The views expressed in this article represent the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, its staff, or its board of directors.
Tune into your favorite news source, and it won’t take long to find an article championing degrowth as the solution to your pick of problems—be it climate change, inequality, or urban sprawl. These voices, often tinged with NIMBYism (not in my backyard) masking self-interest as community concern, argue that scaling back economic activity will save us.
Yet, the recently announced 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt highlights that innovation and creative destruction, where new technologies replace outdated ones, drive long-term economic growth and better living standards. Growth is not the villain it’s made out to be. It is the key to unlocking economic vitality and social progress for Chattanooga. We owe our city’s current vibrancy to past growth and halting that engine isn’t the answer to our challenges. Growth undeniably brings change. We must evolve alongside it, overcoming our natural tendency to cling to the comfort of the familiar, often overlooking those who desperately need economic growth to not only survive but truly thrive.
Imagine two versions of Chattanooga: one frozen in time, with no new businesses, no expanding neighborhoods, no fresh investments; the other buzzing with new startups, construction crews shaping vibrant neighborhoods, and innovative industries drawing capital. Which version lifts people up? The answer is clear: growth does.
Economic growth isn’t an abstract concept; it’s the process by which we produce more goods and services, leading to higher incomes and better lives. This isn’t about taking from one to give to another; it’s growing the pie so all can share in abundance. When our economy grows, it’s like compounding interest in a savings account—it builds on itself, creating wealth that benefits the whole society. Without growth, we’re stuck dividing a fixed pie.
Chattanooga is what it is today, a hub of innovation, tourism, and industry, because of past growth and change. Our railroads, factories, and vibrant downtown emerged from that same dynamic process. Stopping it now in response to community problems isn’t a solution; it’s a step backward from the progress that got us here. Even a modest shift in growth rates can deliver transformative results over time. Incomes rise, not through handouts, but through opportunities that reward hard work and innovation.
Look at Chattanooga’s recent expansion. Between 2014 and 2023, the region’s nonfarm employment surged by 18.8 percent, outpacing the national average of 14 percent and adding over 25,000 new jobs to our economy. This growth has not only boosted median household incomes by nearly 30 percent in that decade but also sparked a wave of ancillary growth in services, retail, and tourism. This mirrors the Nobel laureates’ emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation, as Chattanooga’s tech startups have displaced older industries, fostering new efficiencies and prosperity.
Critics often romanticize the status quo, fearing growth will spoil Chattanooga’s scenic beauty or widen inequality, but evidence tells a different story. Stagnation breeds ills like unemployment, which erodes dignity and fuels social problems like homelessness and crime.
NIMBYism, often channeled through politics, drives anti-growth sentiment, prioritizing personal comfort over collective prosperity. Restrictive zoning laws and minimum lot sizes, for example, limit housing development, reducing affordable stock and exacerbating homelessness. These policies violate property rights by denying owners the freedom to develop their land, entrenching inequality by protecting affluent neighborhoods while pricing out lower-income residents. By blocking multi-family housing or imposing burdensome regulations, NIMBYism stifles the market’s ability to meet demand, leaving vulnerable populations with fewer options.
Growth drives prosperity that tackles issues like homelessness and food insecurity by generating jobs and higher wages, enabling self-sufficiency. Wealthier societies afford better healthcare and nutrition, increasing lifespans and improving mental well-being by reducing financial stress. Contrary to claims, growth narrows inequality in real terms, as new opportunities lift the poor out of poverty.
Instead of the notion that growth harms the environment, evidence shows it promotes sustainability. Poor societies pollute out of necessity, lacking access to clean technologies, but as growth generates wealth, communities demand and fund environmental protections. The Environmental Kuznets Curve illustrates this: pollution rises initially but declines as incomes grow, enabling investments in renewable energy, conservation, and sustainability. Chattanooga’s transformation from one of America’s dirtiest cities to a clean, vibrant hub exemplifies this dynamic. Past expansion fueled prosperity, allowing investments in cleaner air and infrastructure without sacrificing growth. Research confirms that wealthier societies, driven by robust growth, prioritize and afford environmental care, illustrating that pro-growth is pro-environmentalism.
Maybe the anti-growth sentiment stems from good intentions like preserving green spaces or reducing traffic. But blocking development ignores market adaptability. Private owners, motivated by profit, find creative solutions to ever-changing demands, such as eco-friendly buildings and mixed-use developments that enhance communities.
With growth comes change. The world doesn’t stand still. New businesses, homes, and public works reshape our city, offering a chance to enhance our community. Embracing growth doesn’t mean bulldozing everything; it involves letting markets allocate resources while safeguarding individual rights. Upholding property rights ensures owners can develop land productively without infringing on their neighbors’ interests. This guarantees new projects align with existing property rights and community values. Property owners should have the freedom to develop their land as they choose, provided they don’t infringe on others’ rights. That’s the balance we need—not blanket opposition.
At the core of this growth vision is capitalism—a system of voluntary exchange in free markets, guided by prices and incentives. Far from the greedy stereotype, it channels human nature into collective benefit. People act in their self-interest, but in a market, that means serving others. Buying a product relies on the seller’s drive to earn a living, not their goodwill. Profit and loss are the market’s scorecard. Profits reward value creation; losses reallocate resources to better uses. This “invisible hand” orchestrates millions of choices without a central planner. This fuels progress—consider how Chattanooga’s tech and tourism sectors have grown through entrepreneurial experimentation.
If we halt development out of fear, we’re not preserving Chattanooga—we’re condemning it to mediocrity. The anti-growth mood is understandable—change can be unsettling. But viewing all development as bad is a mistake that will cost us greatly. By embracing growth with policies that respect property rights—low taxes, light regulations, and no favoritism—we create jobs, raise living standards, and build a prosperous Chattanooga.
Claudia Williamson Kramer is the Scott L. Probasco, Jr., Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise, Professor of Economics, and Executive Director of the Center for Economic Education at UTC.
To hear more from Dr. Kramer, listen to her latest conversation on WUTC here: https://shorturl.at/CyWM0
