Libertarian plan will spawn new jobs
STANLEY (Sept. 23) -- The key to job growth in Lincoln County is small
businesses, said Shane Killian, Libertarian candidate for county
commissioner.
"That might not be as sexy as getting large businesses with thousands
of jobs, but it's far more practical," he said. Killian cited a statewide
survey showing that business leaders in the state consider an "onerous
regulatory burden" to be a significant impediment and the tax burden as
the greatest impediment to economic growth.
"That's the key," Killian said. "Get rid of zoning and other
regulations that don't work and only get in the way of growth and get
these taxes down. Our taxes are higher than in Catawba and Gaston. We can
easily get it down to the statewide median."
The biggest obstacle is zoning, he said. "No business is going to move
into an area with Draconian zoning laws when they can go elsewhere where
they are given greater freedom from the high cost of compliance," Killian
said. "They may not want to do anything the zoning laws prohibit in the
first place and yet they still have to pay to prove to the government
they're not doing it."
Killian cited statistics showing the county may be keeping away as much
as 84 percent of potential businesses with its zoning ordinance alone.
"Government cannot create jobs," said Killian. "Only the free market
can do that. Whenever government tries to create jobs, it just makes
busywork that doesn't actually create any wealth. In fact, government
programs just consume resources without contributing anything. So we all
lose."
Nor do so-called "targeted" tax cuts and business subsidies work, he
added. "All they do is support politically-connected businesses at the
expense of everyone else. We need to cut taxes across the board."
"Let businesses have more money to operate and let people have more
money to spend on them," he said. That would encourage the formation of
small businesses. It will not only entice businesses to move into Lincoln,
it will also encourage people here to start their own business, Killian
said.
"Lincoln County workers are dedicated people. Many have the
entrepreneurial spirit to start their own business instead of living in
poverty, if the government will only get out of their way," he said.
Instead of a few plants employing 1,000 people each, the county could
have dozens of smaller businesses employing dozens of people each. "The
same overall quantity of jobs would be there, but we wouldn't have so many
eggs in so few baskets," he said.
Killian isn't making any grand promises. "We're not going to be a
Charlotte or even a Hickory by a long shot, but we can get a good, strong
local economy," he said. "It involves making a lot of tough choices, but
I'm willing to get in there and do that. That's the very reason I'm
running."
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