2010 Rallies & Events
Myrtle Beach Fall Rally 2010 Part 2
Story and photos by Jack Cofano
As I promised in Part 1 of the Myrtle Beach Fall Rally 2010, I will delve into the effects I saw due to the effort that the political machine in the city of Myrtle Beach has made to stop the rallies taking place in the area. I think we all know that the city council and the mayor adopted an ordinance a couple of years ago to require helmets to be worn in the city proper. Well that didn’t last as it was deemed unconstitutional and overturned. They also halted vendor permits to be given out in the city of Myrtle Beach therefore resulting in a boycott by rally goers and the vow to “Never spend a dime in Myrtle Beach.”
Since I live just up the coast from the Myrtle Beach, I frequently ride down to the area on weekends but have not ventured down the Grand Strand since this all came about. This year I decided to take a ride down the Strand on the Saturday of the fall rally just to see what had changed and what affect the boycott was having. Well let me just say that the ride through the city was an eye opener. There were numerous businesses that were gone, shut down, unoccupied. The remaining shops, restaurants, convenience stores, etc. were virtually empty. The parking lots were empty and the traffic was incredibly nonexistent. The highway itself was in complete disrepair and I have ridden on better roads in Mexico. Could it be that they do not have the tax dollars to repair their main highway?
In the past the Grand Strand was a busy byway with very few empty stores and the parking lots were jammed packed with bikes. Money was flowing and business was booming. Not anymore! Where is the money going to come from to fix the roads, recruit new businesses, and fill the city’s coffers? With the loss of hotel tax and sales tax all I can come up with is that property taxes will have to be raised to cover the lack of revenue. How do you think that will effect the sale of condos that the city would like to see take over the whole area? With the banks unwilling to give out loans to developers without pre-building sale quotas, where is the money going to come from? We are in a recession and it just boggles the mind that a city would throw away hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to satisfy a clueless minority and a political establishment that is only interested in their own agenda.
With the political establishment in South Carolina becoming the laughing stock of our nation it does not surprise me in the least. With the politicians complaining about unemployment, lack of infrastructure improvement money, and lack of government help, it just seems ridiculous that any city government would bite the hand that feeds them. Karma’s a bitch. Click here to read Part 1 of this article.