Congrats Senator Burr

Posted on January 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

Probably a minor news topic, but hey, we’ll take what we can get.

Sen. John Kyle of Arizona, the Senate Republican whip, appointed Burr to serve as his chief deputy whip. Kyle cited Burr’s “outstanding leadership skills.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: North Carolina

Tagged

All Aboard!

Posted on January 14, 2009 | 2 comments

amtrak1So, while this is not light rail and that whole boondoggle, this may come close?  Or not.  I’m not sure.  But while reading this I was struck by two key facts:

Local leaders drew encouragement last year from an economic study by Amtrak and the state Department of Transportation. A Hillsborough stop would boost ticket revenue enough to trim the state’s Amtrak subsidy by a projected $56,000 a year.

Now, first of all, any study done by either Amtrak or the State Department of Transportation should sound the alarms in any neutral observer.  But, okay, for the sake of the article, lets go with it.  Let’s go with 56k a year.  Then this:

To protect one potential site for a train station, the Hillsborough town board agreed last summer to pay $600,000 for 20 acres known as the Collins property, just south of downtown.

So, let me get this straight.  In order to save $56,000 year, the town of Hillsborough spent 600 large to buy the land!.  Before this is over, with building costs creating the side line for the actual railroad and the rest of what I am sure is non-trivial costs, this station is going to cost several million dollars.

To save 56k a year.  You could invest 1 million dollars and pull back 56k a year.

Am I missing something?

2 Comments

Posted in Politics: North Carolina, Transportation

Tagged ,

Maybe Not That Big a Deal

Posted on January 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

I was reading through the News and Observer article describing the Govna’s first day in office.  Now, I have switched jobs, taken responsibility over from someone else and even given responsibility to someone who is taking over my role.  Changes happen.  People think that they have better ideas, or fresh ideas or just, I don’t know, ideas.  I have no issue with that.  But what struck was this her quote on the Board of Transportation.  The article sets it up this way

Perdue ordered that the state Board of Transportation, criticized over the years for approving projects based on patronage and parochialism instead of need, cede its authority to approve road projects to the secretary of transportation. Such decisions would be made by the professional planners and engineers at the department, while the board acts as a planning group.

State law, however, requires that the board be consulted on any spending in districts represented by board members. Perdue acknowledged the statutory obstacle, but said the board will shift gears voluntarily.

Okay, okay, s she has some “politicking to do”.  Or, then again, maybe not:

“Because the governor of this state appoints the DOT board, we will be able to convince them very easily to delegate that authority,” she said.

Hmmm, color me naive, but that doesn’t sound right.

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , ,

Government Employees: The Important Ones

Posted on January 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

So, this week the State’s Chiefs of Police are meeting in Durham.  They are here to discuss, among other things, how to attract and retain police officers.  I imagine that this is a dilemma that is not unique to police forces.  If asked, I am sure that Fire Chiefs would also list this problem at or near the top of their priority list.  So too would nearly every government agency.  And to make matters worse, we have elected or government appointed people running the show; this alone would cause me to hit the door.

As I was considering this today, I came across this awesome thought from TJIC.  While I have  never been able to express it quite this way, I have always thought that government always seem to lose their best due to circumstances like this.  Exposing your employees to competitive forces does not hurt the staff but rather increases the strength of the organization.  And, by the way, why would we want to protect our worst staff in this case?  I would seem that the top job of any supervisor to identify and remove the bottom 10% of the force?

Another way:  When you have an organization that only protects those who are not the top performers you should not be surprised when only the “not top performers” remain.

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , ,

Weather Not Climate: Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

I know, Global Warming is all about trends, not day to day anomalies.  But this sure doesn’t FEEL like Global Warming:

Sharp cold wave shocks upper Midwest, temps to –36

I am from this part of the world, lemme put into perspective how cold -37 is.  Your fridge is 77 degrees warmer than it is outside for these folks!

Leave a comment

Posted in Global Warming

Tagged ,

This Should Actually NOT Surprise You

Posted on January 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

This should not surprise you.  Make you mad?  Sure.  Surprise you?  No.  And if it does, then you haven’t been paying attention to how the whole thing works.

Quoting in pieces:

General Motors Corp.’s chief operating officer said Monday that the automaker has presented a worst-case scenario to Congress in which it would need more money than the $13.4 billion already allocated by the Treasury Department

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said the union will approach President-elect Barack Obama’s administration to end what he called unfair requirements in the loan terms for concessions from the union.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has proposed getting rid of a requirement that GM and Chrysler negotiate labor cost parity with foreign-owned automakers that have U.S. factories.

First, our Government gave these companies money out of the TARP fund.  Still not sure how in the hell that works.  I thought the TARP money was meant to be lended to banks and financial institutions; not private car companies.

Before you ask, the reason banks and financial institutions get money and not car companies is that our economy is a Capitalist one, not a Automobilist one.

Then,  when we began to consider giving these failed companies money, everyone knew, just KNEW, that their model was not going to support business as usual, even with all of this money.  But, in the end, we gave it to ’em anyway.  And now looks what has happened.  We are into them for all these billions of dollars and now we have to keep going; keep doublin’ down.  Why?  Cause we are suckers.

So now, this is not surprising.  Sure makes me mad though!

Oh, and for a good read on the most maddening of those that are maddening, read this.

Leave a comment

Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics: National

Tagged , , ,

Quid Pro [Not] Quo

Posted on January 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

Serious!  Stones the size of cookie jars!

This from the American Bankers Association:

As part of an agreement reached Thursday with key Senate and House Democrats, Citigroup has agreed not to oppose legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges the authority to modify mortgages that were set up prior to the enactment of the bill. “The ABA has consistently opposed proposals that would give bankruptcy judges broad authority to unilaterally modify the terms of mortgages,” the bank lobby wrote in a statement. The majority of ABA’s members are banks with less than $125 million in assets.

Now for the quiz.  Who should be ashamed here?

pssst…..key sponsors, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., are hopeful the measure will be included as part of President Elect Barack Obama’s stimulus bill

Leave a comment

Posted in Economy, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , ,

If it’s Bad When it’s Bad — It’s Bad When it’s Good

Posted on January 12, 2009 | Leave a comment

So, the Govna has said that she will not be able to push through her campaign goals of free community college and a higher minimum wage.  Her reasoning?  The economy, of course.  When I read this I laughed my ass off.  Of COURSE it’s the economy!  Of course we can’t afford this!  No one thinks that we can afford this.  Even when you were on the campai—-WAIT a flippin minute!  Wait one blessed second.  Is it possible that ol’ Bev Perdue knew that such grandiose ideas as free college tuition and a hike in the minimum wage were actually BAD from an economic standpoint?

We’ll never know, of course.  But the good news is that she has decided to shelve these things for now; at least until 2012.  But, it is interesting to note that the Govna didn’t raise either issue until Richard Moore introduced them.  Possible election strategery?

I came across an interesting discussion regarding higher education the other day.  While I don’t think that I agree with Coyote, I also don’t think that the State should be offering free tuition either.  Higher education trends exceptionally well with wealth and all things responsible.  But, it is something that has to be earned, not given.  For it to have any value at all, it can NOT be given.  Now, this is not to say that we shouldn’t help otherwise responsible kids have a shot.  Trade years of service for tuition.  Make them earn it by maintaining grades throughout.  Something-anything, just not free.

And the minimum wage?  Well, lets just say that I said it here.  In it’s most simple form, labor is a commodity, a resource.  And like any other resource or raw material, when it becomes more expensive, companies buy less of it.  And by purchasing less of it, they either lay off current staff or the don’t hire potential staff.  In either case, companies are going to retain or attract only the most qualified of employees.  They are not going to take a flier on the marginal.  And so it is, that the silly foolish liberal has just fired the VERY person she was trying to help.

Anyway, I digress.  The question is:

  1. Did our honorable Govna use free tuition and increased minimum wage as an election season ploy?  Or….
  2. Does she really understand that both of these ideas are bad bad ideas?  Even in a GOOD economy?

Leave a comment

Posted in Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , ,

Promises

Posted on January 12, 2009 | 1 comment

So, the good Gov’na has made many many promises over the course of her campaign.  And, according to reports, those promises have been removed from her website.  This seems to be a popular politician’s trick as we have seen the same shenanigans over at Obama’s website.  I’ll comment on each in the coming days and then we’ll follow up on the Govna’s progress from time to time.
Thanks to the Raleigh News and Observer who was able to capture those promises and then publish them in today’s edition.  They are:
EDUCATION

  • Expand and better coordinate the Smart Start and More-at-Four pre-kindergarten programs.
  • Build a volunteer corps to tutor students in math and reading.
  • Require all troubled high schools to comply with research-backed restructuring.
  • Ensure that high schools across the state are equipped to offer online college-level coursework.
  • Establish the “College Promise” program to guarantee free or affordable college for students who graduate from high school, stay out of trouble and perform community service. The program would expand a state scholarship program known as EARN and increase the scholarships from two years to four.
  • Waive tuition to all students who graduate from high school and then enter a community college full time.

ARTS

  • Support sustainable resources for community arts councils and organizations. Help them get support from the private sector.
  • Protect and develop cultural heritage sites.
  • Support arts education and expand arts programs in public schools.

WATER

  • Assist local governments with moving toward a tiered water billing system that would charge a higher rate to customers who use the most water.
  • Help small cities and towns install better meters, build connections between regional water systems and repair leaking pipes.
  • Establish water conservation standards for all new homes, businesses and state government buildings.
  • Adopt tax incentives for business to improve water conservation standards in existing buildings.

CRIME

  • Give law enforcement agencies equipment they need and fix funding gaps for high-crime communities.
  • Boost the number of district attorneys, judges, magistrates and clerks. Increase pay for those positions.
  • Toughen anti-gang laws, and attack gangs as organized-crime organizations.
  • Enact harsher penalties for crimes involving guns and drugs.
  • Give more money to law enforcement agencies participating in a federal program that allows local agencies to pursue immigration charges against illegal aliens.
  • Make sure sentences for violent criminals are strong and long.

ECONOMY

  • Dramatically expand and transform a state program that helps small towns and cities preserve and revitalize downtowns. Allow cities and towns to choose which economic development ideas best fit their needs.
  • Support an $18 million tax reform plan to exempt small businesses from the first $15,000 of their income.
  • Expand to $10 million a year a state fund that provides matching grants to start-up companies that win certain research or technology grants.
  • Make the state a leader in biofuels, solar energy and other green technology industries.
  • Increase the state’s investment in an N.C. State University partnership that fosters manufacturing businesses.

HEALTH

  • Provide health insurance coverage for all North Carolina children by giving more money to N.C. Kids Care to expand who is covered. Create a system for families to buy insurance for uninsured or uninsurable children. Expand public outreach to ensure that all children who are eligible are enrolled in Medicaid and Health Choice.
  • Encourage businesses to offer employees affordable health insurance through tax incentives. Establish an affordable small business-coverage policy that would be funded equally by the employer, the employee and the state.
  • Support stem cell research using adult, cord blood or embryonic sources. The N.C. Biotechnology Center will oversee and manage the awarding of stem cell research grants.
  • Every person served by the mental health system should have strong, effective case management.
  • Establish “mental health courts” to link at-risk and minor offenders with mental illnesses to get them treatment before they spiral into a life of crime.
  • Punish swiftly and fully those who abuse or neglect mental health patients.

GOVERNMENT REFORM

  • Make government transparent: “I’m going to open the windows wide on the state capitol, and we’re going to let the sunshine in.”
  • Create a Google-type search engine for scrutinizing all state contracts.
  • Establish an independent budget-reform panel whose recommendations must be voted up or down by the legislature without amendment.
  • Tighten controls to stop officials leaving state service from immediately going to work for businesses they were working with in their state jobs.
  • Prohibit legislators from asking lobbyists to contribute to charities.
  • Make unannounced, on-site inspections of state agencies. Meet with employees without managers present.
  • Work in Charlotte three or four days each month.
  • Change state policy to require that all e-mail messages be kept until the state develops a plan for long-term retention.

ACCESSIBILITY

  • Field questions from the news media every week.
  • Share her public schedules and prohibit staff from deleting e-mail messages.
  • Hold at least four live town hall meetings during her 4-year term. Hold an online town hall meeting once a month.

TRANSPORTATION

  • Strip most specific road-building decisions from the Board of Transportation. Convert the panel into an advisory board of directors.
  • Road building and other transportation decisions will be based on data and need.

ENERGY

  • Rely on scientific and environmental information to determine whether to allow oil drilling off the state’s coastline. North Carolina should share in the profits of any oil discovered.

1 Comment

Posted in Economy, Education, Energy, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , ,

Governor Purdue: How Shall Ye Deliver

Posted on January 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

In Saturday’s edition of the News and Observer, we saw this article. The article lists the top nine challenges our first female governor is going to face.  After blinking and taking another sip of Saturday morning coffee I confirmed that it was a top nine list.  Top nine?  Nine?  Shaking my head I plowed into those challenges.

The introduction was fair enough.  The facts were laid out with enough detachment that I couldn’t say that anyone was rooting for or rooting against anyone else.  However, we couldn’t get out of that intro without the obligatory “this is as bad an economy we have seen since the Great Depression”.  I hate that.  I mean really REALLY hate that type of scare mongering.  I hold that this type of hype, this irresponsible posturing that has caused much of America’s fear.  And to make it worse,  we are seeing it on both sides of the aisle.  Truly a bi-partisan effort to freak us all out.

Okay, so,’nough said about the preamble, lets get to the main course.

1).  The Budget – Not surprisingly, this is first on list; and it should be.  And I wanna see how she is going to handle this.  ith a shortfall estimate of 3 billion, she is going to have a challenge.  To her credit, she seems to want to resist raising taxes.  In fact she acknowledged that a tax increase might be a bad idea:

I don’t believe that you can raise taxes in an economy with folks struggling the way they are.

Now, I would have liked to hear a little bit more about why she feels that way; right now it has the tone of a campaign promise.  But she follows this up with a nod to education and a pretty honest assessment of where we are:

My goal would be to hold the classroom and teachers and kids as harmless as possible. After that, you have to be a realist and do what you have to do to make the budget balanced.

2).  Dropout Rate – This is where Democrats always stumble.  They correctly and consistently have education near the top of their priority lists, and that is exactly where we should have it.  However, liberals are always always always wrong [and predictable] when it comes to how to actually do something here.  Their only answer is to spend more.  And then, spend more to study why spending more isn’t working.  To me the answer is pretty straight forward.  The problem for Purdue and her party; they are indebted to the very folks that they can not afford to alienate; teachers and the whole “Educational Establishment”.  Until teachers and Principals can be subjected to otherwise normal competition based advancement, we will be stuck with subpar education.

3)  Green Economy – So, really, this is whatcha got?  I mean, the economy is so freakin obvious, and then education is so freakin Democrat that really, this is the first of the rest, and this is pathetic.  Now, I will only give Green Jobs credit here in our State because The Chairman is promising to spend like a billion 150 billion dollars on Green Jobs.  So, when it comes to “free” money, the prudent thing to do is take.  Otherwise, the concept of Green makes me wanna lose my belly.  Don’t get me wrong, one day oil is gonna run out.  And, if we can stretch the oil we do have even further by investing in alternative energy or by increasing efficiency of that oil–I am ALL for it.  Just don’t pull this bullshit about Global Warming.  </rant>

4)  Mental Health System – This one befuddles me.  I have zero insight into the mental health system, much less how or why it’s broken.  My only take – the more we rely on government health care to provide health care, the less health care we will actually get.  Serious, think about it.  When was the last time “Government” provided any sort of innovation?  Never!  The only thing that can happen when we try and have government run anything is attempted cost containment, corruption, buracracy and failure.

5)  Obesity – Another health issue.  And again, the alarms are sounding.  I am not sure what the answer is to this one, but I am pretty sure that it has nothing to do with government.  For a peek into what that might loook like, check this scenario out.  [H/T Carpie Diem].   The only thing that prevents me from totally bashing this is the fact the article refers to children.  I maintain that kids are not subject to the normal rules I have for society as a whole.  In other words, if an adult wants to eat themselves into oblivion, that HAS to be their choice-and their issue.  But kids, yeah, we may be better served to develop a solution to this one.  I suspect that libs wouldn’t be too keen on my thoughts though:  Put ’em to work!

6)  Open Government – This is a throw away.  She deserves one, but come on–number 6?  Serious?

7)  Probation – I honestly think this has to go to the real number #1 slot.  In other words, it should be ahead of Global Warming Green Jobs.  Really.  This one is so UP THERE that almost nothing else is as important.  We have criminals who are out on probation not once meeting their probation officer.  We have folks committing crimes and not being followed up on.  Guys are falling through the cracks all over the place.  Really, this HAS to be higher than 7.

8)  Campaign Reform – Only thing I can say.  Endowment fund.

I can raise enough money for both the Republican and Democratic candidates in 2012.

This should be fun to watch.

9)  Transportation – Again, I think this one rates a bit higher than it’s being listed.  We’re so far behind in road works and the money to fund them.  It may be time to at least consider privatising our roads.

Let’s see how the Gov’na does in the next 4 years.

Leave a comment

Posted in Education, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged , , , , ,