“President Obama did not come to Western North Carolina. Obama came to Asheville.” – Joe Minicozzi, Executive Director of the Asheville Downtown Association.
Ok, I made that up. Sort of. Joe Minicozzi did pretty much say that one evening recently in an interview with David Hurand on WCQS. It was an edition of “Byline” as I recall. Yes, I could go look it up, but I’m a little busy over here. Look it up yourself, slacker. Anyway, his point was clear — Asheville is the driving economic force in Western North Carolina. His point, however, was incorrect.
The press reported Obama’s visit to our region as a visit to Asheville. He was, in fact, visiting Buncombe County, Western North Carolina. Let’s review the First Couple’s itinerary:
- Airport
- 12 Bones
- Grove Park Inn
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- GPI Golf Course / Spa
- Biltmore Estate
- Corner Kitchen
- GPI Golf Course
- Montreat
- Airport
Where, exactly, does Downtown fit in that itinerary? How is it that Downtown Asheville is floating the boat for all of Buncombe County and Western North Carolina? The truth is, it is not. In fact, Downtown Asheville stands on the shoulders of Buncombe County and our region to attract the tourists and retirees which are vital to the shops, restaurants, services, hospitals, and residential construction in our region. There is not a picture of Downtown which does not set it properly in the context of the natural beauty which surrounds it on all sides. People come here to be in the mountains. They are delighted to find good food and interesting shopping once they arrive.
As was true with the development of our water resources, the growth of Asheville is a project in which the whole county and region have participated. So when we talk about how the revenues which are now produced are distributed, we need to recognize what make those revenues possible. The fact that a tax is paid in Asheville does not ipso facto mean that Asheville is solely responsible for generating the activity that produced the tax. It is also true that, while 2/3 of the county population resides outside the City of Asheville, the retail opportunities lie largely within the city limits. If we view the distribution of tax revenue as a “return” to the taxpayer, then an ad valorem system in Buncombe County may be a more equitable way of returning that revenue. I have more work to do here, but my point is that there are a lot of things that happen in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro that don’t happen here. For good reason. There are good reasons for our tax structure to be different as well.