Much of the discussion in the Triangle over schools, roads, and growth in general starts from the same premise — that growth in the region is inevitable. That is simply not true. Just ask your neighbors who moved here from New Jersey or New York. Bad policies can stop growth and even reverse it. This realization is what led Cary voters to elect Ernie McAlister and Mike Joyce in 2003 over Glen Lang and Harold Weinbrecht. Cary’s growth since then has been mostly organic within the town’s borders – before that the city grew through annexation, which drives up costs as the distance over which services have to be provided increases.
Many of my friends used to live in Cary but are headed south to Apex, Holly Springs, and unincorporated areas to the south. Governments need to pay attention to their noncustomers as much as to their customers.
Using tax dollars to build parking garages for private developers is never a good idea, nor is it smart to impose excessive impact fees on developers. The Laffer Curve exists for local governments, too.
People have not moved to North Carolina at the same rate as they have moved to Florida, Georgia, or Virginia. Our incomes have also not increased as rapidly. Growth in population and income slowed throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 200s. People in Michigan thought that growth couldn’t be stopped after two terms of John Engler, but the state is now in its own lonely recession.
Our newly elected officials should remember that they have a mandate from at most 14 percent of eligible voters, because 80 percent or more stayed home — many not even aware that there were elections on Tuesday. But that’s another topic.
