Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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A List of Tempting but Unhealthy Political Confections by JOHN HOOD Now that the 2011 election cycle is history, voters will begin to turn their attention to next year's crop of political candidates. They will judge these candidates — for President, Congress, governor, state legislature and other offices — on the basis of whether they offer sensible and realistic solutions to our economic woes. What policies do they think will best draw investor dollars into new business ventures and job creation? Can governments address their long-term fiscal imbalances while also boost- ing growth? What can be done to improve the productivity of spending in physical and human capital — that is, in infra- structure and workforce development? These are the right questions. Each has a good answer, but translating the answers into salable policies will be chal- lenging. After all, if it was politically painless to reform taxes, privatize government assets or services, and increase choice and competition in education, these policies would have long since been implemented. Rather than begin with what political candidates should promise to do, it If it was politically painless to reform taxes, privatize gov- ernment assets or services, and increase choice and com- petition in education, these policies would have long since been implemented. might make more sense to begin with what they should not do. Here's a handy list of tempting but unhealthy political confections that would-be leaders of North Carolina and the nation should swear off in the strongest possible terms: • Crony Candy. Government should never attempt to predict which businesses will succeed and then risk public money on the accuracy of their predictions. Such predictions assume too much knowledge on the part of central planners, and inevi- tably become junked up with special-interest pleading and crony capitalism. Just say no to "investing" taxpayer money in particular firms or industries. Just say no to all bailouts and loan guarantees. • Bubble Gum. The Great Recession and Not-So-Great Recovery of the past four years began with the collapse of the housing bubble, including all the securi- ties markets and financial deals based on the idea of real estate as the economic equivalent of a perpetual motion machine. It's not. Real estate is one class of assets among many. Abolish loan guarantees, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, the mortgage-interest deduction, "quantitative eas- THE FRIENDS OF MUSIC AT METHODIST AND THE METHODIST UNIVERSITY MUSIC DEPARTMENT CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM FOR A Yuletide Feaste Experience a taste of Tudor England as you partake of a Renaissance-style dinner featuring an elegant four-course meal, festive banquet hall setting, a large cast of costumed characters, and MU students singing carols. Tickets: $35 per person or $30 per person for groups of two or more. Tickets must be purchased in advance. All proceeds to benefit the Methodist University Music Department. Send your check, payable to Friends of Music at Methodist University, to Brian Harris, P.O. Box 64515, Fayetteville, NC 28406. Be sure to indicate your preferred evening. ing," Smart Growth regulations, and all other govern- ment policies that either inflate artificial bubbles in housing demand or gum up the ability to meet real demand with new housing stock. • Tunnel Cakes. Never spend government dol- lars on infrastructure projects with the goal of creat- ing jobs. Spend government dollars on infrastructure projects that promise to move lots of people or freight at a low cost — which will typically be roads and bridges, not passenger rail. If you do that, you'll create construction jobs as a welcome side effect of invest- ing in valuable infrastructure, which is fine and dandy. The problem is that if you start with the wrong goal, you may end up doing the equivalent of paying people to shovel dirt from one hole to another. These shovel- wielders would be "working," but not productively, and so the money spent on them will represent lost jobs elsewhere in the economy. • Moon Pies. If advocates of solar power, wind power, feces power or whatev- er can manage to convince private investors to finance their pie-in-the-sky experi- ments, fine. But leave taxpayers and captive utility rate-payers out of it. The energy needs of North Carolina and the nation will continue to be met primarily with fossil fuels for decades to come, and the current boom in oil and gas exploration prom- ises to lower costs and employ thousands — as long as government does its proper job of ensuring public health and otherwise gets out of the way. Instead of indulging in political junk food, candidates should propose a sound diet of enhancing public services through competition, balancing budgets, reform- ing tax and regulatory codes to promote growth, and taking better care of the infrastructure government already owns and operates. In short, no more sugar rushes. Let's stick to meat and potatoes — or tofu and brussels sprouts, as the case may be. I'm not particu- lar, as long as I don't have to buy your lunch as well as mine. JOHN HOOD, Columnist. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com Ft. Bragg and our Military Community UP & Coming weekly #1 Magazine Source* for naming as your for local events, venues and information about the Fayetteville Community. We're glad you're here! Come Visit Historic Downtown Fayetteville Fayetteville After Five Cape Fear Trail Dogwood Festival International Folk Festival 4th Fridays Friday, December 2, and Saturday, December 3 Fellowship Hall at Hay Street United Methodist Church Seating at 6:30 p.m.; Feaste at 7:30 p.m. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Exciting events, great food and a whole lot of fun. For more information visit www.upandcomingweekly.com Engage. Enrich. Empower. *Survey by the Army-Community Heritage Partnership as part of a joint effort of Ft. Bragg Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fayetteville. NOVEMBER 23-29, 2011 UCW 17