Vision 2030 / 2050 envisions that Provo’s central planners will continue to run Provo’s only airport (see V2050 6.4), rather than privatize it.

It proposes to not only continue regulating business operations (see V2050 6.1.1), but also to selectively subsidize politically-favored businesses (see V2030 9.1.2) either to relocate to Provo or to expand their existing operations here (see V2030 9.3.2; V2050 6.3.2). This includes subsidizing politically-favored startups (see V2030 5.4.2; V2050 6.2.4 & 6.8.4), which is task best left to private investors.  It’s wrong for politicians to take our money to invest in whichever businesses they (not necessarily we) favor, so that our economy will develop exactly as they (not necessarily we) prefer.

They also intend to actively encourage local business leaders to serve on relevant city boards and commissions (see V2030 9.8; V2050 6.1.2), which can lead to a “revolving door” of personnel between businesses and regulatory agencies.  Although this practice may improve regulatory competence, it also facilitates illicit collusion (also known as “regulatory capture”) between regulators and regulatees that too-often benefits each other’s special interests rather than the general welfare.

According to Vision 2050, Provo’s business regulation will include subsidies for non-polluting businesses (see V2050 4.8), but pollution should ideally not be regulated but instead prosecuted as a crime.

(For more about Envisioning Statism, please see both Running Monopolies and Censoring Communication.)

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References:

• Provo: Provo City Vision 2030
• Provo: Provo City Vision 2050
• Libertas Institute: “‘Conservative’ Utah’s Centrally Planned Economy” (2016 Jul 26)
• Foundation for Economic Education: “Business-Government Collusion” (1995 Feb 01)
• Mises Institute: “Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution”