This is an opinion piece written by Curtis Bloes.
A viewer wrote in suggesting, (I think,) that an economic corridor with the name SLEC be formed to grow what is now known as highway 20 between Sac City and Lytton.
I’m going to assume for a minute that the idea of the SLEC isn’t bs, that there are actual adults contemplating spending the next couple of decades devoting their sad, sad lives to bringing business to that area instead of something more useful... like raising turtles. It will be hard, but I will make myself take this seriously.
I think the organization that you are describing will do the following:
1. Without the authority of the landowners, it will arbitrarily decide that all of the land between Sac City and Lytton that touches D20 (or whatever it ends up being called) is ripe for economic development.
2. They will pressure the landowners using half-truths about how much it will benefit them, resorting in later years to outright lies and exploitation of highly technical federal laws to bring the land-owners into compliance against their will.
3. When the landowners have given up and decided that it is just easier to go along with the idiocy instead of fighting it, the SLEC will begin to pressure Sac City and Lytton to fund them. If either city council questions the need, the people serving on those councils will be labeled anti-progress.
4. The first “great” thing that will happen is that the SLEC will qualify for a grant of f-F-FI-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS IN TOTALLY FREE MONEY THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO TOTTALLY GIVE TO “US” (the SLEC,) FOR FREE!!!!!11! (as long as both towns commit to contributing something like $20,000 apiece to get this amazing grant.) If either town says, that they don’t have $20,000ish then the SLEC will make sure that the people serving on that council are labeled anti-progress. Through some clever bookkeeping, the money will be socked away for use in the hiring of a future director who,( not surprisingly,) is probably the brains behind the SLEC in the first place.
5. From that point on, if an existing business between Sac City and Lytton is planning to upgrade in any way, (say, adding on a new bathroom,) the SLEC will furiously comb through the red tape and see if they can “help” them get a grant for any amount. The business will be happy to get a $30.00 grant to buy new toilet paper roll hangers or whatever insignificant thing they can get. If the business qualifies for the grant the SLEC will trumpet their success in the local media and use it as a means for convincing city councils that they are legitimate and that those councils should help fund them. If they fail, they will paint themselves as the heroes who are at least trying. Anyone that dares to point out to them that in the grand scheme of things, getting a grant for a business that has already independently decided they could afford to upgrade is of no significance, will be labeled anti-progress.
6. In the meantime, the SLEC will find that they need a director. The director, (what a shock,) will be a paid position. The person that they hire will become the face of the SLEC, and whenever anyone criticizes the failing efforts of the SLEC they will make sure that it is characterized in the community as a personal attack against the director… and that those who are critical are anti-progress.
7. The SLEC will slowly worm their way into the local government, placing people in leadership roles to guarantee that their funding remains constant.
8. In the meantime, somebody, somewhere will decide that maybe they can siphon some the convenience store business from town if they build a gas station at the intersection of D20 and 71 (highway 20, 196.) The SLEC will not be on the ground floor of this business . They will probably have nothing to do with the deal, BUT, as soon as any of the SLEC members hear about the deal they will approach the owner and offer to help them find grants or loans to help them build. The business owner, not wanting to turn down free help will agree to let them look on his/her behalf. If the SLEC is successful in getting the new business a grant or loan for any insignificant amount, they will trumpet their success in the local media and use it as a means for convincing city councils that they are legitimate and that they should fund them. If they fail, they will paint themselves as the heroes who are at least trying. Anyone that dares to point out to them that in the grand scheme of things, getting a grant for a business who has already decided that they can afford to build, isn’t really accomplishing anything, will be labeled anti-progress.
9. Eventually, the director of the SLEC will lose interest and quit trying to grow the Sac Lytton Economic Corridor. The director will instead spend all of their time trying to leverage their directorship into a political leadership position so that they can just give themselves whatever money they need without having to go through the pretense of asking of it. People who are tired of the SLEC’s bs will be understandably opposed to the idea of the director leading anyone other than their own delusional board and will fight tooth and nail against anything this person says. The SLEC board will remind everyone that those that oppose their director in an election are anti-progress.
10. 20 years out the SLEC will have taken credit for whatever number of businesses are out there. They will label their efforts a success and people will be forced to admit that they don’t know how many businesses would be there if the SLEC had not existed. It will not matter if those businesses were going to move in and locate there anyway, since the members of the SLEC will have the local media in their pocket to reinforce that message of their success whether it is real or not. I feel that it’s important to point out that there will also be no numbers indicating how many businesses decided not to locate there because they found that dealing with the SLEC was too difficult.
I’m asking the serious question now, anonymous… Totally without any criticism or sarcasm intended.
Will the SLEC, as you envision it, be an operation run by and for the good and profit of the landowners along that corridor, or will it just be yet another power grab orchestrated by all of the usual pseudo-governmental suspects to further their own pseudo-governmental careers?
Copyright (c)2007-2010 Curtis Bloes All Rights Reserved
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