Carolina Politics Online

“Eliminate the payroll tax and replace it with a carbon tax. By eliminating the 12.4% cost of the payroll tax and implementing carbon taxes, the cost to the government would be net neutral. “

The Conservativist

It’s an interesting proposal, even though we don’t need to have a carbon tax because man made global warming isn’t real.  I would have to know a lot more about the intricacies of such an idea before I could say where I stand on it.  Would such a shift be revenue neutral in order to maintain or increase the necessary contributions to Social Security to keep it sustainable?  What would be the effect on business overall, better or worse than the payroll taxes they current pay?

At any rate Inglis’s idea is nothing more than a dream.  The minute anyone even suggests changing anything involving Social Security whether positive or not the panic alarm is sounded.  Ted Kennedy blows enough hot air from his mouth to power a blimp, the AARP starts catapulting 90 years olds into the side of the Canon Building in protest and the fear mongering manifests from the status quo in Washington.

It’s for the better in my opinion.  Michael Steele, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, is by far a better choice.  I just don’t see the leadership qualities in Dawson.  The GOP here was pointing to their success in keeping a strong hold on the state, but how long is that going to last?  The Republicans in Columbia have spent us into oblivion the last several years and have fought Governor Sanford on just about every good idea he’s had.  When was Dawson speaking out against any of this?  Where was the leadership?  This is, of course, aside from his membership in the all white country club that the DNC would have used to slam the GOP every chance it got.

Michael Steele is the right guy for the job.  He can bridge the gap between the Goldwater Republicans and the Rockefeller Republicans.  Neither can survive without the other and right now they need to be united if they are to have any hope in taking back the Congress in the near future.

State House Republican leader Paul Stam hasn’t voted for the House rules since 1989.

Stam, an Apex Republican, says the House rules don’t allow full debate for the minority party.

On Wednesday, Stam tried a different approach in making his case. He still complained that the rules would give Democrats overwhelming influence on the state budget.

But he added a morsel to encourage Democrats to see things his way. Stam pointed out that whoever writes the state budget will be responsible for making difficult and unpopular choices.

“If I was the majority party, I would want to share that pain,” Stam said.

House Speaker Joe Hackney said Stam’s complaints are “noise.”

The N&O

“Noise”, huh?

Well, let’s play a game of “Most Logical Conclusion”, shall we?

Paul Stam is MY State Representative, elected by my neighbors and myself to represent our interests in Raleigh. So I guess that makes the interests of the entire 37th State House district, me included, ”noise”, in the words of HACKney.

And since Paul Stam is the House Minority Leader, I suppose that makes the words of everyone who has a Republican house member (a sizable portion of the state) noise too. That is, according to HACKney.

I guess when you can be the “goodest” and “oldest” boy in the “Good Ol’ Boy” network that our esteemed straight ticket voters decided to keep in place last November, you can get away with being jackass like Speaker HACKney. But though he may be surprised to hear it, HACKney doesn’t sit on some throne in Raleigh. Paul Stam is right about having to own this budget- and its consequences. If two years from now the Democrats end up having to eat this budget by themselves, we’ll be talking about Speaker Paul Stam, and everything HACKney says will be less than noise- it’ll be the low mournful wailings of a jackass political failure.

Less than 24 hours after the state legislature opened its session, public health advocates vowed Thursday to pass a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, an effort that failed by a slender margin two years ago.

Rep. Hugh Holliman, a top House Democratic leader and a lung-cancer survivor, is pushing the ban. He pointed out that the state already prohibits tobacco in government buildings and state cars. He said the health-care costs of smoking have grown and, perhaps most important, this time he thinks he’ll have enough votes for the ban.

“There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” said Holliman, of Lexington, the House majority leader.

The N&O

There is also no safe level of exposure to government stupidity, which is what we’re dealing with here. Mr. Holliman, who will hereafter be referred to as Hugh “Heinrich Himmler” Holliman (or “4-H”), is a jackbooted thug who hides behind concern for your health in an effort to run your life. So enormous is this jackass’ misplaced conceit that he believes that he, and he alone, is smart enough to force private businesses to ban smoking and take that choice away from business owners -and more importantly- customers.

Such arrogance is indicative of a man who must think that most of his constituents are morons. Otherwise, why put so much time and effort into trying their run their lives as he sees fit? I bet if you dosed 4-H with a little sodium pentothal and asked him what he really thinks of the people who voted for him, the results would be instructive.

PS. Some may find it distasteful that I compare Hugh Holliman with one of the most evil mass murderers of all time. Well, I find it it distasteful that Hugh Holliman thinks that the government has a place in forcing me and other private citizens to live my life the way HE wants me too. They are both fascists. Yeah, that’s right. I used the “F-word”. You disagree? Tell me why I’m wrong.

PPS. I love that he justifies his fascism with being a lung cancer survivor. Oh, boo-hoo. Nobody made you smoke, Heinrich. My dad, a ~30 year smoker, had surgery in November to remove a cancerous part of his lung. No one made him smoke and he’s not blaming anyone for the consequences of HIS OWN ACTIONS. Unlike you, he appreciates freedom- and the responsibility that comes with it.

A bill filed Wednesday would take away some of Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry’s authority.

The legislation would move the state’s responsibility for enforcing workplace safety from the N.C. Department of Labor, overseen by Berry, to the N.C. Department of Commerce, which is run by a member of the governor’s Cabinet.

Sen. Doug Berger, a Youngsville Democrat, said he sponsored the bill out of frustration with what he called Berry’s “laissez-faire,” “see-no-evil” and partisan approach to the office.

Even if a more active labor commissioner were elected later, Berger said he would support leaving the authority under the governor permanently.

Berger and Berry have some history together. She defeated him in the 2000 labor commissioner race by two-tenths of one percent.

The N&O

Hey clown, if you don’t like how she’s doing her job, you should have run against her last year. As it is, Berry was re-elected despite a terrible year for Republicans, which tells me that most NCer’s think she’s doing her job just fine. How about instead of wasting our time with bitchy little hissy-fit bills, you introduce some tax cuts instead?

Gun Owners of America

Thursday, January 29, 2009

 

It was a disappointing result, to be sure. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the nomination of Eric Holder yesterday by a 17-2 vote.

Only Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John Cornyn (R-TX) voted against the anti-gun nominee for Attorney General.

One of the things that gravely hurt us in committee was Senator Orrin Hatch’s support for Holder. Even though Hatch holds a lukewarm “C” rating with GOA, he is generally viewed as “pro-gun” on the Hill. His support for Holder certainly pulled a lot of Senators with him from his side of the aisle.

I wonder what Holder believes that a citizen should able to do to protect themselves in their own house? As a Endowment (Life) member of the NRA I believe that Holder is a threat to the US Constitution.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aaron Groen

January 28, 2009
202-225-2071

Foxx statement on $825 billion “borrow and spend” plan

Washington, DC-Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) released the following statement today on the so-called “stimulus plan” being considered by the House of Representatives:

“The economic challenges facing our country today are great. Americans expect Congress to take seriously the need to get the unemployed back to work and to help small businesses, the engine of our economy, create most of those jobs. Doing the right thing means we must cut taxes for small businesses and all American families rather than spending billions on pet projects that do nothing to stimulate the economy.

“This $825 billion borrow and spend plan that shells out $7.7 billion for programs that already have a budget surplus, that spends more than $330 million for sexually transmitted disease programs and that fritters away another $400 million for NASA global warming research does not measure up.

“We are being told that action is urgent but only 15 percent of the spending in this bill will get into the economy in 2009 and only 35 percent in 2010. That’s why today I will vote for an alternative plan that focuses on tax relief which leaves more money in the hands of working families instead of giving more money to government which is little more than pork barrel spending.

“Borrowing and spending the equivalent of $10,500 for every household in America will do little to nothing to create new jobs and will put us further down the road to a national debt catastrophe. I urge my Democrat colleagues to consider the proposals put forth by Republicans to bring fast, efficient economic relief through targeted tax cuts for families and employers.”

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One possibile long-term reform would be to change the tax structure by establishing a statewide uniform foundation millage in 2011, which Rex said would provide more funding to school districts with lower overall property values without hurting more-affluent districts. He said it would not be a statewide property tax.

The Item

Uh… a property tax is exactly what it is, you dumb ass.  I guess by using a fifty cent word like millage Rex thinks he can fool the ignorant and the stupid into buying into this, which maybe they will.

Why not just allocate a set amount of money per each student in the state, let the parents choose the school they want their kid to go to (GASP!  You mean competition??) and send that money to whichever school they choose?  That way the same amount of money is being spent for each student whether they are in Fort Mill or Orangeburg.

Jim Rex has no interest in solving any problems with South Carolina education.  He is just a bureaucrat who wants to maintain the status quo.  Remember folks, this man wants to be your next governor.  If you enjoyed having that weight taken off your shoulders when you received your property tax bill in December and saw it was less than half of the year before then Rex should be a very scary man to you.

A plan to add a 3 percent gas tax to the four counties affected by the construction of Interstate 73 was proposed this morning at an I-73 committee meeting in Columbia.

Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, proposed the bill that would tax gas in Horry, Marlboro, Dillon and Marion counties. Legislators from those areas plan to bring the proposal back to their respective county councils for feedback. The tax would raise local funds to help build the $2.4 billion piece of the interstate in South Carolina. The road would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach.

The Sun News

Why on earth would we want a highway connecting us to Michigan?  Who from South Carolina is going to want to go there anyway.  The state of Michigan is a wasteland.

Furthermore, what makes anyone in Michigan think that we want them here in South Carolina?  After seeing what they’ve done to their state just keep them away.

Frankly, I think this should be funded by the Federal Government.  I think interstate highways are a legitimate function of the Feds and they should fund those building those highways across the country.  Perhaps the individual states can be responsible for the upkeep once they are built.

CHAPEL HILL – The president of North Carolina’s university system says the 16 state campuses must keep the lid on tuition and fee increases for resident undergraduate students because parents can’t pay more.

UNC president Erskine Bowles made his recommendation in a memo to the system’s Board of Governors. Bowles said the university system faced “the worst economic environment of our lives – the worst since the Great Depression.”

Bowles wants the board to cut each tuition and fee hike proposal from the 16 campuses by a third.

Winston-Salem Journal

How about no increase at all?  College tuition rises every year, many times higher than the rate of inflation.  Universities are as bad as the government when it comes to spending wisely and cutting out waste.  How about saving families money by cutting out the bullshit liberal arts requirements that do next to nothing to prepare you for the working world?  I’m talking about the Humanities requirements and the physical education requirements and the freshman orientation diversity brainwashing class many colleges force you to enroll in.  These courses serve only to pad the coffers of the university and give the instructor a job.  They have no practical purpose in the real world and are a colossal financial burden on the students.

SUMMERVILLE — A bill to make developers help pay for the cost of new schools around town made its way through the state Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation, written by Sen. Mike Rose, R-Summerville, would allow the Dorchester District 2 school board to impose impact fees on new houses to pay for schools to serve new residents.

“My bill gives the school district the authority to protect itself,” Rose said. “Counties and cities have a financial incentive to keep approving houses. They have no financial incentive to consider schools.”

The Post and Courier

I don’t understand why the schools need to have impact fees.  If a new house is built someone is now paying new property taxes that weren’t being paid before.  If they’re from out of state, the new owners of the house are now paying income taxes and sales taxes that the state was never getting before.  How is this not sufficient for the bureaucrats?

The $819 Billion waste of our tax dollars that President Obama claims to be an economic stimulus package unsurprisingly passed the House today, but apparently the Republicans in D.C. grew a backbone and every single one of them voted against it.  The GOP was joined by 11 Democrats, one of them being Congressman Heath Shuler (NC-11).  We already have a budget deficit of over $1 Trillion this year adding to an already national debt of $11 Trillion.  The future of this nation is horrifying to me if our government doesn’t stop the spending spree.

But Perdue said she was not satisfied that most of the options recommended were across-the-board cuts. She asked that the departments identify more programs that can be eliminated.

“They have sent me a list of what the 7 percent would look like,” Perdue told reporters after speaking to a Raleigh breakfast sponsored by Lillian’s List, a pro choice women’s group.

“I have specifically asked [budget officials] for some programmatic cuts, not just across the board,” Perdue said. “This looks to me like a lot of across-the-board cuts. I find it hard to believe that there are not things that could be eliminated.”

The News & Observer

Madam Governor, I assure thee, there is always waste to cut in government.  I applaud Perdue for taking this position, unlike some other governors in states like New York and the Socialist Republic of Kalifornia where their answers to every crisis is to hike up taxes even higher.

Uh-oh!  This will put the bra burners in a tizzy.

Gov. Beverly Perdue’s pro-choice promise will soon face its first test.

While speaking to a feminist group at a fundraiser breakfast in Raleigh this morning, Perdue pledged to be strongly pro-choice.

At the same time, she released a list of proposed cuts given to her by different agency officials that includes eliminating the state’s fund to help poor women afford abortions.

The News & Observer

The amusing irony here is that Perdue was heavily backed by Emily’s List.

A North Carolina congressman who tried to block strict new rules for driving on Outer Banks beaches last year is trying again.

Republican Rep. Walter Jones said Wednesday that small businesses on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands are being hit by the economic downturn, but also by federal rules that bar or restrict access to some beaches. The businesses heavily rely on beach fishermen.

The park service adopted strict rules under a settlement with environmentalists to protect endangered birds and sea turtles while they nest.

WRAL

You gotta love the misguided view of the environmental extremists.  We are supposed to starve and uproot our lives so that the sea turtles and the yellow bellied nut scratcher can live untainted by the evil encroachment of man.

Timothy Geithner was confirmed by the Senate as the next U.S. Treasury Secretary despite the fact that he owed back taxes of $42,702 which he never bothered to pay until after he got nominated for the position.  Lindsey Graham apparently thinks it’s perfectly fine to have a man who is a liar and a cheat be in charge of the very organization which he swindled just a few years ago.  I am speaking of course of the IRS which will be under Geithner’s supervision.  Then again, most of them in Washington are liars and cheats so maybe Graham simply saw a little bit of himself in Timmy.

Debbie Summers has just been crowned the new Queen of Lexington County and right out of the gate she has a new decree. Ta-da!!  She will run your business for you because she knows better.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aaron Groen

January 27, 2009
202-225-2071

Foxx statement on today’s meeting with President Obama

Washington, DC-President Barack Obama today met with Republican’s in the House of Representatives, including Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05), to discuss the need for an economic relief package. Rep. Foxx issued the following statement after the meeting with President Obama:

“Today’s meeting with President Obama was an encouraging sign that our new President is willing to listen to the ideas and concerns of House Republicans.

“My sincere hope is that the President will seriously consider the proposals presented by Republicans to cut taxes for families and small businesses across America. His openness to dialogue is an important first step to fixing the serious flaws in the House Democrats’ $825 billion spending bill.

“As this process moves forward perhaps my Democratic colleagues in the House will follow the example of President Obama and include House Republicans in the economic relief negotiations that we have thus far been locked out of.”

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