Connolly's FBI Foolishness
Our Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Gerry Connolly, once again proves that his first loyalty is to Tyson Corner's big landowners. The FBI has announced that it will be moving its regional headquarters from Tysons Corner to Prince William County. Mr. Connolly decries this as a terrible result for Fairfax County that would make traffic worse.
Yet, this is the very same Gerry Connolly who argues that there are too many cars at Tysons now, such that taxpayers & toll road drivers need to pay billions more to build the Silver Line, and that the mismatch of jobs and residences at Tysons requires the addition of well more than 130,000 new residents at Tysons. Smart growth, not sprawl chirps Chairman Connolly to the smiling approval of West Group and other big Tysons landowners.
But now, Connolly objects to the movement of jobs closer to where the workers actually live. When a scale is out of balance, the situation can be added by adjusting either side or both. If too many people drive to Tysons each day, jamming our roads, one solution is to reduce the number of people driving. That can be done with transit, telecommuting and also moving good-paying jobs to near where workers live. I suspect that, just as with the BRAC move of jobs from Crystal City to Fort Belvior, the move of the FBI from Tysons to Prince William would actually reduce the commutes of many workers. Moreover, even for those workers living in Fairfax County, the relocation would create more reverse-commuting traffic on roads such as I-66. People would drive west in the morning and east at night and not vice versa. Balancing traffic flows provides a better and more efficient use of highways.
Spreading good jobs throughout the area reduces the need to build public facilities in Fairfax County. Since Connolly and his colleagues don't seek adequate proffers to pay for some of these facilities, the costs fall on county residents. We suffer both higher taxes and declining quality of life. Of course, the commercial landowners, whose share of real estate taxes has declined for six straight years, might lose a bit of rent. In the eyes of Gerry Connolly, better ordinary residents pay more to supersize Tysons Corner than for his campaign contributors to take a hit.
The FBI's move will save taxpayers, both federal and local, money. It's a good move for all of us.
Yet, this is the very same Gerry Connolly who argues that there are too many cars at Tysons now, such that taxpayers & toll road drivers need to pay billions more to build the Silver Line, and that the mismatch of jobs and residences at Tysons requires the addition of well more than 130,000 new residents at Tysons. Smart growth, not sprawl chirps Chairman Connolly to the smiling approval of West Group and other big Tysons landowners.
But now, Connolly objects to the movement of jobs closer to where the workers actually live. When a scale is out of balance, the situation can be added by adjusting either side or both. If too many people drive to Tysons each day, jamming our roads, one solution is to reduce the number of people driving. That can be done with transit, telecommuting and also moving good-paying jobs to near where workers live. I suspect that, just as with the BRAC move of jobs from Crystal City to Fort Belvior, the move of the FBI from Tysons to Prince William would actually reduce the commutes of many workers. Moreover, even for those workers living in Fairfax County, the relocation would create more reverse-commuting traffic on roads such as I-66. People would drive west in the morning and east at night and not vice versa. Balancing traffic flows provides a better and more efficient use of highways.
Spreading good jobs throughout the area reduces the need to build public facilities in Fairfax County. Since Connolly and his colleagues don't seek adequate proffers to pay for some of these facilities, the costs fall on county residents. We suffer both higher taxes and declining quality of life. Of course, the commercial landowners, whose share of real estate taxes has declined for six straight years, might lose a bit of rent. In the eyes of Gerry Connolly, better ordinary residents pay more to supersize Tysons Corner than for his campaign contributors to take a hit.
The FBI's move will save taxpayers, both federal and local, money. It's a good move for all of us.
posted by Toomanytaxes at 7:18 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home