By Adrian Murray 912 Ft. Worth Project
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas On December 7th the Fort Worth City Council voted to cease any further spending on a study to install an electric streetcar in the city center. Supporters of the plan argued that streetcars lead to development thereby adding to the tax base. Opponents argued streetcars would do no such thing. The question should never have been whether streetcars lead to economic development.
We all know the old saying figures lie and liars figure".
We should not be swayed by statistics & numbers which can be manipulated to support any side of any argument.
The fundamental question focuses on the proper role of government. What we should be asking is this:
- When did it become fashionable in this country to take from some people in order to economically benefit others?
- Is it permissible now to break into ones neighbors home forcibly remove his valuables take them to a pawn shop and use that cash to economically improve the local liquor store?
Those
are not facetious questions. It is an ethical moral and philosophical dilemma facing governing bodies in cities towns counties and states across this nation as well as the federal government itself which has become a cesspool of entitlements.
We seem to have forgotten or perhaps are willfully ignoring what made this nation work.
Ive been pondering the proper role of government the past few months. Back in April I went to a forum which included a Democratic candidate for Railroad Commissioner. It made me realize there is a severe disconnect between politicians and bureaucrats and the real world.
I know I know that a pretty obvious statement. But it also made me realize that something can and should be done about it. We need to begin rethinking
government" how it operates what its for how to make it work.
I thought that might make for
an interesting series of articles.
The greatest economic engine ever developed by mankind is free enterprise the open exchange of goods and services in a marketplace that determines the value of those goods and services. Free enterprise in America unleashed the Industrial Revolution which changed the course of humankind. Wed still be reading by whale oil and candlelight were it not for free enterprise.
The worst and least efficient economic engine ever developed by mankind is government with all its attendant inefficiencies redundancies bureaucracies and regulations.
Markets just like nature abhor a vacuum. Just like the saying where theres a will there is a way" is true it is equally true that where there is a need there is a market.
- Supporters argued there is a need for streetcars in Fort Worth and that government should fulfill that need by taking from others to provide it.
- Still others argued there is no need for streetcars that Fort Worth doesnt have the demographics to support streetcars and therefore the economic development will not follow.
Either case may well be true. There could be and probably are gems of truth on both sides of the argument.
But thats not the point. The point is that financing endeavors of this kind out of the pockets of hardworking taxpaying citizens is wrong it is unethical and it is immoral.
There seems to be a disconnect somewhere a sort of if you build it they will come" attitude about projects such as this. And they very well may come.
They may come in hordes and droves and swarms and multiply among themselves. But government has no right to reach into your pocket or that of
your neighbor or that of any citizen to pay for expensive rolls of the dice in the hopes that they do come.
Government has no right to take from anyone in order to economically enhance another person entity or enterprise.
Once again markets like nature abhor a vacuum. If there is an economic pot of gold at the end of the rainbow let the private sector bear the burden and take the risk. Thats how free enterprise works.
Henry Ford began producing cars before there were paved roads and gas stations. But he was a capitalist and he believed in the genius of markets. Let those who are in favor of such projects support them with more than just words.
Let those who will profit from them fund them.
Several months back a Democratic candidate for Railroad Commissioner was asked at a forum what he would do to increase inspections at gas wells. His answer was the incumbent was not aggressive enough in asking for increased funding and that he would demand a greater budget to pay for additional inspectors.
No thought at all was given to running the department more efficiently and using resources more wisely.
Even the most successful business is only one bad decision away from going belly up. You see it all the time businesses with healthy balance sheets suddenly going upside down because of an unwise acquisition a bad product launch an employee lawsuit a bad investment.
Good business owners wake up every morning get out of bed pour a cup of coffee and silently admonish themselves not to do something really stupid today.
Government however doesnt have that burden.
If a business goes down hill because of a bad decision it cant just create sales to produce revenue. But if government does something really stupid and needs additional revenue it can create it by raising taxes and fees selling bonds or reducing services.
Government does not inherently and only rarely is forced to understand risk. Without instilling that understanding of risk into government officials
they will always treat your money with substantially less respect than you do.
One solution would be to require zero-based budgeting of all our government agencies and bureaucracies make them justify every nickel of spending annually. If its good enough for business and households its good enough for government.
Lawmakers it seems are genetically incapable of entrepreneurial thinking.
Getting back to this streetcar issue and looking at it from an entrepreneurial point of view it would appear there may be an even greater opportunity here. The sustainable development initiatives enacted in the early 90s call for high density urban development with limited vehicular traffic an environment perfectly suited for streetcars.
The worldwide demand for streetcars therefore is likely to increase for the foreseeable future.
The streetcar Fort Worth considered buying is manufactured at a factory in Oregon. So rather than gamble hundreds of millions on a questionable streetcar line in Fort Worth why not entice an entrepreneur to build a factory
in Texas which would manufacture streetcars here a factory which would employ hundreds if not potentially thousands of Texans in real permanent well-paying jobs instead of temporary construction jobs and actually add to the tax base rather than gamble with future revenue?
Why not become a net exporter of many many streetcars rather than a net importer of just one?
Wake up America and let us go about our business.
Adrian Murray is President of the Fort Worth 9-12 Project.
your neighbor or that of any citizen to pay for expensive rolls of the dice in the hopes that they do come.
Government has no right to take from anyone in order to economically enhance another person entity or enterprise.
Once again markets like nature abhor a vacuum. If there is an economic pot of gold at the end of the rainbow let the private sector bear the burden and take the risk. Thats how free enterprise works.
Henry Ford began producing cars before there were paved roads and gas stations. But he was a capitalist and he believed in the genius of markets. Let those who are in favor of such projects support them with more than just words.
Let those who will profit from them fund them.
Several months back a Democratic candidate for Railroad Commissioner was asked at a forum what he would do to increase inspections at gas wells. His answer was the incumbent was not aggressive enough in asking for increased funding and that he would demand a greater budget to pay for additional inspectors.
No thought at all was given to running the department more efficiently and using resources more wisely.
Even the most successful business is only one bad decision away from going belly up. You see it all the time businesses with healthy balance sheets suddenly going upside down because of an unwise acquisition a bad product launch an employee lawsuit a bad investment.
Good business owners wake up every morning get out of bed pour a cup of coffee and silently admonish themselves not to do something really stupid today.
Government however doesnt have that burden.
If a business goes down hill because of a bad decision it cant just create sales to produce revenue. But if government does something really stupid and needs additional revenue it can create it by raising taxes and fees selling bonds or reducing services.
Government does not inherently and only rarely is forced to understand risk. Without instilling that understanding of risk into government officials 
