The headlines from the Smoky Mountain News look like the plot to some sci-fi pulp. The Haywood County Homebuilders Association is having to remake/remodel itself. Membership has dropped in recent years from 200 to 130. The number of realtors in Haywood County has fallen from 430 to 261 since 2006. Over the same period, the number of building permits issued by the county plummeted from 753 to 416. A big tourist trap, Ghost Town in the Sky, has no chance of coming out of bankruptcy.
In the halls of government, the Jackson County Commissioners are looking for partners to help with the electric bill in the newly-renovated courthouse. Money must also be found to cover higher HVAC operating costs, more payroll for more janitors, and higher insurance rates. Even the state is hurting. The commissioners had to triage their list of road projects to be funded by the NCDOT.
Amidst all the poverty, one thing is certain . . . Booze! Yes! Glorious booze will attract tourists. It’s relatively inexpensive, sometimes addictive, and highly taxable! What better way to turn the Useless Eaters into government revenue!
Harrah’s alone pulled in more than $1 million in alcohol sales last year, and now the rest of the reservation is hungry for a slice of such a lucrative pie.
“It gives them an option to have more revenue,” said [executive director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Matthew] Pegg, “and that’s more jobs and more tax and more everything.”
