The Economics
Dear Charlotte,
Our current system of economic development has caused poverty, recreated the working class, and killed the American Dream. Over 25 years ago, state law created special Tourism taxes that assume we should pursue tourism-related projects because we all win. It’s based on a model I helped refine. It’s the opposite. Every dollar we spend on these projects makes our housing, transportation, and infrastructure problems worse. We all lose.
That same economic development, if done in partnership with a nonprofit, would support the people in the most need and create a more level playing field for all of us. We have to close the income gap. When Charlotte’s leaders pursued the NFL expansion team 25 years ago, Mr. McColl created a construction loan paid for by NFL fans (PSLs) so taxpayers wouldn’t pay to build a stadium. He was committed to ensuring everyone benefited from Charlotte’s growth. I did not take this alternative to him 20 years ago. I watched Hope die.
This is built on our country’s legacy from redlining. At the birth of the Middle Class, banks did not make mortgage loans in traditionally black neighborhoods. That was a market failure based in race. As the practice ended in the 1970s, local governments subsidized businesses in an attempt to attract investment in those neighborhoods. Rather than make those investments where it wasn’t profitable, nonprofit foundations began amassing wealth. Charlotte is the most extreme example. It caused systemic racism. I didn’t explain the implications of the analysis I helped refine 25 years ago. Many of the people responsible didn’t see this perspective. I’ve accepted responsibility, presented the alternative to the Mayor and City Council and testified. I am invisible.
The Golden Rule in politics is “Never Lose a Team.” Stadium finance is my specific expertise in economic development finance. If we partner directly with David Tepper, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, and split any taxpayer contribution 50/50, we can use a stadium to close the gap and repair the American Dream. We can flip the ladder with teamwork, one project and one pledge. We all win.
Elections are a hiring process. Voting along a party line means voting for someone who checked a box labeled “Democrat” or “Republican.” Once in office, both are in partnership with the entity that’s causing our division. It’s why “both do it,” everyone loses and supporters of both parties get angrier with each election. Endorsements lack transparency. If we commit to listen to candidates for one hour each month and we all learn the role and responsibilities of that office from the perspective of the project, we can add accountability for ourselves so we better understand our votes. Rather than court endorsements and fundraisers, candidates will have the opportunity to learn how we fit together. Your pledge is a share in an anti-party and a return to civility. It’s the Middle.
I’m asking Mr. Hugh McColl, the General, to lead Charlotte’s about-face. He invested in us. Charlotte felt different. I did not take this problem and alternative to him then. Now it is a system and you are trapped without an alternative. If you pledge, with one hour each month, I can explain both the system and the finance in a way that you will understand. There’s a lot of information on this website. Once you identify with the Project, please Pledge. Please give me one year. This is my legacy not his.
In 2009, David Tepper invested in Bank of America before our government saved banks in Too Big to Fail. That was important in Charlotte. He is an economist with a professional career spent competing in the private sector. Also in 2009, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Prof. Elinor Ostrom for her work in the other side of our economy, the economics of the public sector. It’s the part where we can deal with our economic situation together. It’s teamwork. He has committed to his legacy through philanthropy, leadership and endowing his alma mater. The American Dream is about opportunity. We have to commit to some teamwork if we want to compete. We need to ask him to invest his political capital in us and negotiate on our behalf. In 2019, the stakes are even higher. It won’t work unless we do the work ourselves. We must “Learn it. Earn it. Return it.” We have to save Democracy.
We all win or we all lose.
Please help me change this legacy. Please hire me.
~ Leslie Dwyer, MPA, BA