PaeeeA - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thuisdav, lime 24.1993
Wf)t Cfiarlotte
Svimmer's Roller Coaster Ride
The Voice Of The Black Community
Gerald O. Johnson
Publisher
Robert L. Johnson
Co-Publisher
Herbert L. White
Managing Editor
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ABimcHOF PULL
Look Carefully At Global Park
N.C. Industrial Facility May Not
Be A1 That Its Proponents Claim
By Elliot Fus
SPECIAL TO THE POST
JACKSONVILLE - Unfortunately for the
quality of public debate, there are some Is
sues where criticism of government spending
often equals political suicide.
Topics such as education and "the children's
agenda" are good examples. Whenever a new
spending package is unveiled, to do anything
less than fuUy embrace It - regardless of mer
it - Is to be "for Ignorance" or "against chil
dren" In the minds of many. For skeptics,
speaking up can be dangerous.
In eastern North Carolina, a similar prob
lem revolves around what many consider to
be the region's economic messlah, the Global
TransPark. So far, former Gov. Jim Martin
has been the primary lobbyist for the $450
million TransPark, a proposed air cargo air
port and Industrial complex in Lenoir Coun
ty. Now, Gov. Jim Hunt will be the most
prominent voice for the project as the new
chairman of the N.C. Air Cargo Airport Au
thority.
What they envision Is a 21st-century Indus
trial metropolis that will bring countless
benefits to the region, where the decline of
the agricultural lifestyle has led to extensive
economic stagnation.
The TransPark Is meant to work on the
concept of "just-ln-time" manufacturing.
Factories ship their goods out of an easy-
access airport just In time to reach customers
around the globe.
Advocates predict tens of thousands of new
jobs, massive infrastructure Improvements
throughout the region. Increased county tax
bases, and a host of other boons. 'There has
never been a more Important project for this
part of the state," Hunt said a few months ago
at a forum at Mount Olive College In Wayne
County. "It'll create a ripple effect for all the
surrounding counties."
However, one almost-eerle feature of the
proposal Is how little It has been questioned.
From most of the TransPark rhetoric, one
would assume It's an Inevitable wlrmer on all
sides, a "sure bet." The Mount Olive forum
was typical of that assuredness. Scores of
state leaders attended, but it seemed more
like a TransPark pep rally than an inclusive
delving Into risks vs. rewards.
Meanwhile, little is heard from the manu
facturing experts who claim TransPark Is an
overrated economic fad with no guarantee of
success. Other states - Including Kentucky
and Georgia - also want TransPark, and the
country's few existing all-cargo airports,
such as those tn Denver and Huntsville, Ala.,
are having dtfflcultles getting off the ground,
according to The Wall Street Journal.
"Airport building Is going to be the S&L scan
dal of the 19908."
Understanding why the TransPark Is ap
plauded Is easy. The East Is seriously short of
Industry. With the exception of some coastal
communities that attract retirees, out
migration is the norm. 'Who would want to
see "antl-tndustry?"
And so, from land purchase funds to a pro
posed revolving loan fund, local, state, and
federal governments have all signed on to the
project with millions of taxpayers' dollars.
The investment may turn out well If the
TransPark Is the next Research Triangle
Park. But there has to be more risk Involved
than what N.C. communities are being led to
believe by their leaders. If a project like the
TransPark Is going to succeed, it had better be
fully debated - and the expectant citizens of
our state fully apprised of Its potential risks
as well as Its potential awards.
ELLIOT FUS is a reporter for the Daily News
in Jacksonville, N.C. and a writer for the
John Locke Foundation.
Government Abuses Taxpayers
By Frank Barnes
SPECIAL TO THE POST
It is common for abusers to
deny they have a problem.
Recently we have been
hearing from city and county
officials that the taxes we
pay are too low and that we
should be encouraged to con
tribute more of our hard-
earned money to finance
their pet causes.
Tax abuse Is so prevalent in
our society because the ped
dlers qf higher taxes spread
these tall tales without chal
lenge.
Let's examine the rate of lo
cal government spending
since 1983. Population In the
City of Charlotte stood at
337,895 people. Total city
government spending was
around $126 million and
property tax revenues gener
ated about $65 million.
In 1992, total city govern
ment spending rose to $264
million while our popula
tion Increased to 421,900.
This Increase Is even more
staggering when you dis
count for Inflation. In real
terms, spending Increased
.43% while our population
grew by 25%.
And what about our taxes?
Adjusting for inflation prop
erty tax revenues Increased
45% while the total tax base
Increased 142%. The picture
for the county Is the same.
Property tax revenues In
creased 64% In real terms
since 1983.
To put this tn perspective,
consider that In 1983 per
capita Income was $10,233
for all residents of Mecklen
burg county. In 1991, that
figure grew to $16,732. After
adjusting for Inflation, per
capita income grew 11.6%
while per capita government
spending In the city In
creased 15%.
Local government spending
is Increasing faster than In
flation and faster than our
Incomes.
Comparing property tax
rates between cities serves no
worthwhile purpose because
of differences between tax
evaluations and other fac
tors regarding local reve
nues. Despite these dispari
ties, out of 29 counties tn
North Carolina with popula
tions of 10,000 or more,
Mecklenburg ranked number
13 In property tax rates.
There are better ways of
measuring tax burdens be
tween cities. The U.S. Statis
tical Abstract lists all kind
of data comparing city to
city. Charlotte comes In at
number 35. higher than New
York (46) Boston (45) and Los
Angeles (49).
Still think your taxes are
too low? Consider that the
estimated state and local
taxes paid by a family of four
owning their home In Char
lotte Is higher than the medi
an average of the largest 51
cities.
In North Carolina, Char
lotte raises the most local
taxes per capita ($365) than
any city and spends more
($1,361) than any city In our
state.
Perhaps the most insulting
part of the misinformation
spread by these tax abusers Is
that It comes at taxpayer ex
pense! Tax dollars are used
by the city manager for slick
pamphlets, newspaper ad
vertising and cable for a
propaganda campaign to
keep him and the other tax
abusers In power!
So It was no wonder that
spending on public Informa
tion was one of the lowest
rated services In a recent
study for City Council. What
chance Is there that funding
for this worthless PR cam
paign wUl end?
FRANK BARNES ts a mem
ber of Citizens For Elective
Government, a Charlotte
watchdog organization.
In the General Assembly
last week, the appointed day
- June 15 - passed without
much attention.
June 15 Is the day the law
requires our representatives
to complete their work on
the state's budget. It is a good
rule. The state's budget year
begins July 1. The leaders of
all state agencies need to
know by then how much
• money they can spend to car
ry out their assignments.
Nevertheless, It didn't hap
pen. In spite of the law, the
budget was delayed again.
The leaders of the House and
Senate could not find a way
to resolve their differences
so soon. In the Generid As
sembly, June 15 turned out to
be just another day.
And, for many of us, so was
the day that marked the be
ginning of summer, June 21.
"Has summer slipped hi on
us again?" you might hear
someone say.
Usually, by the time sum
mer ofilclally begins, I am so
far Into a summertime mode
that the official date seems
like an afterthought. School
is out. Friends are on vaca
tion. Church has begun its
summer schedule. We are al
ready planning for the fall. It
Is easy not to remember that
summer doesn't really come
until late June.
But this year I took notice
of summer's designated be
ginning time. Waiting for It
to come I have been watching
more and seeing more. I have
been feeling summer as It
comes this time. It Is as If the
earth were a giant roller
coaster car and I am a pas
senger. On Its path around
the sun I feel us coming up to
the highest point and then
going over the hump at the
top. Then, for just a moment
we wait, and seeing every
thing, I sense the coming
change of direction before a
wild ride back to the begin
ning - and to the end.
Maybe It's my growing old
er. Maybe It Is something
else. But for some reason the
coming of summer this year
seems richer and more wel
come.
There were a few days this
June that the moist warm
air, trapped under the clouds,
and cooked by the hot sun,
gave us warning of what wUl
come on most days tn August.
It's that pressure cooker feel
ing. Beads of sweat struggle to
push out of the body. Then It
flows. We roast like pigs at
country barbecues. On such
days we usually curse the
weather's oppression.
Instead, this year I am
thankful for the hot days
and for the joys that come
with them. For seersucker
suits. For the gift of a breeze
when It comes. For the thun
dershower's mighty power to
bring a cooling rain.
And for the fresh wild flow
ers along the highways. For
neighbors’ gardens. For birds
of every variety singing to
gether like a revival choir. In
the trees, at the feeders,
blues, yellows, reds, browns
and blacks turn our little
worlds Into kaleidoscopes of
color.
For squirrels and rabbits.
For lush green fields and fo
rests.
For the feeling of water on
the bare skin magically cool
ing the whole body.
For all the fresh things to
eat. My friend Is a dignified
member of the Legislature's
Sargent-at-arms staff during
the week. On the weekends
she goes back home to the
farm. Last week she brought
back, and sold to me for
$5.25, a big box of fresh
strawberries. It was worth
hundreds of dollars. The
head chef In a five-star re
staurant, with all his staff,
thousands of dollars worth
of ingredients, and all the
modem cooking equipment,
could not produce a dessert
that could come close to the
taste of one of those just-
picked, full ripe, big straw
berries from the box that Bil
lie sold me.
Pictures In the paper show
the Aumonds’ granddaughter
helping with the harvest -
bringing back the memory of
a mouthful of a fresh, ripe,
fleshy peach exploding with
Its sweetness at the first bite.
Watermelons and blueber
ries are coming. Wild black
berries are on the vine.
Tomato plants are holding
on against the wilt in Bob
Wendell's yard. Soon, I hope,
the giant, full, more-than-
red tomatoes wUl be ready.
And there Is the promise of
fresh yellow com from the
Cleveland County garden of
Jack and Ruby Hunt. We've
been talking about it all win
ter and spring, reminding
ourselves how good it will be
as we eat the frozen corn
from last year.
We have missed a deadline
in the General Assembly. So
what? But let's don't miss
this summer. Let's don’t pass
by the joys of this full-ripe
living season.
On this wonderful wild rol
ler coaster ride, this time, I
am keeping my eyes wide
open all the way to the end.
D.G. MARTIN ts vice presi
dent for public affairs with
the University of North Car
olina system.
It's Just A Fair
Weather
Friendship
The President
Sacrificed Lani
Guinier To Save
His Own Skin
Lanl Gulnler Is one of the
most talented, intelligent
and capable scholars on civil
rights law in America, As a
professor at the University
of Pennsylvania Law School,
she has sought to bridge the
racial divisions among stu
dents. As a clvU rights attor
ney she stands firmly tn the
tradition of Charles Hamil
ton Houston and Thurgood
Marshall as a champion for
equal rights. Without ques
tion, she would have been the
Ideal choice for Assistant At
torney General for Civil
Rights. Yet Lanl Gulnler was
the victim of a carefully or
chestrated campailgn of char
acter assassination by the
Extreme Right, and In the
moment of truth, was be
trayed by the administration
she had sought to serve. What
were the basic charges lev
eled against Gulnler? In
brief, conservatives Initiated
their attacks by terming Gul
nler the "Quota Queen." Clhit
Bolick, a protege of Reagan's
Assistant Attorney General
for civil rights William
Bradford Reynolds, claimed
In the Wall Street Journal
that Gutnier favored racial
quotas, and wanted to Im
pose what he described as a
"racial spoils system" whidh
would "further polarize an
already divided nation."
Nothing was further from
the truth. Gulnler sharply
opposed strict racial quotas.
Others condemned Gulnler
as an enemy of democracy
and majority rule because
she had endorsed so-called
"radical" reforms In the po
litical masse. What radical
Manning Marable
reforms? Gulnler has en
dorsed proportional repre
sentation, or cumulative vot
ing, tn certain Instances tn
which minorities are unable
to receive equal access to rep
resentation within the cur
rent political process. Cumu
lative voting is, in fact, far
more democratic than the
current one-person, one-vote
system which now exists
throughout he U,S. For ex
ample, In a city with seven
districts for city council. In
stead of each voter having
one vote tn a particular dis
trict, he or she would have
seven ballots which could be
cast In any combination for
any Individual candidate or
group of candidates. Such a
procedure would encourage
multiracial coalltlon--
bulldlng across neighbor
hood lines, and break down
the racial gerrymandering by
electoral districts which of
ten occurs.
Then conservative charged
that Gutnier was "radical" be
cause she had argued that
majority runoff require
ments In primaries may vio
late the 1965 Voting Right
Act, The conservatives who
criticize Guinier on this
point fan to observe that the
Bush’s Administration's As
sistant Attorney General for
civil rights, John Dunne,
agreed with Gulnler's Inter
pretation, asserting that run
off elections tn primaries are
like "electoral steroids for
white candidates,"
William T. Coleman, Jr., a
prominent black Republican
and civil rights lawyer, has
observed that "much of the
criticism of Ms. Gulnler Is
nothing more than a disa
greement with current law"
on civil rights. Many of the
suggestions found In Gulnl
er's writings which were dis
missed and smeared as
"radical," Coleman notes,
were "adopted by the Depart
ment of Justice In the Reagan
and Bush administrations."
Far from being outside of the
mainstream. It was Lanl Gul
nler's critics and attackers
who were at the fringes of po
litical and intellectual legiti
macy.
At the moment of truth,
however. President Clinton,
Gulnler's friend of two dec
ades, betrayed that friend
ship and his own political
principles by pulling her
nomination from the Senate
Judiciary Committee. Clin
ton’s behavior was nothing
less than weak-kneed and
spineless. At first, he proud
ly crowed about her nomina
tion to black constituents.
Then, as the right wing as
sault and mountain of lies
spread, the President became
increasingly cautious, hid
ing once again behind his At
torney General, Janet Reno.
Finally, when the "neo-
llberal" publications such as
the New Republic came out
against Gulnler, the pressure
became just too much for the
white Southerner to handle.
Even reactionary and ra
cist commentators such as
Patrick Buchanan under
stood that Clinton's failure
to support Gulnler's nomina
tion was political stupidity.
By abandoning Gulnler and
by not permitting her to de
fend herself before the senate
subcommittee, Clinton ali
enated his core political
base, and showed a failure of
political courage. An articu
late defense of her ideas
could have persuaded a ma
jority of senators, fresh from
the embarrassing situation
of the Thomas-Hlll hearings
of two years earlier, to en
dorse Gulnler.
Clinton failed to compre
hend that it Is always better
to fight for your principles -
especially when your princi
ples are worth fighting for.
MANNING MARABLE is a
syndicated columnist.