Over the weekend, I was reviewing the PowerPoint presentation from the last Buncombe Commissioners’ meeting. Assistant County Manager Mandy Stone was requesting another twenty-three positions at a cost of $748,588. They were necessary in order to avoid fines with the new NC FAST and ObamaCare computer systems. If you think that is bad, the state actually estimated the county should need eighty-two employees at a cost of $2,680,195 – annually.
In addition to increased complications with The System, one in five Buncombe County families are receiving food stamps, and the same number are beneficiaries of Medicaid. The BLS tells us 14 percent of Buncombe County jobs are government jobs, and the average government wage is considerably higher than that of other sectors. Playing with multipliers, we can imagine the money that wouldn’t be in the local economy if these recipients of government funding were broke. We can then speculate about the extent of government purchases.
And so, is it any wonder that taxpaying private businesses are all begging for government money? Asheville City Council will calendar public hearings for three such requests tomorrow.
