ARE YOU TAKING PUBLIC TRANSIT TO THIS EVENT TIM?

Or will you just play the role of hypocrite? 

THE CONTRADICTORY RALEIGH CHAMBER

Years ago, before the WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce was co-opted by WakeUp Wake County, they actually mustered enough strength on occasion to be intellectually honest. 

Now the WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce just falls in line with the latest progressive fad making the rounds:

1. Using Wake County's children as instruments in a failed socio-economic diversity experiment. 

2. Catering to the transgender lobby.

3. General downtown lackey.  

4. Regressive sales tax transit cheerleaders. 

The latest:

Now WakeUp lackey Tim Giuliani and the WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce have jumped on the sports/tourism events bandwagon and the associated meal and hotel taxes. 

But flashback to 1995 when the WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce had a moment of intellectual honesty:

"To bolster his argument, Fetzer refereed to a year-old chamber study that concluded that civic projects such as basketball arenas, children's museums and performing arts centers do little to attract business."

"The April 1994 study by the chamber's Committee to Improve the Tax Base cited another recent study that found, to the chamber's surprise, that in business' location decisions, "factors that scored relatively low included access to rail, climate, recreational/cultural amenities."

"The study also says that "money spent on various social and cultural programs has a negative impact on local economies."

"... factors that scored relatively low included access to rail ..."

"... money spent on various social and cultural programs has a negative impact on local economies."

"... civic projects such as basketball arenas, children's museums and performing arts centers do little to attract business."

We agree with the WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce that draining the local economy of billions of dollars through regressive sales, hotels and meals taxes does have an economic impact. 

The WakeUp Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is not capable of being honest however. The WakeUp/local progressive left would not allow it. 

RALEIGH: A CAPITAL CITY OF BIGOTRY

Yesterday we reviewed the hysteria created by Wake County's progressive community and elected officials concerning HB2. We also pointed out the hypocrisy. 

We continue with that today. 

Let's start with Mayor McDowntown's own lofty denunciation of HB2: 

Mayor Mcfarlane is proud to stand with her transgender allies in Raleigh and in solidarity with Charlotte's "bathroom" ordinance.

Tim Giuliani and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce got on the pedestal also: 

And of course the local LGBT community has chimed in: 

So the question arises, what legal ordinances govern the use of bathroom facilities within the City of Raleigh? Sec. 13-2015. speaks to that: 

"it shall be unlawful for a member of one sex to enter or use a facility provided for members of the opposite sex."

Maybe when the local left quits using this issue as a whipping boy to attack Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory, they can head a few blocks down to Hargett Street to address the hard core transphobic bigotry found there. 

Maybe Tim Giuliani and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce can issue a statement condemning Raleigh's intolerance and bigotry. They won't - because they're hypocrites. The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce only condemns local government when it comes to neighborhood schools. 

TIM GIULIANI: EMBARASSING ESTABLISHMENT ECHO CHAMBER

Recently the News & Observer ran a story entitled "Meet a new generation of Triangle leaders."

Essentially it profiled some Triangle area millennials. 

Among those individuals it profiled was Tim Giuliani - CEO of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. 

Notable quotes by Giuliani were: 

“The world continues to change, and I want to make sure that the chamber is on the cutting edge and will be as relevant tomorrow as it is today,” Giuliani said.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article52581665.html#storylink=cpy

“It doesn’t matter what the issue is; the community long-term is going to be better off with more informed leaders,” Giuliani said.

When the News & Observer asked Giuliani for his "wish list" for the region, he replied:

"One is a functional, regional, state-of-art transit system. Second, more corporate headquarters. Third is a Stanley Cup. Fourth, keeping the unemployment rate somewhere between 4 and 5 percent, meaning that despite what the global economy wants to throw at us, we’re diversified and innovative to the point that we continue to have a strong economy. And then, fifth, is the expansion of the convention center and the supporting amenities in downtown Raleigh.”

1. Transit
2. Corporate headquarters 
3. "Stanley Cup"
4. keeping the unemployment rate somewhere between 4 and 5 percent. 
5. Expansion of the convention center and the supporting amenities in downtown Raleigh. 

Interesting list. He's only been here eight short months in Raleigh. 

Enough time to understand how citizens and his membership base utilizes transportation options? 

More corporate headquarters? He talks about diversification to avoid what the fluctuations a global economy throws at us. That would perhaps entail more small and mid size businesses - not national and international corporations whose employment may be governed by national and international trends. But that's more of a passing gesture. 

A Stanley Cup? Oh goodie - exactly what Raleigh businesses need to grow and prosper. 

And the piece de la resistance? Dumping more hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into downtown Raleigh. 

The article also notes that:

"At Guiliani’s request, the chamber has convened a task force that, with the help of a consultant, is engaged in an across-the-board assessment of the organization."

Good idea. Maybe that assessment should begin with him and his vision. The Raleigh Chamber's track record could stand much improvement as well. 

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article52581665.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article52581665.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article52581665.html#storylink=cpy