'Which Way?' Left, of course

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Ridiculous! That is the first thought that comes to mind about the Morrison Institute's report, which was more a statement of ideology than a scholarly study.

The institute's thinking is clearly influenced by its location at Arizona State University, where, because the faculty is on the public payroll, there is an affection for big government and a constant whining about taxes being too low. The faculty lounge is not a place to find a diversity of thought on socioeconomic issues.

When all of the lofty rhetoric is stripped away, Morrison studies have common themes: Central planning is better than free markets; government bureaucrats are smarter than citizens; higher taxes are better for the economy than lower taxes; mass transit is better than the automobile; local government should engage in industrial planning by picking the industry of the future; and a handful of elites on campus and in government know what is best for the Valley and for Scottsdale.

In the institute's eyes, any city that does not go along with such notions and nostrums is backward. And any city council that obeys the wishes of citizens instead of the utopian dreams of eggheads is deserving of derision.

In addition to being a fussbudget, the Institute is hypocritical. For example, it criticizes Scottsdale for being mostly White, yet the institute staff is all White. Racial diversity is good for others, but not for them.

But even if their point has merit - and it most assuredly does not - what is Scottsdale supposed to do? Is it supposed to develop a racial quota system and put armed guards at its borders to keep Whites out?

The only reason that the Morrison report received undeserved press coverage is that many in the establishment media share the institute's left-leaning philosophy. That explains why news articles never refer to the institute as a "liberal think tank" or a "managed-economy think tank" but do refer to its cross-town rival, the Goldwater Institute, as a "conservative think tank" or a "free-market think tank."

The Morrison report is about as objective as studies that used to be issued by central planners in the former Soviet Union. It deserves to be relegated to the same place in history.

Craig J. Cantoni is an author, public speaker and consultant. He can be reached at ccan2@aol.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

To read an opposing view, visit: http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/columns/articles/0409sr-scudder09.html