Tag Archives: North Carolina

North Carolina Senate Seat – Kay Hagan

Posted on January 27, 2013 | 3 comments

Already there is talk about the 2014 elections.

Ugh.

I never really cared about politics until about 2006.  That’s when I heard a bit of trivia concerning the upcoming 2008 Presidential primaries.  For the first time in a long time there would be no sitting President or Vice-President running.  It would be a wide open primary on both sides.

Interesting.

Since then I’ve paid more attention and am just now learning that there isn’t a time when someone isn’t thinking about the next election.  With that said, North Carolina has a senate seat up for bid this time around.

And the front runner is democrat Kay Hagan:

 The Rothenberg Political Report ranks U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s seat “leans Democrat” in the first 2014 Senate election ratings. The report – a leading Washington handicapper – says: “Given the GOP’s recent victories in the state, Hagan is almost guaranteed a serious challenge.”

…

The Washington Post’s political prognosticators rank the race No. 4 on their list of most competitive Senate seats. The write-up: “A recent poll from Democratic-leaning automated pollster Public Policy Polling shows Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan’s approval rating is underwater, but she nonetheless leads potential GOP competitors. If Republicans can find the right candidate, Hagan will face a tough road to reelection.”

Ms. Hagan ran in 2008 when Barack Obama’s ticket carried many a democrat to office.  However, even without Obama carrying her, I would have voted for her except for one thing: The senate was in danger of, and then did in fact, move into democratic super-majority status.  Our sitting senator at the time was Elizabeth Dole, a rather nondescript politician without a large base.  Further, she ran an especially nasty ad featuring Hagan that sealed the deal for me – almost.

I like the idea of splitting senators.  I like that Hagan spent time in the state government of North Carolina and I thought she was moderate enough.  But I just couldn’t vote for her and let the democrats get 60 seats.  Of course, as we all know, they did.  Alaska elected a democrat after their republican was subject to scandal.  And then Minnesota allowed that dipshit Al Franken to cheat his way into office and seal the deal.

Hagan is going to vote for Harry Reid if she wins.  And she’ll support most of his legislation.  However, she is relatively moderate scoring 56,52 and 76 percent more liberal than her senate peers on issues economic, social and foreign policy.

If we have to have a democrat represent us in Washington we could do worse.  And with the recent republican domination in the state, sending a moderate liberal voice to the senate might be a good thing.  The only condition that might sway me from supporting her is the balance of the senate.  If it gets close to moving past 55-45 like it is now, I am going to pull for a Hagan loss.

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Posted in Election, Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Unemployment Benefits

Posted on January 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

Another legislative agenda for the state’s republican dominated state government:

 Tens of thousands of unemployed workers receiving federal emergency unemployment will likely lose their benefits starting July 1 as legislators overhaul the program.

Legislative leaders said this week that they will push ahead with a July 1 start to cuts in weekly benefits for unemployed workers. The measure would put the state in violation of the recently passed federal relief package that would have provided benefits to laid-off workers through December 2013. The federal legislation specifically forbid the states from altering the weekly benefit amount, which the General Assembly is poised to do as it returns to session Wednesday.

The reason for the change?  Well, it turns out that the federal government funded the North Carolina’s unemployment payments.  Funded to the tune of nearly $2.5 billion.  And until that debt is paid, North Carolina businesses are required to higher federal unemployment taxes, or FUTA.  In fact, each year that there is an outstanding balance, businesses in NC have to shell out an additional $21 per employee per year, cumulative.

As a response to this ever growing tax burden faced by employers, the idea is to reduce the scope of the state’s UI payout to reduce the normal tax payed.

Is it popular?

Worker advocates called the measure unnecessary and shortsighted.

“This will push thousands and thousands of North Carolinians off an artificial cliff and deny hundreds of millions in dollars to businesses and communities. That money adds nothing to our debt and had already been appropriated,” said Harry Payne, former labor commissioner and worker advocate for the North Carolina Justice Center.

The extended benefits was being funded entirely by the federal government. Each week, that program funnels $25 million in benefits to about 85,000 laid-off workers.

“If anyone wants an example of thoughtlessness, I’ll hold this piece up high,” Payne said. “This is about not understanding what people are going through.”

Certainly not.

However, as the tax per job increases, more and more NC businesses will look to get out of the way of those taxes.  And the only way to do that is to constrain jobs.  Something we certainly don’t wanna do.  Further, by reducing the size of the UI check, the incentive to look for work increases, driving more and more people into the labor force.

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Posted in Debt - Deficit, Economics, Economy, Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Welfare Reform

Posted on January 24, 2013 | 2 comments

In what is looking like is going to turn into a trend, the North Carolina GOP feels emboldened by their recent ass-whipping of the democrats in 2012.  The next target in their sites?

Welfare reform:

State lawmakers are discussing draft legislation that would prohibit lottery retailers from knowingly selling tickets to customers who receive public assistance, such as food stamps, or are in bankruptcy, Pat Gannon at the Insider reports. “We’re giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we’re taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities,” said Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam, R-Wake. He acknowledged it would be difficult for lottery clerks to know whether players get government help. But he suggested that in obvious cases, such as when customers pay for groceries with food stamps, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy lottery tickets at the same time.

So, there’s a bit to think through here, the first of which is this:

Is it really the role of a government to dictate how people spend their money?  Is not a grown adult able to make a decision to spend their money in any way and manner that they desire?

I don’t wanna bring up whether or not government CAN do this, after all, if New York City can ban large sodas, so then can the state of North Carolina ban the sale of lottery tickets.

So yes, the government can, but should they?  I, personally don’t think so.  Not that I don’t resonate with the whole, “They shouldn’t play the lottery” thang – they shouldn’t:

Combining the players making less than $25,000 per year we see that just about HALF of the population plays the lottery. Further, those people who play are spending near $600 a year! This means that these players have near $600 of annual disposable income that they are choosing to spend on the lottery.

The law maker is right, folks who don’t have money have no business spending money on a system that is, in essence, a tax on the mathematically challenged.  However, we don’t live in a world, or at least we don’t wanna live inn a world, where we need our government to protect us from every. single. bad. decision. there is to make.

The last point I wanna make is concerning the lottery itself.  I get the impression that state run lotteries are the domain of the democrats.  That, typically, republicans are against the lottery.  Which begs the question, how can a caucus that rages against class inequality support a system that takes money from the general public, aggregate it, and then give an amount of money to an individual that places them in not only the top 1%, but the top .01%?

Fascinating.

 

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Posted in Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Tax Reform

Posted on January 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

The GOP didn’t do so well at the national level in the 2012 elections.  However, here in North Carolina, the GOP cleaned house.  Not only did North Carolina break for Romney, the only battle ground state to do so, but they elected a republican governor  for the first time in 20 years.  In fact, including this current governor, there have been only 3 republicans in the mansion since 1901, well over 100 years.

Further, the GOP extended their majority in both the state house and senate.  Those majorities are now so wide that the republicans can propose and send to the ballot box amendments to the constitution without a single democrat voting with them.

I don’t think that such dominance is healthy, either way – democrat or republican.  So it isn’t a surprise that one of the first things on the agenda is tax reform:

RALEIGH — Republican lawmakers outlined a proposal Wednesday to revamp the state’s tax system, offering a slew of reforms that would radically shift the tax burden in North Carolina.

The proposal would eliminate personal and corporate income taxes in exchange for higher state sales taxes levied against groceries, medical expenses and other currently tax-free services.

I suspect that this is going to go over like a lead balloon.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that opposition is already forming:

The N.C. Budget Center, a liberal think tank, conducted a simulation analysis that suggested more than half of taxpayers, particularly the middle and lower class, would see their overall tax burden rise, while the most wealthy would get a significant cut.

Now, I’m not as familiar with the state numbers as I am the familiar national numbers as they pertain to who pays and who doesn’t pay state income tax.  And while I am sympathetic to the argument that an increased sales tax would hit the lower and middle class harder, I am not as sympathetic to an argument that takes a citizen from paying no tax to having some burden to the state.

With that said, I do agree with “Friend of Tarheel” Dave Ribar when he claims:

But critics caution that the proposals represent a fundamental change in who pays the state’s tax burden, and economists said that low-income people would feel the brunt. “For this particular proposal, the responsibility would shift from rich households and prosperous corporations to poor households and smaller businesses,” Dave Ribar, a professor at UNC-Greensboro, concluded in his analysis of the proposal.

North Carolina funds its budget through various taxes working in balance.  While we have high income taxes and corporate taxes, we have a lower sales tax combined with a very inexpensive tax on housing.  Further, our gasoline tax is high compared to our region.

So, while I get the republican’s desire to change the income tax and corporate tax scheme, I’m afraid that they aren’t going to take the whole picture into account and maybe, just maybe, make the whole thing worse.

Here are the details released so far:

It costs roughly $12 billion to eliminate the corporate and personal income taxes and business franchise taxes, as the GOP proposes. The money accounts for more than half the state’s $20 billion annual budget.

Proposed tax hikes

To offset the cuts, Senate Republicans are considering:

• Eliminating all 318 existing tax breaks in the state’s tax code, which account for $9 billion in revenue. The breaks cover everything from motor vehicle taxes to prescription drugs and insulin to sales taxes paid by nonprofits.

• Generating $12.9 billion in new revenue by increasing the 6.75 percent combined sales tax rate levied in most of the state to an 8.05 percent combined state and local tax rate.

The higher rate would apply to all goods and services – including those currently exempt from taxes, such as lottery tickets, haircuts, dentist visits, housekeeping and lawyers’ fees.

One major increase would be the sales tax on groceries. It currently sits at 2 percent but would increase to 8 percent.

Together, the sale tax changes would provide $12.9 billion.

• Levying a 1.05 percent tax on businesses, indexed to either net worth or gross receipts. Republicans are calling this a “license fee” that would produce $4 billion.

• Increasing the tax on all commercial and residential real estate sales, from the current 0.2 percent rate to 1 percent, generating $400 million.

Expect much hand wringing to take place.

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Posted in Economy, Politics: North Carolina

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2012 Election in North Carolina

Posted on January 22, 2013 | 2 comments

Some interesting stats from the 2012 Presidential election:

A new analysis of voter turnout data for the November 2012 election proves North Carolina has earned its reputation as a swing state.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney evenly split the 10 counties with the highest turnout. Beaufort, Davie, Greene, Moore and Person voted for Romney, while Chatham, Granville, Hertford, Wake and Warren voted for Obama.

Living in Raleigh I’m disappointed that Wake county broke for Obama.  However, I continue to take immense pleasure that we were the one battle ground state that Romney carried.

More tidbits:

  • Overall, turnout in 2012 was 68.3 percent – down slightly from 69.6 percent in 2008.
  • Republican women picked up a percentage point, from 72.3 percent in 2008 to 73.4 percent in 2012.
  • GOP men made an even bigger gain, from 70.7 to 72.2 percent.
  • The number of registered Democrats who voted in 2012 actually dropped by nearly 53,000, even though the party added about 8,800 registered voters since 2008.
  • Turnout among black voters dropped slightly, from 71.9 to 70.3 percent, that’s in line with the drop in overall turnout.
  • Turnout for voters 18-25 dropped by more than 5 percent from 2008
  • [Hispanic] turnout was 4.9 percent lower than in 2008.
  • Senior citizens … picked up 4.2 percent at the polls, with a 2012 turnout of 76.6 percent – the highest of any demographic group.

With a commanding majority in the state political picture, it’ll be interesting to see how the republicans govern and lead the state for the next two years.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Politics: North Carolina

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On the Importamce of Relative

Posted on January 20, 2013 | 3 comments

This from the local news here in Raleigh:

Raleigh, N.C. — A blast of arctic air that could push temperatures down to the teens in some spots around the Triangle will arrive by midweek.

The frigid blanket, which is moving into the United States from Canada, already wrapped around the northernmost part of the country on Saturday, causing a dramatic drop in the mercury.

…

“We keep seeing those temperatures go down with every passing hour,” WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth said late Saturday.

The arctic blast will have the same effect when it reaches North Carolina on Tuesday…

The forecast for the week?

The highs are never below freezing; most are above 45.  None of the lows are cold enough to allow for good conditions while organizing a game of pond hockey.

In fact. the lowest low is fully 40 degrees higher than the temperatures I endured while waiting for the bus at the bus stop.

How many people can honestly say they know what 20 below feels like?

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Posted in Climate Change, Life

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An Argument In Favor Of Guns

Posted on December 22, 2012 | 5 comments

There has been tons, I mean TONS, of reporting lately on the negative aspects of an armed citizen.  Let us not forget the benefits of said armed citizens:

Henderson, N.C. — Police are investigating a fatal shooting Sunday at a Henderson home that appeared to result from a home invasion.

Deyon Durham, 24, of 279 Faulkner St., was found shot to death at 1221 Montgomery St. shortly after 7 a.m., police said.

The initial investigation suggests that Durham was breaking and entering at the home when the homeowner, whose name was not released, shot him.

I understand that the scene in Henderson remains a tragedy; a young man in the prime of his life has perished.  But the home of an innocent citizen has been defended.

And, just like in the face of numerous other tragedies around the country, there is a back story that may have prevented the tragedy.  In this case, how was Mr. Durham free in society?

Durham had convictions, starting in 2005, for indecent liberties with a minor, sexual battery, breaking and entering vehicles, larceny and failure to register as a sex offender, according to state Division of Adult Correction records.

In parallel to those tragedies that are gathering more media attention across America, this one could have been prevented by methods other than taking guns out of legal citizen’s hands.  Perhaps, for example, by locking Mr. Durham up.

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Posted in Crime, Liberty

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Big Ten = 16

Posted on November 21, 2012 | 3 comments

I’m from Minnesota and live in North Carolina.

That makes this big news:

As Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald writes: “Let’s just get on with it.”

His topic: The next round of expansion for the Big Ten, about which Barfknecht contends: “Commissioner Jim Delany is a smart, powerful man who knows the era of four 16-team superconferences is coming sooner than any of us wanted to believe.”

And who would those schools be? How about one that the Gophers just paid $800,000 to avoid on their football schedule?

Barfknecht: “Four BCS conference coaches and administrators I talked to Tuesday said they think the Big Ten is actively hunting for members 15 and 16, and mentioned the Tar Heels and Jayhawks.”

Wow!

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The Corrosive Impact Of Unions In Action

Posted on November 16, 2012 | 4 comments

If you wanna see a real life example of how the parasite kills the host look no further than Hostess Brands Inc.

Rocky Mount, N.C. — Hostess Brands Inc. filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court early Friday, seeking permission to shutter operations and end production of the snack cakes and breads known to generations of Americans.

The Texas-based company said in a statement on its website that it will try to sell its assets, including the iconic Twinkie, Ding Dong and Wonder Bread brands. Bakery operations have been suspended at all 36 plants, including one in Rocky Mount, following a week-long strike by thousands of workers protesting 8 percent wage cuts and benefit concessions.

In its statement, Hostess said the strike “crippled the company’s ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities.”

Already-baked products will continue to be delivered, and the company said its retail stores will remain open for a few days to sell off remaining stock.

“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said. “Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders.”

In essence, the union was negotiating either an 8% wage cut or a 100% wage cut.  The union decided that they wanted the 100% version.

However, unlike in other cases where the economic realities are hidden and not immediately obvious to the employees, the workers at the plant here in Rocky Mount North Carolina are keenly aware of the decision they are making:

The company has about 18,300 employees, including about 275 in Rocky Mount.

“We’re not in the dark. We know exactly what’s going to happen,” Hoffman said, “They’re going to shut the plant. They’re going to shut down all the (plants in the) United States.”

I have to hand it to the workers here in Rocky Mount.  North Carolina is a “right to work” state where workers can’t be forced to join a union.  Further, these workers were not yet affected by the contractual mess, they were simply honoring the picket lines of those workers elsewhere.   However, the actions of these employees acting on behalf of their unions have caused the corporation to go bankrupt.  The business will be sold off and these workers have lost their job in an economy that has continued to sputter along.

18,000+ employees out of work due to the union.

Amazing.

A note concerning Twinkies and GM.  I’ll bet you a candy bar that Hostess will sell everything.  The machines, the the trucks, the buildings and THE NAMES.  Someone will come along and buy the name “Hostess” and the name of every product they make.  And they begin to produce these products but in a manner that is more able to offer a return on investment.

The same thing would have happened to GM.

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Posted in Economics, Economy

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Update – 11:00

Posted on November 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

The only good -GREAT- news is that my state flipped from Obama to Romney.  I feel a fantastic sense of accomplishment even if I only moved a few people.

The news is getting worse for Romney, however.  It look like Florida is moving towards Obama though there will be a recount.  And Ohio has stopped closing; Ohio is going to go Obama.

Fun stuff even if it’s bad news for Republicans.

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Posted in Elections 2012

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