Our governor made an announcement yesterday about the Dorothea Dix land. Here is the opening (emphasis added):

Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that an appraisal has been received for the Dorothea Dix campus, which has a current estimated value of $60 million and an estimated market value of $86 million.


At $86 million, this land, if sold, could:

  • give the state a one-time injection of useful cash right away
  • be a source of recurring property-tax revenues
  • be the locus of new jobs, from construction to employees at the new businesses
  • be the source of additional tax income to the state from all those new businesses and employees

This would be, I’m sure you’d agree, a very responsible move for any governor — especially during a prolonged recession.

So what’s the governor up to? Oh … this … (emphasis sadly added):

This is an integral step toward ultimately converting the Dix campus into a public park.


Oh goodie, we’re going to forgo all those benefits listed above and turn it into a yet another perpetual money sink. Good call.

HT: STS

Previous entries in “Drawing the Wrong Conclusion”: I, II and III.