So developers want taxpayer dollars in order to build transit-oriented development along the South Blvd. line? Surprise, surprise. Had enough yet?
The poorly constructed cover story for the $500 million South Blvd. line was that it was all for future transportation “choices.” But everyone understood that what the city was really interested in was jump-starting mega-millions in development up and down South Blvd. Recall that was Pat McCrory’s “corridor of crap” before the all the digging and almost $10 million in city land purchases started.
But behind that little game is the bigger lie that infrastructure alone can drive development. Call it the If You Build It, They Will Build It lie.
It simply does not matter if you build roads or rails or Global Trans Parks or blimp hangers, that will not magically call forth development that existing market conditions cannot and do not support. This was always the ultimate in central planning hubris which surrounded Charlotte’s light rail schemes: Not only were we wasting millions to build trains, once the trains were done, we’d waste millions more to subsidize development around them. You knew it was coming.
Now Richard Rubin has finally dragged a couple of the plans for subsidies out into the light of day. Notice that the outfits looking for a handout are not exactly mom-and-pop operations. Notice the argument that the market, left to its own devices, will not support these projects. So what’s the point?
The point is — has always been — to increase property tax revenues for government. Millions on trains and then millions on development subsidies are supposed to yield an exponential increase in property tax revenue. Which brings the question, Why do we need millions more in tax revenue?
Because local government spending is out of control, has no controls, in fact.
Had enough yet?
