In yesterday's Greensboro News & Record there was an opinion piece written by Susan Shore Schwartz, Tom Taylor and Dawn Chaney, titled Downtown best place for an arts center. It just so happens that all three work for Downtown Greensboro Inc. a taxpayer funded non-profit whose sole business is to put more money in the pockets of downtown Greensboro business owners at the expense of we-the-taxpayers.
Susan, Tom and Dawn get paid to promote downtown and cited the following reasons as to why downtown is the best location for Greensboro's performing arts center:
"- Bolstering hundreds of small shops, restaurants and attractions already downtown.
-- Providing a central location that can better serve the entire community.
-- Taking advantage of existing infrastructure, including roads, transit and parking.
-- Adding to the current mix of theaters and nightlife in the center city.
-- Reinforcing art and cultural groups that operate in the center city.
-- Strengthening the county’s largest business center."
You'll note one key theme throughout their reasons, that being that they want to use our tax dollars to bolster and promote the people who already have money. Taxing the poor to entertain the rich. They go on to concentrate on the following:
"Downtown has attracted a number of catalyst projects that created businesses, jobs and residences over the past decade. These projects include NewBridge Bank Park, Center City Park, Southside Neighborhood, Center Pointe, Elon University School of Law, the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, the Greene Street Roundabout, the residential incentive fund, the Lindbrook/Bin 33 project and Greenway at Fisher Park Apartments. All told, the city spent about $10.9 million to help with these projects."
So somehow, the fact that we-the-taxpayers have already given incentives to downtown business owners to the tune of $10.9 Million Dollars is justification for spending $72 Million Dollars more so downtown business owners can continue to thrive while our neighborhoods slowly die is justification for a downtown performing arts center?
Yeah, right!
And if by chance this is your first time visiting this blog: this is the 73rd article I've written in favor of building a Greensboro Performing Arts Center inside the little green circle in Northeast Greensboro. If you'd like to know more you can begin with Why Not East Greensboro? and follow the links or use the Table of Contents to keep up.
Continue to article #74 Ignoring Our Greensboro Communities Is Deliberate.
