The benefits of “economic development” are unequally distributed.
Sound familiar?
Here’s a story bout that theme, and censorship, and tourism in Oaxaca.
It could happen here. Hell, it’s already happening here. Are you deriving any benefit from those downtown hotels? Or the ballpark? Or WestStar Tower at Hunt Plaza? They all got tax incentives, and the collateral economic development they promised never happened.
But you won’t hear any criticism from our local media, because, mostly, they’re afraid of the local economic and political power of the rich guys.
Check it out.
I just completed three days downtown at the Envision El Paso conference and will write more about it on my Facebook page. Mostly, it was the City telling us how great it all is or will be but the cherry on the cake was the three gal panel yesterday. Individually, they represented the Borderplex, the Foundation and the Chamber. Their unanimous message to us was that we need more upscale amentities to attract upscale people to El Paso, forget the little problem of indebtedness. One of them, the Borderplex gal I think, actually said that new companies locating here send their best executives to start up the business and that the city has to be friendly to them with luxury shopping and attractions.
Next, they’ll open a Nieman Marcus in the old Popular store.
They’re just tenderizing the market for those new Quality of Life projects, like the soccer stadium they’re going to put on top of the deck plaza.