 On Point Vincent Carroll, editor of the editorial pages, writes his On Point column most weekdays. He is also an author and freelance writer. Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com. |
Carroll: Beneficent barons
For the past six years,” Hillary Clinton proclaimed this week while promising to raise taxes on the wealthy, “it’s been like going back to the era of the robber barons.”
Sen. Clinton is a very busy woman and probably has little time to dig below outdated historical cliches. In fact, the era of the “robber barons” was characterized, for the most part, by dynamic growth that propelled the United States into the front ranks of worldwide industrial powers while pushing millions of its citizens out of poverty.
Sure, some of the notorious businessmen of the time were greedy scoundrels, not unlike Ken Lay, Bernie Ebbers and others who thrived, Clinton might usefully be reminded, under the presidency of The Man from Hope. But many others, during both eras, were anything but “robbers.”
As economics professor Thomas DiLorenzo has written, “Men like James J. Hill, John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt were heroes who improved the lives of millions of consumers; employed thousands . . . created entire cities because of the success of their enterprises (for example, Scranton, Pa.); pioneered efficient management techniques that are still employed today; and donated hundreds of millions of dollars to charities and nonprofit organizations of all kinds, from libraries to hospitals to symphonies, public parks and zoos.”
Congested thinking
Nearly every day — OK, maybe more like every week — the Rocky Mountain News or The Denver Post publishes an article quoting some expert who laments traffic congestion allegedly caused by urban “sprawl,” or advocates more density as the path to “livable communities.”
Also every week, those same papers report on some neighborhood’s opposition to high-density development based, in part, on fears of .
Are those local homeowners uniformly stupid or uniformed in their fears? Or do they know intuitively something that eludes too many experts who can’t put down their ideological blinders?
Clearly the latter is the case.
The most recent example of misleading rhetoric on sprawl occurred in Saturday’s excellent Rocky article on population growth along the Interstate 25 corridor from Northglenn to Greeley. “My biggest concern is that a sound planning and development process is compromised by shortsighted goals, with congestion-promoting sprawl the result,” one consultant was quoted as saying.
Naturally sprawl promotes congestion if the alternative is freezing growth altogether. But if the alternative is packing more people into higher density developments, as almost always is the case, then sprawl does nothing of the kind. Naturally sprawl promotes congestion if the alternative is prohibiting growth altogether. But in the real world, the alternative to sprawl is to pack more people into higher-density developments, which aggravates congestion even more.
If you think higher densities relieve congestion, you need to visit Manhattan, San Francisco, Paris or Rome and rent a car. Yes, the average number of miles per motorist declines as densities rise, but the decline is relatively modest — not nearly enough to offset the fact that more cars must be crowded onto the same streets.
There may be plenty of decent arguments to marshal on behalf of higher densities, but curing congestion isn’t one of them. Density isn’t the cure; it’s a cause.
Welcome to Colorado
Thanks to Supermax, Colorado is home to some of the most unsavory criminals on the planet — everyone from 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
Now, thanks to the peerless lung specialists at National Jewish Medical Center, our state is becoming a destination for those afflicted with a rare and perilous form of tuberculosis, too.
Who says Coloradans are reluctant to embrace diversity?
Vincent Carroll is editor of the editorial pages. Reach him at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com.
Vince is willfully stupid.
Greater urban density reduces congestion when people DON'T DRIVE because they live close to their work or use mass transit.
All the cities Vinny mentioned have outstanding mass transit systems. Go to Manhattan and rent a car? Who's that stupid?
Oh I forgot. Vince Carroll
Posted by Carroll's a shlub on June 1, 2007 11:00 AMOnce again, the "progressive" speaks up and hurls insults and names. Such a service to discourse are liberals, right? Hypocrisy, thy name is DEMOCRAT!
Posted by CC on June 1, 2007 11:26 AMThis is yet another example of Clinton's war on capitalism. Recall her response to reports that oil companies had posted record profits? She wanted to take those profits and have them invested in the creation of alternative energy sources that will help make America “energy independent.” That's right. Confiscate corporate profits - shareholder profits - for government redistribution. Now, how is that any different from Chavez in Venezuela? Hillary is all about redistributive socialism.
Posted by SlouchingtowardBoulder on June 1, 2007 11:30 AMGee, I didn't realize the robber barons pulled so many out of poverty. Wasn't TR's election a repudiation of the robber baron's? I guess the people just didn't know how good they had it.
As for JD Rockefeller, a few of his minions gunned down women and children at Ludlow Colo. Somehow I find it hard to see him as a respected or honorable figure (as the words or Mr. Carroll along with the picture of JD in the print edition suggest).
Posted by anderson on June 1, 2007 05:12 PMClinton's war on capitalism? You mean like her vote for the latest bankruptcy bill? For the invasion of Iraq? She knows where her bread is buttered, even if you don't have a clue, Slouch.
Posted by anderson on June 1, 2007 05:14 PMVince is just a footsoldier trying to convince his readers that trickle down economics isn't the failure proven twice over to be a boon for the wealthy and a bane for the poor.
Posted by jay on June 2, 2007 11:34 AMLet's see, San Francisco, Manhattan, Paris and Rome are all world-class cities, the envy of the world.
Denver is a cowtown, the envy of Omaha.
Vince Carroll is the editorial page editor of the Rocky Mountain News which is a phenomenal waste of good newsprint.
And yet Denver is perinnially at the top of the best cities to live lists....
Posted by on June 3, 2007 10:37 PMTypical liberals. Self-loathing runs supreme. And Jay, I'm sure you would prefer European socialism. After all, Germany and France are running on all cylinders. Right?
Posted by SlouchingtowardBoulder on June 4, 2007 03:24 PMClinton = Royal
Posted by E-HO on June 4, 2007 06:29 PMSpeaking of not having a clue: how on earth does voting to invade Iraq have anything to do with capitalism? Do you even know what capitalism is?
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