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Show THEZEPHYRMAY 1991 PAGE 14 v.w his two points (promoting the Olympics for growth, and the freeway expansion problem th belief system did caused by growth), he could not understand the question. His not allow this possibility. pro-grow- beyond left and right by Jack Campbell Economic Development (What a deal we have for you) The Priesthood and the True Faith Is success. Growth will Only a growing and expanding community can survive. Growth lower your taxes. Economic development will make your life better. Do we dare question the accepted dogma of this twentieth century priesthood? Will the Will we receive an Invitation to the chambers wrath of the gods fall upon the of the Grand Inquisitor? The sanctity of the doctrine of growth cannot bear the scrutiny of simple, commonsense examination. Most growth and economic development yields higher taxes, a lower quality Increased costs of community services, diminished freedoms, less of life, long-ter- m affordable and available housing, a lower quality environment, more stressful lives, etc. The economic development priesthood claims that growth will "Increase the tax base, thus adding more property to the tax rolls with the Implied claim that we will then pay lower taxes. Sounds O.K., but If we think for a moment, we realize that the more "developed or urbanized an area Is, the higher the taxes are. Rural areas have lower taxes than urban areas. If growth and economic development yielded lower taxes, the residents of Chicago, Los Angeles, N.Y.C., and San Francisco would have very low or maybe even negative taxes, l.e., they would be paid to live In those cities. We know this Is not true. Growth usually yields higher taxes. non-believ- er? g. Economic Development vs Economic Of course not all growth and economic development Is harmful. Some types Increase of the community and Improve the lives of Its residents. The label the economic well-bei"economic development" usually Implies that almost any kind of growth Is desirable. (Would a toxic waste Incinerator be good for the community? Some of our glorious leaders still believe the answer Is yes.) Those of the priesthood rarely distinguish between positive and A growing community Is to be envied regardless Period. Is Growth growth. good. negative of the problems this growth may be causing. Economic development tends to benefit the few at the expense of the majority, while economic policies tend to help those at the bottom of the economic ladder economic development most benefits those on the top of the ladder, who least need the help. Well-bein- ng well-bei- ng Scale of Development Bigger Is Better to the priests of economic development A $30 million hotel Is better than a $20 million hotel. There Is little sense of compatibility with the existing community. The community will be changed to fit the project, rather than the project scaled to the community. The proposed "destination resort hotels, the Kokopelll Theatre project, require substantially changing Moab for these projects to be viable. The number of rental units Is projected to double In the next year or two. Who Is making the decisions that will affect the entire community? Is anyone thinking ahead or are they once again muddling along, trying to grab any developer's scheme that comes along? Are we wary of projects so large that the community becomes enslaved by them? Will unusually large businesses close down our existing smaller businesses? Does anyone care? Insatiable monsters are created when we believe that bigger Is better. For Instance, a small logging company could operate Indefinitely on the La Sals, but a large mill would soon have consumed all available timber. The large mill would be difficult to stop before It had consumed all the timber. A huge hotel complex would require the community to spend so much for It (sewer, water and community services) that the community could not afford to have It fall. Costs of Economic Development While the advocates of economic development always mention the gains from growth (Increased tax base), they rarely list the costs. The situation with the Moab sewage treatment plant Is a good example. Currently, the sewage treatment plant Is approaching capacity at certain times of the year. Any substantial Increase In the number of sewer connections will necessitate the expansion or possibly even replacement of the existing plant This cost will be distributed to all taxpayers, not just the developers of the project Some communities allocate the Increased costs to the developers causing the costs, but this does not occur In communities that believe In the doctrine of growth. Grand County Is not likely to allocate the Increased costs to the developers developers watch for this and protect themselves, the taxpayers dont seem to care. The Grand County taxpayers didn't like the prospect of a $4 million new courthouse. How much will a new sewage treatment plant cost (built to more stringent standards)? The same reasoning applies to all the services a community provides sewer, water, schools, roads, garbage, police. Somehow the new levels of service always seem to be proportionately more expensive than the old. A clear example of the blindness of the economic development priesthood was given by our state legislature representative David Adams, In a speech he gave In Moab last year. In the first part of his speech, he true doctrine of economic development by the proclaimed Utah for the Winter Olympics. Having the Olympics here would promote growth promoting In the state and all would be right with the world. Growth equals unquestionable good. However, after talking about a few other points, he mentioned that because of Increased use and growth, the entire freeway system around SLC needed to be replaced and expanded at such a huge cost that no one yet had any Idea where so much money could come from. When asked by a member of the audience If he noticed any connection between Incentive Structure for the Economic Development Priesthood The economic development priesthood Is rewarded (by us) for Its Indiscriminate growth them. First, an example from policies, even though we are more than likely to be harmed by business. When American corporations were compared with their Japanese counterparts, the Incentivereward structure for American business executives revealed some Interesting characteristics. Top level corporate executives were given huge bonuses based on the bottom line profits of their divisions In the short term (one year or so). Surprise of all surprises, the executives were making decisions to Increase short term profits, at the expense of sound, long term policies. They were rewarded for making decisions which undermined the long term competitiveness of their businesses. After a few years or so most executives move on to other divisions or corporations, and are not held accountable for the consequences of their decisions. In the field of economic development the Incentives are rigged for short term development and "bigger Is better projects. Economic development folks tend to justify their paychecks by how much Increased development or growth has occurred In the community during the last year. Little concern Is given for the long term wisdom of the various projects. Little scrutiny Is given to the long term costs to the community for the various projects. Economic development employees are hired by government officials who are also working under short term reward structures. They need to balance their budgets now In order to keep their Jobs. What happens several years away Is apt to be someone elses problem. If someone can Increase the tax base now or next year, thats great, even If the whole community suffers 10 or 20 years from now. Quality of Ufa vs Growth The economic development doctrine that bigger Is better Is undermining our quality of life. Few of us came here to make lots of money. Money Is much easier to make elsewhere. We came (or stayed) because of the attractions of the area. The more people we crowd Into the same area, the less each has; the smaller the pieces of pie become. Competition for land and housing Increases the cost of both, and decreases their availability. Poorer folks have to begin leaving the area (like Aspen or Tellurlde). Conflict between people Increases. With Increased growth and crowding, acceptance and tolerance give way to antagonism. Restrictions follow (like motortzednon-motoriz- ed areas). There was little concern for designations like wilderness before the hordes of people arrived. Economic security Is obviously an Important part of the well-beiof a community. If It Is a However, only part, and we lose we chose leaders who place an Inappropriate amount of Importance on money. Many surveys have shown that when workers have ranked what was Important to them about their jobs, money was rarely near the top of their priority lists. ng Planning and Foresight Economic development without planning and foresight Is virtually a guaranteed fiasco. While Moab City Is making commendable efforts In the direction of planning, Grand County Is still philosophically opposed to planning and zoning. By analogy, If we wanted to develop an oil field or a coal mine, we would seek people with experience In oil field or coal mine development to tell us how to proceed so that we didnt damage the resource by pumping too fast or mining Incorrectly. For our County Commissioners to think they have the skill to plan ahead for a tourist economy Is as foolish as It would be for me to think I know how to develop an oil field. In fact, their decisions are damaging the tourist resource tills community will be living off for some time. While few love the sheer volume of tourlsts.lfs still foolish to trash the scenery they come here to see. The poorer the scenery, the harder the businesses that depend on the scenery will have to work to earn the same profit In a ski area, If a condominium developer proposed to locate his building In the middle of the ski runs, he would be quickly laughed out of town. Yet here In Grand County, we are unnecessarily locating developments In the midst of our scenic vistas, thus degrading them. For us to destroy our scenery Is as foolish as It would be for a ski area to destroy Its ski runs. The future of Grand County Is being determined almost exclusively by those who value money above all else. They are working hard for what they believe In money. Those who have other value hierarchies have abdicated their political power to the money lovers. Those who came here because they valued the beauty of the desert and mountains and rivers, will find the land they love progressively degraded by the foolish projects of the money worshipers. Projects which could have been done with some sensitivity to the land become obcenlties when guided by those who cannot see beyond their short term profits. Thoughtlessly locating something as ugly as a large RV park In the center of some of our most beautiful scenery Is a prime example. Sure, tills can be a good business move fertile RV park operator, but It Is something that would never be allowed If the long term good of the community was being considered. Stop Fueling the Fire We no longer need to advertise Moab and Grand County. Those whose Job It was t promote tourism and growth have succeeded. Let's create new jobs for them In damag control. Let s finally do more to manage the mobs that have been Invited here. Lets try t do what planning can still be done before things are entirely out of control. The large amounts of public funds that are still being spent on advertising and promotio should be to planning and building needed Infrastructure. Agalr let's find other uses for the Travel Council advertising community budget We should continue to encourage our economic folks to seek approprlat development small-sca- le enterprises. Huge projects should be discouraged or at least charged fully fc their real costs to the community. Do we want Grand County to be developed by those who envy the "success of S George? Why not let those who love St George move there Instead off trying i transmogrify Moab? |
