Chapel Hill’s budget saga continues to provide a fascinating look at how liberals view economics. As I’ve previously blogged, unchecked spending by the town is finally coming home to roost. The town manager, Cal Horton, has warned that a tax increase — perhaps adding up to 11 cents to the property tax rate — will be necessary to pay for all the goodies. On Friday, the Raleigh News & Observer reported that Mayor Kevin Foy said that, if the town has to cut positions, it will cut vacant ones and no employees will lose their jobs. “Unless you’re in some sort of economic distress, you don’t just randomly cut,” Foy said. On that point, the mayor and I agree. The town needs to prioritize and then cut. But what amazes me is that the mayor evidently doesn’t think the potentially huge tax increase facing residents qualifies as “economic distress.” Well then, what does? Locusts?
by Locker Room contributor