Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2010 22:04:24 -0400
From: Karen E “Crowell
Subject: RE: Chatlist post
I just wanted to share some things that Brian Bock had to say when he was courteous enough to reply to the message I posted on the chatlist a while back.
He contends that he is serious when he believes that the private sector will lead us out of the recession.
“By that I mean, the people who are willing to start a business or take the risk to expand and hire additional workers. These individuals are willing to sacrifice more than most of us by putting their financial well being as well as their family’s well being at risk. The odds of success are tough in any economic condition let alone a recession. As a government, we should do all we can to foster an environment that will allow them to be successful.. We can do that by ensuring that the county does not cause unnecessary time delays or confusion. Time is the enemy of a small business owner. Too often the various county departments are not aware of what the others are doing and do not coordinate with each other when someone tries to get approval to open or expand their business. If we were to have just one point of contact within the county for someone to deal with while going through the process we could guard against contradictory guidance; saving the business owner time and money. This one change would be a win-win situation. More jobs would be created in Chatham county and tax revenue would increase.”
Well, you’re right about one thing. The odds of success ARE daunting. But I seriously doubt that a substantial amount of money would be saved by your proposing to eliminate delays or confusion. Never mind the fact that some people will be confused no matter what you do or say. But if delays and confusion were all that stood in the way of people who want to open a business or hire some more employees, then they must not be the risk takers that he would have us believe they are. Actually they have far more serious risks to consider, such as mounting debt and disappointing economic indicators. These are the kind of problems that truly discourage business owners from expanding and hiring these days.
Bock is also trying to convince us that “expanding the tax base” will increase revenues.
“The additional revenue provided by an expanded tax base coupled with prioritizing our spending in those areas that are a function of government, would better position Chatham County to adequately provide the basic social safety net mentioned in your post.”
Please don’t beat that poor horse to death again. In theory it sounds good, but we know that more people moving to Chatham County means increased demand on services. So who ends up footing the bill?
Don’t ask the taxpayers! They complain all the time about how high their taxes are! Besides if you’re running for office, it’s the kiss of death to even mention the word.
Don’t ask the developers! Heaven knows you wouldn’t want to create any obstacles to their doing business here! They might go somewhere else instead!
Don’t ask the newcomers looking to buy property or a new house! It’s hard enough to qualify for a loan these days. If you levy taxes at the point of sale, it might increase the selling price, and, gulp, they might not be able to afford to buy our land and houses! No, realtors made that perfectly clear when they spent a fortune a while back making sure we didn’t make that mistake!
Since that doesn’t leave us with anyone else to foot the bill, we’ll probably hear that old familiar line, “get rid of all the waste in government!” Plenty of money could be saved if those lazy people in office would just take the time to track it down. Of course, it isn’t easy to get a lot accomplished while you’re down there on your hands and knees looking for all that loose change that’s lying around. But, people are always convinced that it’s there. And when elections roll around, all of a sudden the amount of waste takes on epic proportions.
If Bock really wants to be taken seriously, then he should give us some thought-provoking ideas addressing the real concerns that some of us have about the future of Chatham County. Not some vague rhetoric that he’s borrowed from someone else’s formula on how to win an election. Toss in a few scare tactics, stir up a little controversy with a personal attack here and there, smear a little dirt on top and you’ve got a campaign!
Maybe he and his backers are just assuming voters don’t really pay a lot of attention to the important issues in local elections anyway. Well, some of us actually do. So, Brian, you’re going to have to do a whole lot more than just spout a few truisms when you are competing with people who have years of experience on the job and who aren’t afraid to tackle real problems with real solutions.
Karen Crowell
Pittsboro, NC
And yes, Donna, I work at UNC, a public institution. It provides jobs for a significant number of Chatham County residents. Do you have a problem with that?