Monday, July 10, 2006
Lessons Allegheny County Could Learn From Charlotte (but won’t)
A couple of weeks ago the Chief Executive of Allegheny County and the Mayor of Pittsburgh went on a junket to Charlotte to try to learn how to consolidate City and County services. Apparently, they did not garner any wonderful secrets since they have not held a press conference to regale us with all the cost saving, service enhancing changes they will be working on.
But they could have learned some things if they had bothered to get out of their meetings and drive around Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. There they would have seen what a growing, prosperous area looks like. Housing starts 15 times the pace of Allegheny County along with massive new construction of commercial, industrial and retail space—all without TIFs and other huge taxpayer handouts. They would have also learned that employment gains in the Charlotte MSA just keep coming with another 30,000 new jobs expected this year, dwarfing the miniscule growth in the Pittsburgh metro area. Moreover, the job growth is widespread across many sectors.
Moreover, economists in the Charlotte region project 50,000 new residents per year moving to the MSA for the next several years. (Charlotte Observer, July 9, 2006) Little wonder building of homes and commercial space there is so strong.
Not only is Mecklenburg County thriving, but the surrounding counties are enjoying substantial gains in people, jobs and business activity as well. All this growth with all those independent municipalities and cities. How can it be? According to so-called experts here, only consolidated regional government will spur economic prosperity.
Of course, the so-called experts refuse to look at what is really wrong with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County that causes population to decline and job gains to be anemic or non-existent. What they should have learned on their trip to Charlotte is something they could have learned without leaving their offices. Charlotte and the counties in the Charlotte metro area including those in SC all lie in Right-to-Work states. They do not have public sector unions dictating how governments--and transit systems--are run. They do not have teachers unions who can strike to hold school boards and taxpayers hostage in order to get them to capitulate to outrageous demands. And they do not have Act 111, which enables public safety unions to bankrupt municipalities. All these things they either already knew or could have easily learned sitting at their desks.
As a result of the things Charlotte MSA doesn’t have that Pittsburgh does, property taxes are lower and business costs and operating environment are much more conducive to companies moving in or expanding. In short, a recipe for private sector growth that does not require heavy government subsidies.
All the talk about consolidation and government structure are nothing more than diversionary tactics to avoid having to face the reality of the failed economic system that has been transmuted from free market entrepreneurism to special interest power politics wherein the government and its elected officials actually believe that a little tinkering is all that is needed to get job growth moving again. Which means they can endlessly avoid tackling real obstacles to prosperity while blaming the suburbs or Washington or anyone but themselves. This may be convenient ploy but it represents a complete failure of responsibility to lead on the part of elected officials.
One thing officials in Allegheny County and many other Pennsylvania and rust belt states can be thankful for is that there are states with fast growing opportunities that can absorb the jobseekers from their own state who would otherwise be building up a sizable pool of unemployed. At least they speak the same language down South. Well sort of. But with all the new arrivals from the North there is always someone to talk to.
But they could have learned some things if they had bothered to get out of their meetings and drive around Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. There they would have seen what a growing, prosperous area looks like. Housing starts 15 times the pace of Allegheny County along with massive new construction of commercial, industrial and retail space—all without TIFs and other huge taxpayer handouts. They would have also learned that employment gains in the Charlotte MSA just keep coming with another 30,000 new jobs expected this year, dwarfing the miniscule growth in the Pittsburgh metro area. Moreover, the job growth is widespread across many sectors.
Moreover, economists in the Charlotte region project 50,000 new residents per year moving to the MSA for the next several years. (Charlotte Observer, July 9, 2006) Little wonder building of homes and commercial space there is so strong.
Not only is Mecklenburg County thriving, but the surrounding counties are enjoying substantial gains in people, jobs and business activity as well. All this growth with all those independent municipalities and cities. How can it be? According to so-called experts here, only consolidated regional government will spur economic prosperity.
Of course, the so-called experts refuse to look at what is really wrong with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County that causes population to decline and job gains to be anemic or non-existent. What they should have learned on their trip to Charlotte is something they could have learned without leaving their offices. Charlotte and the counties in the Charlotte metro area including those in SC all lie in Right-to-Work states. They do not have public sector unions dictating how governments--and transit systems--are run. They do not have teachers unions who can strike to hold school boards and taxpayers hostage in order to get them to capitulate to outrageous demands. And they do not have Act 111, which enables public safety unions to bankrupt municipalities. All these things they either already knew or could have easily learned sitting at their desks.
As a result of the things Charlotte MSA doesn’t have that Pittsburgh does, property taxes are lower and business costs and operating environment are much more conducive to companies moving in or expanding. In short, a recipe for private sector growth that does not require heavy government subsidies.
All the talk about consolidation and government structure are nothing more than diversionary tactics to avoid having to face the reality of the failed economic system that has been transmuted from free market entrepreneurism to special interest power politics wherein the government and its elected officials actually believe that a little tinkering is all that is needed to get job growth moving again. Which means they can endlessly avoid tackling real obstacles to prosperity while blaming the suburbs or Washington or anyone but themselves. This may be convenient ploy but it represents a complete failure of responsibility to lead on the part of elected officials.
One thing officials in Allegheny County and many other Pennsylvania and rust belt states can be thankful for is that there are states with fast growing opportunities that can absorb the jobseekers from their own state who would otherwise be building up a sizable pool of unemployed. At least they speak the same language down South. Well sort of. But with all the new arrivals from the North there is always someone to talk to.
