The Mayor of Rio Rancho is happy about anticipated construction of a big-ass new shiny hospital - not so much because of anyone's health but because growth is good. And construction means growth - which is good. Construction is a beast that lays gross receipts taxes like golden turds. Git yer shovel-ready.
But growth is a fickle animal. Before you know it, you've fed it everything you've got and it will slouch off to Los Lunas or Moriarity or Taipai. The beast can die leaving empty hulks of buildings and thinly stretched public utilities.
Hospital to Feed Growth is the title in the Albuquerque Journal. Feeding growth is the reasoning behind placement of all of Rio Rancho's public buildings - at the farthest flung end of the undeveloped area. Rio Rancho's so-called downtown is an extreme example of using public dollars to stimulate sprawl. It was an anti-city's answer to city planning.
And how's that working out?
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