If anyone thought that a change in political party in the governor's mansion would produce a change in the belief that government is actually the state's real job creator, that poor naif is surely disillusioned now that new Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker is sharing the McCrory administration's vision of economic development.
There was talk in the administration of getting the private sector more involved in economic development, but that wound up being euphemism for turning businessmen into political appointees to help decide who gets state incentives. It didn't mean leaving economic growth in the hands of, to borrow a forgotten phrase from the North Carolina Constitution, "the genius of a free state."
"Economic development" by incentives is cronyism at its finest, which is to say, worst. Ask not what your state has taken from you, ask only what benefits it gives the favored few. Government from the people, for the pals, by the politicians. I regret that I have but one citizenry to fleece for my lobbyist friends.
Dissenters who object to this nonsense try to expose the folly as "robbing Peter to pay Paul," which, though accurate, isn't quite sufficient. If the theft and transfer were equivalent, Peter would have the same motivation as Paul to make sure lawmakers heard from him. They're not, however.
What it really amounts to is petty larceny from Peter, James, John, Mary, Martha, and everyone else to pay Paul. With so much at stake for Paul, you can bet he's making sure lawmakers hear from him. Meanwhile, it's just not worth everyone else's time to organize and go to the legislature.
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