I consider myself a fiscal conservative. And, like most who think like me, I abhor budget deficits, believe our taxes are high enough, and think that government—local, state, and federal—should run efficiently, even vibrantly, on the vast amounts of tax dollars it collects from “we the people.” We fiscal conservatives know that attracting and keeping business here means more jobs, more money circulating in the local economy, and more tax dollars with which government can serve the people. Taking a “business-friendly” view of government and being fiscally conservative, in my opinion, go hand in hand.
But there’s a troubling divide in Dallas among those two hands when it comes to public giveaways. Heaven help the city leader, elected or not, who dares to speak out against the now almost routine request from a Dallas developer coming to the public trough for a tax subsidy on this or that new project. Should the leader say, “no,” he or she will quickly and publicly be dubbed “un-friendly” to business. But, giving away tax dollars for projects that don’t justify a tax subsidy isn’t a very fiscally conservative or responsible thing to do.
Take, for example, the new world headquarters building of Dallas oilman Ray Hunt in downtown Dallas. In addition to being a successful businessman, Mr. Hunt has been a generous philanthropist. His building is gorgeous and certainly adds to the beauty of the Dallas skyline. But none of those factors should qualify the building for the $6.3 million in tax breaks Mr. Hunt requested and received from a majority of the then-Dallas City Council in 2005. The building sits on prime real estate immediately next door to the Dallas Museum of Art and what will be the largest continuous arts district in the country. So, why was a subsidy justified? Simple. Without one, Hunt promised to go to the suburbs.
While you certainly can’t blame Hunt and others like him for having the business acumen to go after a subsidy, former Dallas City Council member Donna Blumer says it’s also part of the game. “Most of these business owners know it’s better for them to be in downtown Dallas,” says Blumer. “But why wouldn’t they ask? It’s money on the table. And, there has been some real competition between Dallas and the suburbs. I just never felt that when some rich developer came down with their hand out and asked for money that we should just acquiesce.”
In contrast, consider the old Mercantile Bank building that’s currently being developed for residential and retail space in downtown Dallas by Forest City. The building sat empty and dilapidating for more than 10 years in a deteriorating but key part of downtown around Main and Commerce streets. If not for a subsidy, the building most likely would have been torn down, and Dallas most certainly would have missed an opportunity. The whole point of tax giveaways is to provide a shot in the arm to an area that wouldn’t be developed otherwise.
Dallas, and especially downtown, is a great product and will only get better. But we don’t have to give away the farm anymore to anyone and everyone who asks and threatens to go to the suburbs. It’s a bluff. And now that we have a stronger hand, it’s time to be more careful with how we spend our chips.
by Crayton Webb
ONE MAN’S PORK …
Below are local selections from among $17.2 billion in congressional earmarks made by U.S. legislators for the 2008 federal budget. About $559 million was allotted to Texas. While the $17.2 billion amounts to just one-half of 1 percent of all federal spending, you take a million here and a billion there, and eventually it adds up to some real money.
$1 million
To the city of Fort Worth, for “pre-disaster mitigation” planning. That’s $1.99 for the three-ring binder, plus a $999,998.01 fortune-telling fee.
$705,000
For Texas A&M to build robots that will help explore the moon and Mars. No word yet on whether these will help make Bonfire safe again.
$316,000
To pay for new health care equipment at Southern Methodist University. Some creative bookkeeping might be able to direct the dough toward the $56 million the school’s athletics department has racked up over the last four years (as reported by SMU’s Daily Campus).
$195,000
To expand programming at and awareness of the Dallas Women’s Museum at Fair Park. A couple hundred grand ought to make the place a household name in North Texas, for sure.
$98,000
To the Arlington Chamber of Commerce for the “commercialization of technology” developed at the University of Texas at Arlington. Should a chamber really be trying to hawk technology?
by Dave Moore
