Connecting jobs and bonds in North Carolina
Published March 3, 2016
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, March 2, 2016.
The folks running the Connect NC bond campaign have to be getting a little nervous these days, now less than two weeks away from voters deciding if the state should borrow $2 billion for much-needed higher education and infrastructure projects.
There haven’t been a lot of polls released publicly about the bond. One done by the conservative Civitas Institute a few weeks ago found that a significant majority of Democrats supported the bond and a plurality of Republicans said they were for it, though by a relatively close margin with a high percentage of GOP voters undecided.
The Tea Party wing of the Republican world is mounting a spirited campaign against borrowing the money and in this bizarre and unpredictable Donald Trump election year, anything is possible given the high turnout expected March 15th in the Republican presidential primary.
Gov. Pat McCrory is certainly doing his part, crisscrossing the state making the case mostly for various projects at community colleges and UNC campuses, though the package also includes funds for state parks, the North Carolina Zoo and the N.C. National Guard, as well as support for local water and sewer infrastructure projects.
The materials developed by the political consultants running the bond campaign seem to talk as much about the fact that the bond would not result in a tax increase as they do the benefits of the projects it will build. The Civitas survey found that most Republicans don’t believe that claim.
Oddly, very few of the bond supporters are talking about the jobs it would create. The website and printed promotional materials never mention jobs either.
They should. A report this week from the N.C. Budget & Tax Center finds that the Connect NC bond could create as many as 5,000 jobs over five years and generate almost $1.5 billion for workers and business owners in the state.
That’s quite a shot in the arm to the economy and the state could use it. The BTC report points out that North Carolina currently has 60,000 fewer construction jobs than before the recession and 70,000 fewer people working in manufacturing.
The report also cites an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office that every dollar spent by the public sector on direct purchases can create up to $2.50 in economic activity.
The bond is not only good for higher education, parks, and local governments, it is good for the overall economic health of the state.
It’s not clear why McCrory and other Republican bond supporters can’t bring themselves to point that out. Maybe it’s because they are worried about alienating their far-right base who refuse to believe public investments can spur economic activity.
But the far-right base is already suspicious of the bond and not just because they don’t believe that it won’t result in higher taxes. Many of them think that government should not borrow any money at all, even when interest rates are low and it allows the projects to be built earlier with less cost to the taxpayers.
Many also wonder about the projects themselves and have long questioned the value of a public university system or parks owned and operated by the state.
It is hard to imagine that flyers and commercials touting a new building and repeating the no new tax mantra several times in 30 seconds will win the base over.
It might make more sense to fully explain the benefits of specific projects and at the same time remind people that the bond will put thousands of people to work and generate more economic activity, some of it in parts of the state that are still struggling to recover from the economic downturn.
That might make more people show up at the polls to vote for the Connect NC bond, a much different strategy than only pleading with people already engaged not to vote against it.
The bond could be one of Gov. McCrory’s signature accomplishments in his first term—but he needs to realize that to make it happen he is going to need a lot of people who normally don’t support him to vote for it.
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2016/03/02/connecting-bonds-and-jobs-in-north-carolina/
March 3, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Yes, I'm a white, conservative male. No, I'm not angry. Yes, I'm opposed to this bond. Why? Cuz I retain the ability to think. And logic does not escape me, like it seems to escape so many these days. I'm not saying I'm chock full of common sense, but compared to waaaay toooo many people, I have so much common sense that it's starting to ooze out my pores! Perfect example.
'The report also cites an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office that every dollar spent by the public sector on direct purchases can create up to $2.50 in economic activity.'
So, the process is this. First, the state takes money OUT OF the private sector. Then the state filters that money through government agencies, hands, pockets, or whatever else happens to state money. Then the state finally pays to have SOME work done. That state spending then generates $2.50 in economic activity.
Now, let's look at an alternative way of seeing that money. The state leaves private sector money in the private sector. People have money left in their own pockets/wallets/purses. People spend the money they have in their pockets on necessary items. Like groceries, home improvements, buying a car, attending some educational program to improve their work skills/economic outlook. That single dollar left in the pockets of private citizens generates exactly $1 in economic activity.
So, how is the state better off? Is it better for the economy if the state TAKES money from people or leaves money in the hands of the people? Obviously, according to a 'report', it's much better for the state to TAKE money from the private sector and spend it on government programs than to leave money in our hands! So, doesn't this mean that the state should take even more money from the private sector so they can spend it better? And, since the state generates SO MUCH economic activity, I suggest we stop forcing the state to ASK PERMISSION to take money from us, and simply give our state unlimited access to our money so that the economy, and our ability to earn a living wage, is dramatically improved/increased.
How's that for logic for you!
Somehow I doubt that leaving money in our hands is LESS valuable to the economy than having that money transferred to ANY government, and filtered before being returned to the economy.
IF state spending generates $2.50 in economic activity, how much does that same dollar generate in economic activity if left in the hands of it's rightful owners? Cuz it most definitely IS NOT simply $1.00. If filtering through government generates $2.50, then NOT filtering it through government, being therefore more efficient, must generate MORE THAN $2.50 IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.
So, not only is it better to leave my money in my hands, but the bond was sold as going to NEEDED road & bridge maintenance. How much of this bond is going for the target of roads & bridges? NOT ONE PENNY!
So, bad economics, bad math, and ANOTHER LIE!
Sorry Chris. You are on the wrong side of this one also!
At what point can we expect our elected officials, and media allies, to stop telling lies to US!?
