Don Evans: Professor didn’t do homework

In Michael Jacobs’ May 4 Point of View “For backlash politics, thank progressives,” the professor didn’t do his homework.

He stated that Chapel Hill “has the highest property taxes ... in the state.” Not true, and if Jacobs were seeking to be accurate rather than inflammatory, he would have first checked out the municipal tax rates of Durham, Hillsborough and Carrboro – all of which are higher than Chapel Hill’s. Even the Orange County tax rate is less than that of Scotland, Edgecombe, Franklin and Northampton counties.

I suspect that Jacobs’ attitude toward the facts on taxes also informs his statements about the housing supply in Chapel Hill, Tom Ross’ departure from the UNC system presidency, Republican fears for their signs in Chapel Hill yards and “conscious capitalism,” which from Jacobs’ perspective sounds more like “misbehave with awareness.”

I would hope that someone who teaches at a higher institution of learning would be better informed. Uninformed generalizations contribute to our problems and don’t do anything to solve them.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Don Evans: Professor didn’t do homework."