We’re trapped; at least those of us who live south of Monkey Junction. The government web spins methodically but relentlessly toward us, entrapping citizens to sustain the political spiders that lay in wait at the center. Carolina Beach to our south and Wilmington to our north—it’s only a matter of time when we will be ensnared and consumed.

We could have predicted it. Look at the map. Geography, demographics and politics combine to engulf our wealth. Tiny New Hanover County land area (less than 200 square miles) narrows to nothing as the Cape Fear River joins the Atlantic Ocean. We can’t move south. Just over Snow’s Cut, Carolina and Kure Beach towns would snag us with higher taxes. The city line of Wilmington lurks a little north of the Junction—taxes would double should we move there.

Anyone who has lived here since the 1990s, when the county population grew more than 33 percent, should have known that the increased taxable wealth would be too tempting to the political class. Like the spider programmed to capture prey, the politician must continually take money from citizens to sustain it.

From 1970 to 2006 the county population increased 83,000 to 184,000, while the city population rate increased about the same with 46,000 increasing to 98,000. However, the city has gobbled up large developed areas with several annexations; and more to come. At the current population levels, probably about 90,000 more hapless targets are vulnerable to capture by the insatiable city spiders. The prey, laden with juicy cash, will help the arachnoids grow and spread their kind.

The government snare is too big. We have little choice—stay, get caught in the web and pay the price, or temporarily escape the trap and move somewhere else. Still, keep in mind; political spiders infest all the land. It is impossible to avoid them. Worse, we can’t control them.

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