Here?s another example of that very-old fallacy about ?creating? economic impact with a coercively funded project, in this case the arts in uptown Charlotte. A restauranteur there says that his close proximity to a performing-arts venue is responsible for a great deal of his business. No doubt, he?s telling the truth. But for the community as a whole, that fact doesn?t answer the relevant question. If folks eat at his restaurant on the way to a show, do they not eat at a restaurant closer to home that week? Or do they choose not to go to the movies that week? And how do those establishments make up their lost revenue? What are the economic and employment implications if they don?t?
The Frenchman Frederic Bastiat figured all this out back in 1850 with his famous ?broken-window? fallacy, and yet we still see the same logical errors today.
