“If you want to stop the flow, you better turn off the spigot”, that according to slow growth advocate Jim Humphrey of the Montgomery County Civic Federation, who favors a proposed building moratorium in Montgomery County. Mr. Humphrey was speaking to the one fundamental truth of growth politics that, ironically, most activists don’t seem to understand – that you can’t really slow growth by adopting exclusionary regulations. Such laws merely push growth to the next jurisdiction further out, exacerbating its effect on sprawl, congestion and environmental destruction.

So what’s the twist? If someone understands that pinching a hose doesn’t stop the water from flowing, why would they support slow growth policies? The answer is in the context. Mr. Humphrey made his statement in response to moratorium opponents who fear strict growth restrictions will send a negative image to the investment world and hurt Montgomery’s economy. He added, “Let’s not worry about a lapse in economic vitality”.

In other words, the Montgomery County slow growth movement, not content with advocating policies that will directly increase sprawl in the more rural counties beyond its borders, increase traffic congestion by forcing people to drive further in order to reach the same destinations, reduce the availability of affordable housing in a region already suffering from a severe shortage, and restrict the freedom of future residents – including slow growthers own children – to live where they so choose, is now actively seeking to weaken the economy.

And yet, inexplicably, the movement continues to gain strength. I guess once I’ve got mine, the rest doesn’t matter.