Democracy is defeated in Raleigh negotiations

Is democracy a failure?

If you look at how the North Carolina state budget has been conceived and presented, you'd have to conclude that democracy doesn't work. If democracy worked, the General Assembly would have a rational, transparent procedure for bringing together the interests of all 170 members of the legislature who would all serve the interests of their constituents who elected them to office.

But it hasn't worked quite that way. When the House and Senate passed conflicting versions of the state budget, the differences should have been resolved by a committee representing both chambers whose members would compromise on the differences in the two versions.

That's not exactly what happened. A handful of senators and representatives met behind closed doors and hashed out a compromise of sorts, but they also radically changed many provisions of law that were not, strictly speaking, part of the budget and had not been part of either chamber's budget bill. The provisions fundamentally changed state policies (including shuffling departments of state government) and even arbitrarily killed a long-planned light rail service without any public debate on the provision.

You can call these changes dictatorial or arbitrary or oligarchical or contemptuous, but you can't really call it democracy. What went on behind closed doors in Raleigh these past couple of weeks had little to do with democracy.

Wilson is ahead of Raleigh once again

Once again, the city of Wilson is ahead of Raleigh. Last year, The Independent Weekly ran a laudatory article about Wilson's high-speed Internet service, trademarked as GreenLight. The Raleigh News & Observer is reporting today that Raleigh's plans for a 50-block downtown Wi-Fi service faces some opposition. Some critics are complaining that the $180,000 construction plus $15,000 in annual maintenance the Raleigh network would cost could be better spent.

Wilson has offered free downtown Wi-Fi for a couple of years. Amtrak passengers have been able to check their e-mail and conduct Internet business while waiting for their connections. A number of restaurants and other businesses offer free Wi-Fi within their buildings. I'm using my own home Wi-Fi connection to write this column, and my computer shows four other Wi-Fi networks (my neighbors') within range of my home.

Wilson's low-key and low-cost Wi-Fi network sailed through with little criticism. Many of the local critics confused the Wi-Fi network with the city's fiber-optic network (GreenLight), whose $28 million cost is expected to be paid by Internet, phone and cable TV customers. If the fiber system works according to the business plan, it will be turning a profit in just a few years. The Wi-Fi network, meanwhile, provides a simple but much-appreciated enhancement for downtown workers and visitors at relatively little cost for the city.

Its up-and-running Wi-Fi network puts Wilson ahead of Raleigh and on pace with more progressive (and costly) cities such as Chapel Hill.