The most famous line in the world: North Carolina State Politics Edition.
With a charging Republican majority in North Carolina, the State is getting ready to make some serious budget cuts. People are going to have to sacrifice, to be sure. And the deeper and sooner that sacrifice occurs, the better off the financial stability of the State.
Yet, no one can accept that fact.
Posted in Economy, Government, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Conservative, Democrat, Liberal, North Carolina, North Carolina Politics, Politics, Recession, Republican, Unions
Are they waiting for bread or medicine?
So, I needed some bread the other day. I dressed in my best thermal and made my way down to the local state run community bread line. With luck I’d be able to get half a loaf of 5 day old bread 3 days early. Times is tough in the state ya know.
Actually, because food isn’t either:
I went to my local for profit market driven food market.
In addition to my fresh bread, I bought wine from California, Champagne from France, beer from Seattle and Saki from Japan.
Olive oil from Italy. Chocolate from Switzerland. Blueberries from Chili. Bananas from India. And fresh organic tomatoes from right here in North Carolina.
But the MOST amazing thing I saw in my fresh daily market just 1.5 miles up the road?
Posted in Economics, Economy, Government, Health Care
Tagged Bread Line, Capitalism, Free Market, Free Trade, Socialism
Troubling news in the Tar Heel State.
RALEIGH — Unemployment rates increased in 99 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in November, according to statistics released today by the state’s Employment Security Commission. The rate remained the same in Davie
County.
Not so good. I continue to hope for the best here in North Carolina, but we continue to struggle. I’m not sure why. Even though we are a Democrat dominated State, and have been for well over 100 years, even the Democarst have been relatively pro-business here in North Carolina.
I suspect that the reason we continue to see jobs drift away is that we have been so heavily dependent on furniture and textile mills. And, as we all know, that work has been moving over seas for some time now.
I’ll have to do some research to see how long it took other cities [see Pittsburgh] to recover as they saw their jobs vanish. In any event, let’s hope that 2011 does better than 2010:
Over the year, the unemployment rates dropped in 81 counties, remained the same in one county, and increased in 18.
So, year over year, Carolina has dropped its unemployment, but only by 0.7%.
Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged North Carolina, North Carolina Politics, Politics, Recession, Unemployment
Lot’s of us think that we’re STILL in recession [ it ended June 2009 ] and many of us don’t see anything getting better any time soon.
But the good news is that it will get better, slowly, and it almost certainly won’t get worse in 2011.
So, I like to go the YMCA and work out sit in the hot tub, steam room and sauna on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
On my way home, I drive right by the Leesville Taproom, if by “on my home” you mean taking a leeft when you should take a right.
And because I simply MUST make sure that they don’t need the help of an old decrepit bartender, I stop in to check on ’em. I like to have a couple beers and make my way home.
Posted in Economy, Fun, Liberty, Middle Class, Technology
The rich; they are reedy pigs!
And the corporations they run; just mechanisms to take money from the poor and give to the rich!
They take from those who have little and give to those that have much!
Right?
Nope.
Wanna know the only way to establish a monopoly?
Government regulations.
And I find it funny that the very same people who clamor when companies like Microsoft or Intel have a “strangle hold” on the market are the very same one who demand, DEMAND I tell you, that the government regulate a monopoly for something that they think needs regulating.
Again with politicians making up language that fits their needs.
I once had an English teacher in high school. We were reading “The Merchant of Venice”. In the story, Shylock loses his estate due to a quirk of law. On one of our tests, the English teachers asks the True or False question:
Shylock lost half of his estate due to his legal dealings with Antonio.
I answered, “False”. After all, he lost the whole of the estate.
She marked it wrong, saying that if he lost ALL of his estate, certainly he lost half of it as well.
Words have meanings.
Posted in Economy, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina, Senate
Tagged Democrat, Kay Hagan, North Carolina, North Carolina Politics, Taxes
Students Demanding That We Tax The Rich
The great debate of the day is The Compromise™. Or rather, what we’re gonna do about taxes on the rich. Obama ran on it for two years beginning in 2006. Liberals believed; believed either that he WOULD let the Bush Tax Cuts expire or that he COULD let the Bush Tax Cuts expire.*
And he didn’t.
He neither could nor would. And the great debate rages.
Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Employment, Left, Leftist, Right, Socialism, Taxes, Unemployment
So, lemme get this straight.
We’re in debt. All of us. And by a TON.
So we have to make cuts. A LOT of ’em.
Tough decisions to be sure.
Or is it?
Posted in Economy, Education, Politics: North Carolina