Mobile
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
News / Opinion N.C. Senate eliminates greenway funding
Posted By John Grooms on Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 11:51 AM
If anyone wants proof (rather, more proof) that the 2013 General Assembly debacle in Raleigh is largely driven by narrow ideology rather than common sense or concerns about quality of life, then here you go. On Tuesday the N.C. Senate eliminated $1.2 million from the Transportation Department budget for greenway trails. Got rid of it - poof! - just like that. Never mind that greenways are increasingly popular nationwide, including North Carolina. Never mind that the state's greenway program is already seriously underfunded. And never mind that the $1.2 million would bring the state another $4.5 million in matching funds to build yet more greenways. Or that greenways invariably bring a rise in nearby home sales and real estate prices. Moreover, as pointed out by N.C. Policy Watch, never mind that $1.2 million is less than the cost of building one lousy mile of highway in North Carolina.
Yep, never mind all that common-sense stuff, because the underlying reason for cutting greenway funding has little to do with thoughtful policy. The culprit here, to be blunt, is the grumpy-white-hick attitude that has dominated most of the legislature's current session. Sometimes it's hard to figure which is worse: the business-toadying politicians dedicated to giving away the state to big corporations, or the boors and bumpkins who simply resent that "things ain't the way they wuz when they's brung up." But make no mistake about the views of those who killed greenway funding - they may as well wear nametags saying "Resentful Rube."
You see, "greenway" has the word "green" in it. That means trees and grass and all that nature stuff, which are all things beloved by communist environmentalists. It means that a bunch of squishy liberals on their bicycles, wearing their nanny-state helmets and coddling their granola-eatin' kids, are gonna be having fun somewhere, at some point in time. So you just know it's a stupid thing for the state to pay for. Hell, the next thing you know, the libs will want us to pay for their croissants and tofu. I wish to God that I was kidding, but I'm telling you: I grew up around these folks, or at least their cultural twins, and there's not much exaggeration in the little portrait I'm painting here.
Sometimes political decisions are made for logical reasons, even if not everyone agrees with the lawmakers' logic. Other times, particularly when a lot of new, like-thinking representatives and senators are swept into office at once, decisions are made for truly imbecilic reasons. Unfortunately, those reasons nearly always make for harmful, even spiteful legislation. That's just the kind of cultural retreads and insensitive fools that are running Raleigh right now, and who are gradually turning this beautiful state into a version of Mississippi.
Related Stories
-
N.C. House proposals will wreck our schools 4
The House's budget proposes increasing class sizes and limiting pre-k eligibility, among other stupid ideas
-
N.C. GOP keen to execute more black men 5
The Racial Justice Act is this-close from being repealed
-
Have a happy, Sharia-free weekend! 4
A ridiculous bill sweeping through the General Assembly takes aim at the rules
-
Alice in General Assemblyland 10
The latest in legislative lunacy
Speaking of...
Comments (15)
Showing 1-15 of 15
Latest in The CLog
More by John Grooms
-
Question the Queen City: The unsolved death of Delette Nycum 2
The trial that followed was nothing short of a Charlotte version of the O.J. Simpson spectacle.
-
Scott Avett shares art
The one day exhibit showcases impressive new paintings by Avett.
-
Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
