-cent idea and turn it into a twin of the Mecklenburg’s half-cent and use it to help build the light rail line to UNCC and Concord.

Gets them both the coveted Northeast line to UNCC and a regional transit authority with two countywide sales taxes. But they are running scared and I doubt they have time to think that big.

Thank goodness.