Billionaires & taxes
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Some of the most entitled people in America aren’t standing in welfare lines, they’re lobbying at state capitals. Consider the case of Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper.
North Carolina legislators are examining extending the Mecklenburg County prepared food tax through 2060 in order to help fund $600 million in bonds toward a $1.2 billion renovation of the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium, The Center Square reported.
This report comes on the heels of Nashville approving $1.26 billion of public funding and a $3.1 billion estimated tax capture over 30 years for a new $2.1 billion Tennessee Titans stadium and the Buffalo Bills receiving more than $1 billion in public funding for a new stadium.
The research consensus on the topic says it is not in the public’s best interest to fund the building of professional sports stadiums. Even when you build some sort of entertainment-type district around it, like they did with The Battery at Truist Park for the Atlanta Braves, the area’s economic impact is still limited.
Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018 for $2.2 billion and Forbes says he is worth $18.5 billion, making him the 90th-richest person in the world. Today, his team is valued at about $3 billion.
If owners want taxpayers to fork over fortunes to build or rebuild their professional athlete playpens, then it’s only fair that when the billionaire owners eventually sell their teams, they should be required to pay back taxpayers for their generosity – and with interest.
Plans for protection
Buncombe County has joined Clay County in placing a one-year moratorium on any new cryptocurrency mining operations; Macon County is also considering a ban. Meanwhile, three crypto mines were already built in Cherokee County before anyone raised a red flag of concern.
To be fair, Core Scientific’s enclosed plant in Marble, which is surrounded by 30 acres and plenty of trees, has not been problematic. However, Ankr Mining Solutions’ unattractive facility on Harshaw Road in Murphy has showed neighbors for miles in each direction just what it’s like to experience the unrelenting roar of an unregulated crypto mine.
Cherokee County commissioners’ attempts to pass an updated noise ordinance proved fruitless. In December, the county passed its second resolution in two years asking the N.C. General Assembly for more power to regulate cryptocurrency mines. And in March, commissioners established a planning board – themselves, as it turns out – which is required by the state in order to implement a land use ordinance.
Cherokee County has always been a place that has championed the rights and liberties of individual property owners, for which we say amen. The new planning board will hopefully be the first step in giving local residents the protection they deserve from lousy neighbors.
Keep notices public
Legislation to move public notices from local newspapers to respective county websites is drawing blowback from the N.C. Press Association, which argues the move will reduce transparency and imperil civic engagement. And they’re 100 percent right.
Senate Bill 200 would allow Onslow County or any municipality within it to post public notices required by law on the county’s website, eliminating existing requirements to post legal notices in paid general circulation newspapers, according to The Center Square. Legal notices can involve important government information and events, including hearings and meetings; zoning and land use changes; election notices; municipal budgets; taxes and special assessments; requests for bids on government contracts; permits and licensing applications; land and water use regulations; and judicial and executive sales.
“The real issue is … giving government total control over messaging,” said Lockwood Phillips, owner and publisher of the Carteret County News-Times and Tideland News. “It is a disservice to the public designed to avoid public transparency and accessibility, which damages the credibility of the government.”
The press association maintains a database of public notices that’s accessed by more than 30,000 users and uploads more than 12,500 notices, on average, per month. Newspapers like the Cherokee Scout already place those notices online free for all to view. In short, there is no compelling reason to back this bill.
– Publisher David Brown