David Forbes of the Mountain Xpress makes a great argument for raising occupancy taxes. (I’m being sarcastic, in case you didn’t notice.) He tells of how tourists pay government to sleep in Asheville inns. The money goes to the Tourism Development Authority for the likes of expanding private venues and making peel-off wayfinding signs. These investments, in turn, help Asheville become Beer City, USA and a Happy City, and place high on all kinds of tourism lists. And thus we see that governments create economies.