Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/211425
Sarasota News Leader November 15, 2013 Page 12 infamous Koch brothers, and Wendell Cox, affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, also funded in part by the Koch brothers. Brain says O'Toole has "made a career out of being a critic of smart growth methods," like those employed in Portland, OR, and calls O'Toole's use of data and statistics "insidiously manipulative." Both O'Toole and Cox have "'made money out of selling themselves as consultants who are brought in by anti-growth-management, anti-transit lobbies," Brain adds. Brain calls the entire report an "ideological rant." When he heard Arduin would be reviewing fiscal neutrality, he didn't connect her with Laffer, he says. "I didn't understand the extent to which Laffer is part of the Heritage Arthur Laffer is a nationally known economist. Foundation cabal that is all about attacking Photo courtesy The Laffer Center smart growth, focused on this absolute worship of the free market and absolute hatred of opportunities even to choose traditional American automobile use," the Laffer report any sort of planning." states. "But these policies transgress powerSTRONG LANGUAGE ful, ingrained American preferences for bigger ON SMART GROWTH houses in spacious suburbs, and what has "Smart growth is more associated with pre- been often described as an outright American scriptive zoning codes, insufficient parking love affair with the automobile. Every teenage space by design, and other coercive poli- boy lusts after getting his own car as soon as cies to impose elitist views favoring smaller, possible, and when he marries, the couple's high density living spaces and highly limited American Dream is to move to the suburbs to raise their children sooner than possible." We have no desire to have anything to do with the urban service boundary. It's carved in stone. For that to be even mentioned is not relevant. Joe Barbetta Commissioner Sarasota County Laffer's answer? Eliminate smart growth entirely in favor of "actual growth." "Smart Growth is conceived and designed to pursue what various 'elites,' intellectual, progressive, governmental, bureaucratic, believe is most preferable in urban, and suburban, development, and what those elites think will best serve consumers, workers, families, the