Mick Mulvaney is the Grinch who stole my Christmas column. I had something warm and fuzzy planned, a feel-good paean of praise to decent things happening this time of year, despite the horrors of war in Iraq. I was determined to be upbeat, but then along came Mr. Mulvaney, swamping my thoughts of Christmas cheer with his farewell flood of vitriolic propaganda as a “community” columnist in The Charlotte Observer.
You may remember Mr. Mulvaney, a developer of cookie-cutter subdivisions, from his astonishing series of essays during 2004 in which he gleefully exposed his greed and misanthropy for all to see. It’s easy to dismiss his bizarre rantings as the product of a delusional mind, and not worth the effort of rebuttal, but judged by his columns, Mr. Mulvaney gleans a lot of material from rightwing websites that manufacture distortions and falsehoods for a living, filling the airwaves, cyberspace and newsprint with misinformation designed to confuse the public. So, regretfully, a rebuttal is in order.
Mulvaney’s single point, endlessly made, is that capitalism is the greatest system on earth, and anyone who interferes with the unfettered operation of the market — especially his property market — is a communist. Yep, it’s that simple, according to Mulvaney. If you objected to a badly planned subdivision that put extra stress on the roads you travel, or overcrowded the school your kids attend, you’re a communist.
It’s hard for a Brit like myself to be lectured on the merits of capitalism by an American developer, because the last time I looked, the UK invented this economic system back in the 18th century, when America was a colony. Britain practiced a rapacious brand of capitalism that created the biggest maritime and trading empire in the world. This history’s in my blood, where its successes mingle with its often horrific costs — like slavery, child labor, environmental ruination, the subjugation of indigenous peoples, monopoly cartels and financial fraud.
Uncontrolled capitalism of the variety worshipped by Mr. Mulvaney always produces results unacceptable to a civilized society, and intelligent, reasonable people understand that government action is required to curb its abuses. And governments come in many forms; in recent decades, capitalism has been practiced successfully in various political regimes — the social democracies of Scandinavia, the consensus politics of Japan, and the previous military dictatorship of South Korea to name but three. It’s nothing more than a naive vanity to equate capitalism with American-style democracy.
It’s also naive to think that market forces are free from government manipulation in America; by contrast, intervention in the market is rampant in the USA. It takes the form of all sorts of subsidies, tax credits and incentives. Mick Mulvaney the columnist would have you believe that there should be no government intervention in his “free” market. But Mick Mulvaney the developer takes government handouts left, right, and center on every project. I know a hypocrite when I see one.
Who do you think subsidizes the roads that open up land for development, or the sewers that serve Mulvaney’s subdivisions? You and I, in our taxes. No developer, Mulvaney included, ever pays the full cost of the infrastructure that serves his projects. Part or all of these ever-increasing costs is always borne by the taxpayer, but the developer gets to keep all his profits from his subsidized developments.
Particularly obnoxious were sections of Mulvaney’s last column in which he gloated over the recent demise of the regional advocacy group “Voices and Choices.” He accused the organization of lying about environmental issues, and being part of the “left-wing misinformation machine.” In Mulvaney’s world, any person or organization that dares tell the truth about developers and their actions is branded thus. Mr. Mulvaney must spend so much time in the warped world of rightwing websites and their media echo chamber that his ability to tell truth from lies has become impaired.
I’m pleased to announce, however, that rumors of the death of “Voices and Choices” are much exaggerated. I take great pleasure in proclaiming to the Mulvaneys of this world that the organization is regrouping and reentering the fray, taking up the banner again for Charlotte’s quality of life and future prosperity. These voices of reason will once again advocate better land use and transportation policies, and promote regional collaboration to solve regional issues.
Certain truths are self-evident. Growth does not pay for itself. For Mulvaney to make his profits, we, the taxpayers, must subsidize development by paying part of the costs for roads, sewers, schools and every other expense that growth brings. This financial contribution entitles the public the right to modify and moderate developers’ proposal, and reject them if they’re bad.
For all this messy complexity, growth — if properly managed — is a good thing. In fact, it’s essential. But let’s be honest about the costs — something Mick Mulvaney finds hard to do.
This article appears in Dec 22-28, 2004.
