He Who Giveth, Taketh (and gives to his friends)

In his posting below, Jim rightfully bashes Congress. I want to trash our beloved Albuquerque City Council too. During last night’s meeting, Council approved $147 million in TIDD subsidies in order to redevelop Winrock Shopping Center. Abundant literature shows that TIDD and TIF are economic losers.
At the very same meeting, in a move that could have helped revitalize downtown — yes, remember downtown, the area that is at the center of so many government planning experiments — Council denied the Church of Scientology a permit that would have allowed them to get to work right away on moving into new digs.
The problem with putting government bureaucrats and politicians in charge of development is that they will subsidize their friends and contributors and they will obstruct those, like the Church of Scientology, that may be outsiders or hold unpopular views. Unfortunately, this is currently the way of the world.