Throwing Eastern North Carolina Under The Bus?

Today's article in the News and Observer about possible tolls on I-95 should be a wake-up call. Tolls for Pamlico County commuters may be just the beginning.

Is there anyone out there who thinks tolls on I-95 won't shift traffic across North Carolina further inland? Say, through Raleigh and Charlotte?

Will that be good for business in Eastern North Carolina? Not likely.

I know that I-95 is projected to become congested along its entire link by 2030. But toll booths are likely to increase, rather than alleviate, congestion.

Contributing to the problem is that both the US Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Department of transportation are really just the same old highway departments of old. They love pouring concrete and building bridges. They don't yet (and may never) address transportation as a system. The function of the system is to move goods and people from where they are to where they need to be.

Roads and highways aren't the only way to move people and goods around. Rail, for example, is much more energy efficient than trucking. Most energy efficient of all is water transport. We have lots of water here in Eastern North Carolina. Here's a plan to use it to alleviate congestion on I-95.

Let's have no tolls on any North Carolina highways.

Blame Game

When Oriental resident Greg Piner wrote Phil Berger, President Pro-Tem, NC State Senate about the ferry toll issue, Mr. Berger answered:

“Unfortunately, the financial mismanagement of our predecessors in the legislature created a staggering $2.5 billion budget deficit – the worst in state history."

Mismanagement? Has Mr. Berger noticed that, beginning in 2008 the United States suffered the greatest economic downturn since the great depression? There were a lot of reasons leading to the collapse of our financial system and the "great recession" that followed, but financial management actions of the North Carolina legislature are not among them. As any elected official well knows, but some refuse to admit for partisan reasons, financial crises cause reduced revenue and increased safety net expenditures.

Mr. Berger continues: "It [the deficit] forced us to make tough decisions to fill that hole and balance the budget – including implementing a minimal user fee to offset a small percentage of the cost of coastal ferries, which are funded by every taxpayer in North Carolina."

Not exactly. The deficit was large, but it didn't force any particular measure. Governor Perdue submitted a balanced budget to the legislature that did not include tolls for commuter ferries and did not include the massive cuts in education funding contained in the legislature's bill that the governor vetoed.

The tolls were not necessary. Nor do they contribute measurably (or perhaps even at all) to balancing the budget. The tolls, as well as massive cuts in funding for public education, resulted from decisions made under Mr. Berger's leadership. They represent his priorities and those of Mr. Tillman in the House.

What You Don't Know Won't Hurt Us

Judging from the current primary campaigns as well as what has happened in many states when Republicans take over, the new operative slogan might be, "what YOU don't know won't hurt US" (with apologies to Paul Krugman for my blatant plagiarism).

Alternatively, "billions for defense but not one cent for public education (let the kids fend for themselves)."

Another possibility: "we don't need no stinkin'" (pick one or more)
1.  Early Childhood Education;
2.  Higher education;
3.  Research;
4.  Free highways;
5.  Facts (facts have a known liberal bias);
6.  Foreigners;
7.  Diversity;
8.  Stimulus;
9.  Economic Development ("REAL Enterpreneurs spend their OWN money");
10.Networks (except for Fox). 

All Hat And No Horse

(And not much under the hat, either).

Where is Molly Ivins when we really need her?

In 1776, my ancestor Roderick Rawlins was born in Guilford County, NC.

He didn't stay there. He migrated to Tennessee, Kentucky, across the Ohio to Indiana and Illinois. In 1845 he and his extended family moved by wagon train to the Republic of Texas. Many of his descendants are still there.

If I had been born in Texas instead of Oklahoma, I would count as a seventh generation Texan. Come to think of it, I once lived in Texas, so I can still claim that.

I know about the posturing that goes on in Texas and the foolish policies that result.

Here's one: Texas has cut funding to Planned Parenthood by two-thirds, leaving poor women without affordable health care clinics for themselves and their children.

Texas could, of course, pick up that function itself.

Fat chance!

This is the Texas corollary to the doctrine of less government. Target: women.

But you can buy a firearm with no waiting period, no registration and can carry a rifle or shotgun into any establishment without hindrance. Need a machine gun? No problem.

Religion is really big in Texas.

STEP II

I attended last Friday's STEP II forum at the Pamlico Community College's Ned Delamar Center. It was a bit discouraging.

The point of the STEP effort is to develop an economic development plan. As I have said before, the difference between economic development and business development is that business development seeks a bigger piece of the pie for a business owner. Economic development seeks to bake a bigger pie.

The criteria for a successful economic development program is increased economic activity, particularly jobs.

STEP II has decided the most promising areas to focus on are:

1. Tourism;
2. Agriculture;
3. Marine Trades.

Personally, I would reverse the order. I think our most valuable asset is the water, and the most promising area for economic activity that brings jobs. Working waterfront, including seafood industry, is already a more substantial economic engine in Eastern North Carolina than tourism.

Still, last Friday's discussion was interesting. The conclusion I drew about tourism is, we don't have enough attractions for tourists and, if we did, we don't have enough accommodations.

I think a more promising approach is to seek "Lone Eagles," but this requires better high speed internet access.

County Board Of Elections

Ms. Judy Smith, who has for the past two years served as the Republican member of the Pamlico County Board of Elections, submitted her resignation to the State Board of Elections, effective today.

I want to thank Judy for her contributions to our work over the past two years. We regret her departure.

Ms. Smith has been a particularly diligent and hard-working board member, who has made a strong contribution to the Board's work. Administration of elections is a complex and challenging part of doing the people's business - in fact, it is essential to a democracy.

I wish all the best to Judy and to her husband, George in the years ahead.

Thank you, Judy.

The Economics Of Global Warming

Those who want to read a scholarly, dispassionate examination of the alleged controversies over global warming, may wish to read an article by the Yale economist, William D. Nordhaus in the March 22 edition of the New York Review of Books. In his article, "Why The Global Warming Skeptics Are Wrong," Nordhaus takes an economist's perspective in analyzing an article in the Wall Street Journal by sixteen scientists.

This isn't as strange as it may seem. GW skeptics often base their opposition to mitigation efforts on the alleged economic effect, as well as on statistical arguments. When you take on statistics, you are playing on an economist's home field.

I won't try to summarize Nordhaus' article, but I strongly recommend you at least take a look at his statistical graphs. Bottom line: the global warming trends of the past century track very closely with mathematical models that include greenhouse gas emissions as well as natural causes. For the past half century, the models that exclude greenhouse gas emissions do not track with actual rises in temperature.

Water, Water Everywhere

Once again at last night's county commissioner meeting, one of the commissioners bragged that NC-20, the lobbying organization funded in part by taxpayers of the 20 coastal counties, had successfully persuaded the Coastal Resources Commission not to adopt the report of the CRC science committee forecasting a sea level rise of as much as one meter (39 inches) by 2100.

She explained that adopting the report might withdraw 1.3 million acres in Eastern North Carolina from future use. She also explained that it might raise insurance rates.

My problem with that is, I am about to raise my house 36 inches. Before doing so, I would like access to the best available scientific assessment of sea level rise. That extra three inches could be crucial, if not to me personally, at least to my heirs.

Is ignorance better than knowledge? I don't think so.

If we build on 1.3 million acres that shouldn't be developed, who pays the damages when the water rises? Is NC-20 going to pick up the tab?

I don't think so. The rest of us will.

Yesterday's New York Times printed a very illuminating article about sea level rise, hurricane damage and the outer banks. Read it here.

Whenever a significant hurricane hits the banks, it makes new channels across the islands, severing roads and destroying bridges.

One sensible suggestion by scientists (who keep telling us that the outer banks aren't stable) is to replace the bridges with ferries.

It would be cheaper and more reliable.

By the way, there is no bridge to Okracoke and the tourist industry there does just fine.