Yippee!

But the city of Charlotte has nonetheless managed to hire another former banker to play banker with taxpayer money. Boo!

The city’s small business loan program has not made any loans since it was expanded in the spring. The city is $2m. in the hole on its operation. Who knows what that money could have done had it stayed in the private sector.

All manner of local government business handouts and incentives suffer from this stilted sort of thinking, which underestimates the cost of government futzing while overestimating the benefits.