Is Darren Winham a coffee nut?

What other reason could there be to have two Aroma Joes bookending town, each near to a Dunkin Donuts? He must also love the theater, too...

To some, Exeter is already far too busy for the size of the town. If true, there is zero reason to “build it up” to “keep its edge” or whatever tired description you might use as a euphemism for top-down molding of this tiny town into Portsmouth. “Increasing revenue” is a another one—it means the Town Rulers will collect more in taxes and spend more, i.e., divert more resources into government consumption. Further, even if  “building up a town” were unanimously supported, it proves far too much: why stop at a Portsmouth-like Exeter? Maybe it should be like Boston, or New York.

Note, it's not Winham's $80k+ salary that's the biggest waste. The real waste is the diversion of production into government chosen channels. He has no clue what type of or how many businesses should be located in Exeter. Nobody does, but entrepreneurs and capitalists, who seek profit by providing goods for voluntary consumers, have the best insights. If Pimentos is closed, it doesn’t mean something should replace it (let alone another bar food place). Maybe it’s just a bad location, and resources are better diverted elsewhere at this point. Maybe that lot won't be productive for ten years. There are infinite desires by consumers and precious few goods to produce them. Only market prices can help allocate goods to consumers' most urgent demands.

Exeter bureaucrats should do absolutely nothing to "bring businesses" to Exeter. It doesn't matter what "vision" they have for the town. It is the wrong one.