Florida Today Letter to the Editor
May 10th, 2008

Dear Editor,

A hot topic in local politics right now is “economic development”. I have seen almost every candidate running for local office gush about how we must lure outside businesses to Brevard with tax abatements or cold, hard cash.

Proponents of these schemes argue they will promote the general welfare by creating jobs, market activity and increased tax revenue. This is the same argument used by advocates of eminent domain – that the rights and property of individuals should be subjugated to the whim of bureaucrats who know better than the taxpayers what constitutes the “common good”.

The notion that our tax dollars should be siphoned off to outside companies is no different than the notion they should be used to provide free rehab for drug addicts. Both positions assume government has the right to seize and redistribute our wealth for anything that “promotes the general welfare”.

Brevardians need to reject this socialist premise and everything it implies. In a free market, capital flows to where it is most efficiently utilized.

The answer to the economic development question isn’t to give away the farm to the politically connected few, but to remove regulations and lower taxes for ALL businesses in Brevard.

- Matt Nye