MPOs - Metro'$ power grab (Part 3)

Rent-seeking behavior:   When a company, organization or individual uses their resources to obtain an economic gain from others.  An example of rent seeking is when a company lobbies the government for loan subsidies, grants, or tariff protection which redistributes resources from the taxpayers to the special interest group.  

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Who's goals dominate in land use planning?  Governments that pass regulations and requirements on to local entities and may withhold funding if compliance is not forthcoming

Who gains?  The development industry (displaying rent-seeking behavior) who win special advantages from government funding.

Who pays?  There is only one source of funding for all government spending.  

In all of Metro's plans, they name their "project partners."  This is extremely important, because without the willing participation of local entities, Metro's plans would come to naught. None of this can be done without an IGA - an Intergovernmental Agreement, signed by the local government.  What we do, we do to our selves.  

The issue for citizens at the local (and state) level is whether or not the federal (and state) density and transit goals and their modes of implementation are compatible with local ideas.  And if not, what amount of money is worth submitting to a foreign vision of  the local landscape?  

How can a city accommodate growth on its own terms?  For all Metro's assumed power, it is the citizens, working at the local level that should determine their landscape and their future.  Growth will happen, and cities need to plan for it, but cities also need to protect a quality of life and independence that money can't buy.