Here is my obligatory response to the Lake Norman Tax the Citizen “talkers.” If you’re one of the many, many, many local residents who doesn’t actually read the Citizen despite it being delivered free to your house every week and so don’t know what I’m responding to, you can click here. It doesn’t show up in the online version, but the print edition ran a “photo” of yours truly alongside the Talk of the Towns column. Touche, talkers, touche.
Is it just me, or is the whole referring to yourself as “talkers” gimmick so you can avoid signing your name to an opinion piece slightly absurd? Do these “talkers” actually think by hiding behind unsigned editorials readers don’t know that the news staff is contributing to the opinion section of the paper? I know the Citizen can’t afford to hire separate editorial staff like the WSJ or Charlotte Observer, but drop the pretense with the unsigned editorials. One has to wonder if they walk around the newsroom referring to each other as “talkers?”
And is it just me, or is it slightly hypocritical for a paper that disparages social media and users of social media at every opportunity to waste ink responding to something written by “a local blogger?” Maybe my criticism just hit a little too close to the mark. Or, maybe the “only experienced, professional, legitimate news outlet in the Lake Norman region” is upset that some “local blogger” has any influence at all on local politics when we all know “real news” print journalism outlets are the only proper source of influence on local politics. It’s almost as if the Citizen longs for the days when its stated agenda will again manifest itself behind the dais at Huntersville Town Hall like it did before this current board was elected.
I’m not going to delve into the economics of the Rapids agreement not because it’s boring, but because the talkers have already demonstrated their inability to grasp basic economic concepts in the past. See the talkers demonstrate their inability to understand scarcity here and then see the talkers throw a tantrum here when I point out their inability to understand scarcity and their desire for greater state control of the economy. If you want to know how I can consider “an organization paying the town a half-million dollars over 10 years for prioritized field use” to not automatically be a good deal for Huntersville taxpayers, you can start by reading the introduction and first essay of Bastiat’s collection of essays entitled What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen.
Instead of merely speculating, I attempted to verify the talkers’ claim that it was the volume of phone calls and e-mails the electeds likely received in the two weeks between votes that changed their minds [about the Rapids renewal agreement] by asking the three commissioners who changed their votes (Boone, Guignard and Phillips) how many emails/calls they actually received. Commissioner Boone said he believes he received a total of five emails – 4 in support of renewal, 1 against renewal, and that support for renewal came mostly from face to face contact with individuals. Commissioner Guignard said he received two emails – both in support of renewal, and had one conversation on the issue. Commissioner Phillips said he received a total of three emails – 2 in support, 1 against. Phillips didn’t remember any phone calls, but did have face to face conversations with individuals who had a vested interest in renewal of the agreement; however, he added none of these face to face conversations were with actual parents of soccer players. So, the three originally dissenting commissioners received approximately ten total emails between them – 8 in support, 2 against, and a handful of in-person conversations (not including two long-winded blog posts opposing the renewal agreement as presented…). Not exactly a flood of opinion either way.
Finally, a suggestion for the talkers from this humble local blogger to help restore their credibility amongst the social media class: some in-depth, investigative reporting. It’s been two weeks now since the talkers column suggesting they needed more time to ask questions about the allegations that the former Huntersville mayor and town manager benefited from a no-cost membership to Northstone Country Club. Might the talkers be putting the final touches on a thorough investigative piece about Northstone for this week’s issue? One other potential topic for a great investigative piece – when is the last year HFFA made a profit and how much money has this facility cost Huntersville taxpayers since opening? A good complimentary story could investigate how much Duke Energy could have contributed to the town in taxes related to the McGuire Nuclear plant but for a prior town board and prior mayor agreeing in or around July 2000 to give up millions in future tax contributions in exchange for expedited payments to help get HFFA built. For reference, Duke paid roughly $9.8 million in taxes to the county in 2016 related to the McGuire plant. Assuming Huntersville would be getting around a third of what the county receives, just think of all the good politicians in town could be doing with those few million in extra taxes every year!
Eric