"Economic Health"... the Boilerplate Language of the City, January 2009
Bike paths, golf courses, higher fees on trash hauling? They're all supposedly designed for the "economic health of the City of Fort Collins.
...“economic health” is now being used to justify almost everything the city can think of to spend your money on. The stretched logic (bear with me here) holds that anything that makes the city a better place to live also serves to attract new businesses. Therefore (I warned you that this was a stretch), just about anything that the city spends your tax money on is really about “improving economic health”.
The Anti-Business Ballot, October 2008
... all of these measures were pulled just before this went to press, but the fact that they almost went on the November ballot makes me worried for Colorado.
It may sound simplistic, but a lot of this can indeed be simplified with the old axiom: “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Someone always pays. If it costs a business more to create each job, fewer jobs will be created. If it becomes more difficult to fire someone, fewer people will be hired. If a company has to spend more and more money on insurance, legal fees and unfunded mandates, that’s less money that can be spent on salaries and benefits and more money you’ll be asked to pay at the checkout counter.
Who Mows Your Lawn?, July 2008
Sometimes even the most mundane issues reveal the arrogance of those who would bury small businesses under regulations.
Sorry, kid. I can’t let you mow my lawn. You’d be breaking the new prohibitions on “commercial” mowing during the day. Why don’t you come back this evening when it’s legal?
How many people would be put out of work through such a ban? Does that even matter to Councilmember Manvel? A government-mandated shift to morning and evening mowing would cripple many small, seasonal lawn care businesses. Many of the smaller operations are staffed by people working weekend second jobs. One “ozone alert day” on a sunny Saturday and there wouldn’t be time to catch up. What about simply being able to work during the day and spend time with your family in the evening? Imagine a situation where, by government fiat, your job became illegal during business hours. (Sorry, you have to leave the office from 10 AM – 3 PM, but be sure to come back and make up those missing five hours tonight. You don’t mind, do you? It’s for the environment.)
Your Job on the Ballot, May 2008The package that the unions pushed to get onto the November 2008 ballot was frightening:
Your job might be on the ballot this November. Granted, your name and job title won’t appear next to a fill-in-the-little-circle-yes-or-no question, but it might as well. Unions are pushing a package of ballot initiatives that will dramatically raise the cost of doing business in Colorado. Some companies will pull up stakes and relocate. Others will simply fold up shop. Your job will be at stake.
Spot the Trend on Jobs, April 2008
This has a canary-in-the-coal-mine feel to it.
Don’t worry, we were assured, the city is doing just fine investing in business. Don’t worry, the Fort Collins development process isn’t burdensome. Don’t worry, it’s not our fault that companies are leaving town. Don’t worry.
Another columnist suggested that the solution is to buy locally. This type of neo-protectionism leads to higher consumer prices. (Quick, what do you think your next television would cost if it were built by a craft manufacturer down the street and sold at a boutique shop?) It’s one thing to try to patronize local retailers. I do. It’s another to claim that “shop locally” is somehow a solution to our economic woes. The net result is less competition and fewer dollars in the hands of lower- and middle-income families – not exactly sound advice when household budgets are tight.
Meanwhile, investment in transportation – essential to a strong economy – continues to flounder...
Small Business vs. The City, January 2008
Did anyone consider the long-term repercussions of something as simple as outlawing newspaper boxes? (I did).
Any time you have a “planner” telling entrepreneurs how to run their companies, it’s the edge of a very slippery slope. Unfortunately, the city has a pretty cavalier attitude towards small business, and this type of “trust us, your business will be okay” attitude is all too common.
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But let’s take a look at how this type of regulation would affect a more traditional small business. Imagine you’ve spent years putting aside some money to open a store. You get a bank loan to help cover your startup costs. You choose your location carefully and settle on a College Avenue storefront because your business plan relies primarily on foot traffic. Of course, that prime location means a pretty hefty lease payment. You budget for your inventory and staff, utilities and insurance.
Finally, you set aside a portion of your budget for advertising. After all, if people don’t walk through the front door, everything else is irrelevant. You hire a graphic designer to create a logo, you check with the city ordinances, and you hire a sign company to build you a sign. You’ve hung out your shingle.
Now imagine that City Council decided that signage along College Avenue was looking too cluttered and passed a law making your new sign illegal. What about the money you invested in your sign? Sorry, you’re still going to be paying debt payments on it, but it’s not going to be bringing in any customers. What if your marketing strategy involved using unique signage to differentiate yourself from your competitors? You’re out of luck.
The Son of the Climate Action Plan, November 2008
See the original below:
Remember the Climate Action Plan? You know, the one that will devastate the housing market, expand the size and reach of government, raise fees and utility rates, force “conservation” and generally wreak havoc on the Fort Collins economy?
It has an addendum. It’s worse.
The Climate Action Plan: Higher Rates, Bigger Government, November 2008
What a mess...
I have read the City of Fort Collins’ Climate Action Plan. I did so as a public service to you, the taxpayers and citizens of Fort Collins. I sacrificed myself to slog through this masterpiece of enviro-bureaucratic, nanny-statist double-speak so you don’t have to.
Below, I attempt to translate into English.
