AMGers are split on a proposal by a Republican legislator to stick it to those damn hippies and tax bicycles.

They aren’t split on the underlying motivation- they’d LOVE to stick it to those dirty hippies with their healthy, non-fossil fuel burning mode of transportation – but some people just dislike taxes more than they dislike hippies.

This has come up on AMG before. In general, building trails or paths or bike lanes is just a waste of time and money. You know, touchy-feely stuff. They’ve been waiting to get their guy into the Blaine House so we can see some real economic development.

I was reminded of this AMG pick-on-the-bikes thread when I read some news today from Cincinnati. The city of Cincinnati had planned to renovate and restart their streetcar system. This kind of system is very popular in Portland, Oregon and several other cities around the country. Portland, for instance, claims that every one dollar they invest in the streetcar system has resulted in thirteen dollars of private investment along the route.

But the naysayers in Ohio know it is touchy-feely bullshit. If Starbucks sipping elitists like the idea too much, it must be a bad thing. The new government in Ohio withdrew funding for the project.

Where am I going with this? Well, streetcars and bike paths are sort of similar. People in cities like quiet, clean, frequently available transportation options. And they like bike paths. They’re both “quality of life” improvements that don’t make a dollar for dollar direct profit- but they are the sort of thing that attract families to your city. Young families especially. Professional families too.

But Ohio is going to keep doing what they’ve been doing, because that has worked so well. Same for Maine’s rural conservatives. They just need to lower taxes a little bit more and all the young families are going to do the math and move there in droves.

That idea is just false. People dont dive into the local tax records when they buy a home. They want a nice home in a nice area with nice recreational options.

My point: Maine conservatives who usually pray at the alter of “business-friendly” never seem to want to look at the city in Maine that prospers the most: Portland.

Do tax rates REALLY matter? Hmm. Idaho has really low taxes. Do you know any big companies from Idaho? Do you own anything sold by an Idaho business?

Now think about San Francisco. Can you think of any big companies that have found success out there?

Why the difference? Why isn’t Idaho doing better than San Fran? More locally, why is Portland doing better than everywhere else? Why hasn’t Apple and Google left California for the low tax paradise of Idaho? Or Mississippi?

When conservative Republicans are in charge nothing is done to attract people other than lower taxes. This leads to a place like Mississippi. Yeah, it’s cheap, but the schools suck. The health and lifestyle sucks. Therefore, the economy sucks.

Meanwhile, places like Portland, Oregon try new things. They build things people want. Portland, Maine does this too. We’ve got an extensive bike and trail system, pretty good schools, and a bunch of other stuff that costs a bit more money but, well, all those kids from your town who moved here seem to think it’s worth it.