In three agenda items, Asheville City Council approved the pursuit of money hot off the press in order to sustain government bureaucracies charged with perpetuating societal problems. Dr. Carl Mumpower pinned the tail on the donkey and voted against all three measures. He reiterated to peers who couldn’t see past the hope of a stimulus for tomorrow that awards from the federal deficit will eventually have to be paid back with tax increases. He knew the stated exigencies were no match for the liabilities their satiation would accrue. Some fresh cabbage would be used for programming that was “nice, but not necessary.” Other loot from the grandchildren would only serve to reinforce and amplify existing problems.

For example, two grants would be pursued to help the city with its homelessness problem. Staff argued that 150 people were tottering on the brink of becoming homeless. Giving them federal funds to stay in their homes would make the city more affordable. (Government defines “affordable” to mean “in need of subsidy.”) Both Mumpower and Vice Mayor Jan Davis speculated that the number of people needing housing would continue to be the same or greater, regardless of how many currently on the streets were housed. Politicians deny what economists consider too simplistic to explain: If government offers for free more than people can earn with nasty jobs, many people will quit their nasty jobs and take the freebies. Davis, who owns a tire store amidst the missions downtown, did not want to shock and embarrass the audience by mentioning what goes on at the wild, subsidized street picnics. Mumpower, a psychologist and social worker, noted that people do not learn responsibility by being coddled and enabled. Councilman Bill Russell got outvoted with Mumpower on a couple items. The majority on council did not want to question the paradigm of throwing money at buzzwords.