Carolina Politics Online

I went out to my mailbox a few days ago and found this letter from the Census Bureau.  I think to myself, “Ah, the Census is here,” but no.  To my dismay, I opened the envelope to find a letter sent to me from the Census Bureau informing me that they will be sending me the Census form in the coming weeks.  Yes, they sent me a letter to tell me they will be sending me a letter.  Assuming they did this for every resident in the country, I can only imagine how many zeroes were involved in the cost of sending these out.  Perhaps, it was really a back door bail out for the U.S. Postal Service.  We do know how the Federal government loves those.

Republican candidate for governor Henry McMaster said at a campaign stop that he opposes using the state’s economic development incentives program for retail projects.

McMaster, the state attorney general, told a gathering Saturday at Sun City Hilton Head that such tax incentives would give an unfair advantage to some retailers.

The State

It’s nice to know that somebody in the alleged party of small government is opposed to doling out our tax dollars to more corporate interests.  Although, I would be curious to know which side McMaster would have come down on regarding the Boeing deal last year.  His statement comes on the heals of a shopping mall being planned in Beaufort.

S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, a Republican candidate for governor, said during a campaign stop in Sun City Hilton Head Saturday that he is “not convinced the law should be changed” to give tax incentives to retail developers such as the Sembler Co.

Sembler plans to build Okatie Crossings, a 280-acre shopping center and luxury outlet mall in Beaufort and Jasper counties. Sembler has said the incentives are critical to its plan.

Saturday’s statement, which came in response to a question from a Sun City resident, was the first time McMaster has spoken publicly on the bill for which Sembler is lobbying.

That bill could come to the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday.

“I’m not sure we should be in the business of judging one retail establishment against another,” McMaster said of choosing which retailers should get tax incentives.

The Island Packet

If Okatie Crossings can’t be profitable without taxpayers shelling out corporate welfare to Sembler Co., then why are they building the mall in the first place?  If you need a government subsidy to be in the black then it sounds like a bad investment to me.  Builders typically aren’t in the habit of making bad investments so this leads me to speculate that Sembler Co. can indeed be profitable without the incentives, they just want to see how much of their obligation they can pawn off on the taxpayers.

Let’s see how the Republican controlled state legislature, the party that has railed against the Obama stimulus program, votes when this bill comes up this week.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 24, 2010

Contact: Aaron Groen

202-225-2071

WASHINGTON—The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) today awarded Foxx an “A” grade for her record of consistently voting to reduce spending and keep taxes low.  In NTU’s detailed rating of more than 300 House votes in 2009 Foxx scored a 94 percent, giving her the highest score out of North Carolina’s congressional delegation.

“Working hard to keep federal government spending in check and to keep North Carolina families’ taxes low is one of my top priorities,” Foxx said.  “So I’m pleased that NTU recognized my commitment to fiscal responsibility and limited government in their 2009 vote ratings.”

NTU’s rating of members of Congress’ votes covers 333 House votes in 2009 that had a significant affect on taxes, spending or debt.  Foxx’s “A” grade reflects her voting record on these 333 votes and also earns her the NTU’s “Taxpayers’ Friend Award”.

For more information on NTU’s congressional ratings, how the ratings are calculated and what roll call votes are used please visit www.ntu.org.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Wake Forest University was given a grant for $71,623 to “study the effects of self-administering cocaine on the glutamate system on monkeys.” Ah, but that’s not all.  Wake Forest also received a grant in the amount of $147,694 to study “preliminary data on the efficacy of integral yoga for reducing menopausal hot flashes.”  Wake Forest lies in Congressman Mel Watt’s (D) district.  I wonder who appropriated those earmarks.

There is also $50,000 for the American Dance Festival, Inc. and $250k to preserve an insect collection.

Can anybody tell me how any of this is supposed to stimulate the economy?  That was the purpose of the stimulus bill after all, hence the reason it was referred to as the stimulus bill, or more appropriately, the Porkulus bill.  Perhaps this is why after spending billions of dollars it hasn’t done jack.

Many months ago when I was expressing my dismay about the Porkulus bill and referred to it as such, our dear friend Lynn told me I was sounding too much like Rush Limbaugh.  Well Lynn, you haven’t commented in a while, but in case you are still popping by, I told ya so.

All I have to say is thank God for John Pope and the Civitas Institute for taking the time to expose this kind of crap because Lord knows I certainly don’t have the resources to.  Maybe some day.

The so-called “jobs” bill passed the Senate by a vote of 70 – 28 and will result in throwing away another $15 billion in money we don’t have and in the end will do absolutely nothing to help our ailing economy.  It is estimated by some that the bill will create 250,000 jobs, a smidgen of the 8 million that have been lost, but what happens when the money runs out?  Well, so do the jobs and that’s the main problem.  These are temporary jobs that are nothing more than band-aids.  In the long run our economy will still be in the crapper.

Part of the incentive that will allegedly create these jobs is an exemption from the payroll tax for businesses that hire new workers and an extra $1,000 credit if they employ them for at least a year.  So let’s think about that.  If I hire a new employee for, say, $40,000 a year, I don’t have to pay the 6.5% payroll tax on their salary and I get a $1,000 credit from the Feds a year from now.  Perhaps my math is fuzzy, but I’m still out $39,000.  In a down economy the demand for my services isn’t picking up, so what good will it do me to bring on this extra employee?  Legislation like this is living proof that anybody off the street can run for office.

Your two North Carolina Senators, Richard Burr (R) and Kay Hagan (D), supported wasting your hard earned money and adding more to our already chronic national debt.

Remember that infamous pier $25 million pier that EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN but one voted for, only to turn around and point to it as an example of government waste?

Well, it looks like the other shoe is dropping. And is anyone surprised?

A document obtained by the Civitas Institute from the N.C. Division of Aquariums under a public records request shows Basnight Construction on a list of plan-holders of the pier and as an interested subcontractor in November 2008 nine months before Sen. Basnight said he was aware of his company’s interest in the project.

“The timeline of events from the awarding of the contract, to the approval of the funding by the General Assembly seem to contradict Sen. Basnight’s statement to the media that he wasn’t aware of Basnight Construction’s participation until this past August,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca.  “Additionally, even if Sen. Basnight claims that he didn’t personally benefit from the project, it is clear that a close member of his family did stand to benefit.”

Civitas

Marc Basnight should be in jail. JAIL! Where the hell are you, Attorney General Roy Cooper?

Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has cast herself as the one candidate who would reject federal stimulus money and corporate bailouts.

But Haley, a state representative from Lexington, cast a vote last year to accept a disputed $700 million in federal money.

Haley said she cast the vote before it was clear that the state could reject the money – new stimulus legal wrinkles emerged almost daily last spring.

The State

The porkulus bill is pretty much an issue of the past at this point, but my thoughts on it are this.  If the money would have never been spent at all had we not taken it, then it should have been refused.  It was a complete waste of money by the Federal government and its had next to no effect whatsoever in helping the economy recover.  All it has done is add to our incredibly high debt.  However, if the money would have just been reallocated to another state, which was the case, then we should have accepted it.  If it’s going to be spent anyway it may as well be spent here.  Ultimately, the state legislature forced Sanford to accept the money, so that is that.

Is Haley trying to have it both ways?  I guess that’s up to you to decide.

Despite the vote, Haley said she has been consistently against the federal money. After the vote, Haley said she spoke with the offices of Sanford and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint who assured her the state could reject the money. Haley later voted against final passage of the stimulus-boosted state budget.

“Everybody knows I was against it,” she said. “I’m the only one that can consistently say that.”

Another $8.4 billion down the crapper.  The legacy of Mr. Jim Rex who wants to be our next governor.

H/T South Carolinians for Responsible Government

The 2009-10 Failing Schools List (raw data from the State Department of Education here):

Aiken County Public School District

* A L Corbett Middle School (6 years failing to met AYP standards)
* Aiken Middle School (6 years)
* Aiken Performing Arts Charter (2 years)
* Clearwater Elementary School (2 years)
* Cyril B Busbee Elementary School (6 years)
* East Aiken Elementary School (2 years)
* Jackson Middle School (5 Years)
* Jefferson Elementary School (2 years)
* Langley Bath Clearwater Middle School (6 years)
* Leavelle Mccampbell Middle School (4 Years)
* Lloyd/Kennedy Charter (6 years)
* Paul Knox Middle School (2 years)
* Redcliffe Elementary School (2 years)
* Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary School (6 years)
* Schofield Middle School (6 years)

Allendale Public Schools (info)

* Allendale Elementary School (6 years)
* Allendale-Fairfax Middle School (6 years)
* Fairfax Elementary School (5 Years)

Anderson School District Four

* Pendleton Elementary School (3 Years)

Anderson School District Five (info)

* Homeland Park Elementary School (2 years)
* Nevitt Forest Elementary School (2 years)
* Southwood Middle School (4 Years)

Bamberg County School District Two

* Denmark-Olar Elementary School (6 years)
* Denmark-Olar Middle School (6 years)

Barnwell School District 19 (info)

* Macedonia Elementary School (6 years)

Barnwell School District 29

* Kelly Edwards Elementary School (3 Years)

Barnwell School District 45

* Barnwell Primary (3 Years)

Beaufort County School District (info)

* Beaufort Elementary School (2 years)
* Broad River Elementary School (2 years)
* James J Davis Elementary School (3 Years)
* Joseph S Shanklin Elementary School (3 Years)
* St Helena Elementary School (2 years)
* Whale Branch Elementary School (6 years)
* Whale Branch Middle School (6 years)

Berkeley County School District (info)

* Berkeley Intermediate (6 years)
* Boulder Bluff Elementary School (4 Years)
* College Park Elementary School (6 years)
* Cross Elementary School (2 years)
* Cross High School (2 years)
* Devon Forest Elementary School (6 years)
* Henry E Bonner Elementary School (6 years)
* J K Gourdin Elementary School (2 years)
* Sedgefield Intermediate (4 Years)
* St Stephen Middle School (6 years)
* Whitesville Elementary School (6 years)

Charleston County School District (info)

* Alice Birney Middle School (6 years)
* Baptist Hill High School (6 years)
* Burke High School (6 years)
* Charleston Progressive (2 years)
* Chicora Elementary School (2 years)
* Edith L Frierson Elementary School (2 years)
* Edmund A Burns Elementary School (5 Years)
* Greg Mathis Charter High School (2 years)
* Haut Gap Middle School (6 years)
* James Simons Elementary School (3 Years)
* Jane Edwards Elementary School (3 Years)
* Ladson Elementary School (2 years)
* Mary Ford Elementary School (3 Years)
* Memminger Elementary School (2 years)
* Midland Park Elementary School (6 years)
* Military Magnet Academy (4 Years)
* Mitchell Elementary School (6 years)
* Morningside Middle School (6 years)
* North Charleston Elementary School (6 years)
* North Charleston High School (6 years)
* R B Stall High School (5 Years)
* St James-Santee Elementary School (3 Years)
* St Johns High School (2 years)
* Susan G. Boykin Academy (4 Years)
* W B Goodwin Elementary School (5 Years)

Cherokee County School District (info)

* Blacksburg Elementary School (5 Years)
* Limestone/Central Elementary School (3 Years)
* Luther Vaughan Elementary School (4 Years)
* Mary Bramlett Elementary School (5 Years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Fine Arts (2 years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Literacy/Tec (3 Years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Of Inquiry (4 Years)
* Great Falls Elementary School (6 years)
* Lewisville Elementary School (3 Years)

Chesterfield County School District (info)

* Jefferson Elementary School (5 Years)
* Pageland Elementary School (6 years)

Clarendon School District One

* Scotts Branch Middle School (6 years)
* St Paul Elementary School (2 years)

Clarendon School District Two

* Manning Elementary School (6 years)
* Manning Primary (2 years)

Clarendon School District Three

* Walker-Gamble Elementary School (2 years)

Colleton County School District (info)

* Bells Elementary School (6 years)
* Colleton Middle School (6 years)
* Cottageville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Forest Circle Middle School (6 years)
* Forest Hills Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hendersonville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Northside Elementary School (5 Years)
* Ruffin Middle School (3 Years)

Darlington County School District (info)

* Brockington Elementary School (4 Years)
* Brunson-Dargan Elementary School (6 years)
* Darlington Middle School (6 years)
* Rosenwald Elementary School/Middle School (2 years)
* Spaulding Elementary School (6 years)
* Spaulding Middle School (6 years)
* St Johns Elementary School (4 Years)
* Washington St Elementary School (2 years)
* West Hartsville Elementary School (6 years)

Dillon School District One

* Lake View Elementary School (2 years)

Dillon School District Two (info)

* Gordon Elementary School (5 Years)
* Dillon 02 J V Martin Jr High School (6 years)

Dorchester School District Two (info)

* Knightsville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Summerville Elementary School (3 Years)
* William M Reeves Elementary School (2 years)

Dorchester School District Four (info)

* Clay Hill Middle School (3 Years)
* St. George Middle School (6 years)
* Williams Memorial Elementary School (6 years)

Edgefield County School District (info)

* Douglas Elementary School (3 Years)
* Johnston Elementary School (2 years)
* Merriwether Elementary School (2 years)

Florence School District One

* Briggs Elementary School (2 years)
* Greenwood Elementary School (4 Years)
* Henry Timrod Elementary School (2 years)
* Moore Intermediate (6 years)
* North Vista Elementary School (5 Years)
* Savannah Grove Elementary School (5 Years)
* Theodore Lester Elementary School (2 years)
* Wallace Gregg Elementary School (4 Years)

Florence School District Two

* Hannah-Pamplico Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)

Florence County School District Three

* J Paul Truluck Middle School (6 years)
* Lake City Elementary School (6 years)
* Main Street Elementary School (5 Years)
* Ronald E Mcnair Middle School (6 years)

Florence County School District Four

* Brockington Elementary School (5 Years)
* Johnson Middle School (2 years)
* Timmonsville High School (2 years)

Florence School District Five

* Johnsonville Elementary School (2 years)

Georgetown School District (info)

* Andrews Elementary School (6 years)
* Carvers Bay High School (2 years)
* Carvers Bay Middle School (6 years)
* Mcdonald Road Elementary School (2 years)
* Rosemary Middle School (5 Years)

Greenville County School District (info)

* Alexander Elementary School (4 Years)
* Armstrong Elementary School (4 Years)
* Berea Elementary School (4 Years)
* Cherrydale Elementary School (2 years)
* East North St Academy (6 years)
* Grove Elementary School (5 Years)
* Hollis Academy (6 years)
* Lakeview Middle School (6 years)
* Monaview Elementary School (6 years)
* Sue Cleveland Elementary School (3 Years)
* Tanglewood Middle School (6 years)
* Thomas E Kerns Elementary School (3 Years)
* Welcome Elementary School (2 years)

Greenwood School District Fifty

* Hodges Elementary School (2 years)
* Lakeview Elementary School (2 years)
* Woodfields Elementary School (2 years)

Hampton School District One

* Fennell Elementary School (2 years)
* Hampton Elementary School (3 Years)
* Varnville Primary (3 Years)

Hampton County School District Two (info)

* Estill Elementary School (4 Years)
* Estill Middle School (6 years)

Horry County School District (info)

* Daisy Elementary School (6 years)
* Loris Elementary School (2 years)
* Loris Middle School (6 years)
* Pee Dee Elementary School (3 Years)
* South Conway Elementary School (5 Years)
* Waccamaw Elementary School (2 years)
* Whittemore Park Middle School (6 years)

Jasper County School District (info)

* Hardeeville Elementary School (6 years)
* Ridgeland Elementary School (6 years)
* Ridgeland Middle School (6 years)

Kershaw County Schools (info)

* Jackson Elementary School (3 Years)
* Midway Elementary School (3 Years)
* Pine Tree Hill Elementary School (4 Years)

Lancaster County School District

* Brooklyn Springs Elementary School (4 Years)
* Buford Elementary School (2 years)
* Clinton Elementary School (3 Years)
* Kershaw Elementary School (5 Years)

Lee County School District (info)

* Bishopville Primary (3 Years)
* Dennis Intermediate (6 years)
* Lower Lee Elementary School (6 years)
* Mary L. Dinkins Charter (3 Years)
* West Lee Elementary School (4 Years)

Lexington County School District One (info)

* Pelion Elementary School (6 years)
* Saxe Gotha Elementary School (5 Years)

Lexington County School District Two (info)

* Congaree Elementary School (4 Years)
* George I Pair Elementary School (3 Years)
* Herbert A Wood Elementary School (5 Years)
* R Earle Davis Elementary School (3 Years)

Lexington County School District Three (info)

* Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School (6 years)

Lexington-Richland School District Five (info)

* Harbison West Elementary School (4 Years)
* Leaphart Elementary School (2 years)
* Nursery Road Elementary School (3 Years)

Marion School District One (info)

* Johnakin Middle School (6 years)
* Marion High School (6 years)
* Marion Intermediate (5 Years)

Marion School District Two (info)

* Mccormick Elementary School (2 years)

Marion School District Seven (info)

* Creek Bridge High School (2 years)

Marlboro County School District (info)

* Bennettsville Elementary School (6 years)
* Bennettsville Middle School (6 years)
* Blenheim Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)
* Clio Elementary School/Middle School (5 Years)
* Mccoll Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)
* Wallace Elementary School/Middle (6 years)

McCormick County School District

* McCormick Elementary School (2 years)
* McCormick Middle School (6 years)

Newberry County School District (info)

* Boundary St Elementary School (3 Years)
* Newberry Elementary School (3 Years)

School District of Oconee County (info)

* James M Brown Elementary School (2 years)

Orangeburg School District Three (info)

* Elloree Elementary School (5 Years)
* Holly Hill Elementary School (6 years)
* Holly Hill-Roberts Middle School (6 years)
* Vance-Providence Elementary School (3 Years)

Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four (info)

* Carver Edisto Middle School (6 years)
* Edisto Elementary School (6 years)
* Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Elementary School (6 years)
* Lockett Elementary School (5 Years)

Orangeburg School District Five (info)

* Brookdale Elementary School (2 years)
* Rivelon Elementary School (3 Years)
* Robert E Howard Middle School (6 years)
* Whittaker Elementary School (2 years)

School District of Pickens County (info)

* Mckissick Elementary School (3 Years)

Richland County School District One (info)

* Burton Pack Elementary School (3 Years)
* Carver-Lyon Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hyatt Park Elementary School (5 Years)
* J P Thomas Elementary School (6 years)
* Watkins-Nance Elementary School (2 years)

Saluda County Schools

* Saluda Elementary School (3 Years)

Spartanburg School District One

* O P Earle Elementary School (3 Years)

Spartanburg County School District Four

* Woodruff Middle School (2 years)

Spartanburg County School District Six

* Jesse S Bobo Elementary School (2 years)

Spartanburg School District Seven (info)

* Cleveland Elementary School (4 Years)
* Park Hills Elementary School (5 Years)
* Whitlock Jr High School (2 years)

Sumter School District Two (info)

* Cherryvale Elementary School (3 Years)
* Mayewood Middle School (4 Years)
* Pocalla Springs Elementary School (4 Years)
* R E Davis Elementary School (2 years)
* Shaw Heights Elementary School (2 years)

Sumter School District Seventeen

* Alice Drive Elementary School (3 Years)
* Crosswell Drive Elementary School (3 Years)
* Lemira Elementary School (5 years)
* Wilder Elementary School (2 years)
* Willow Drive Elementary School (4 Years)

Union County School District (info)

* Buffalo Elementary School (2 years)
* Foster Park Elementary School (2 years)
* Jonesville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Monarch Elementary School (3 Years)

Williamsburg County School District (info)

* Cades-Hebron Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hemingway High School (4 Years)
* Kingstree Elementary School (6 years)
* Kingstree High School (6 years)
* Kingstree Jr High School (6 years)
* Youth Academy Charter (5 Years)

York County School District One

* Hunter Street Elementary School (5 Years)

York County School District Three

* Childrens Attention Charter (2 years)
* Independence Elementary School (3 Years)
* Northside Elementary School Ni
* Sunset Park Elementary School (4 Years)

The cost of building the Wilmington Convention Center is rising, and the anticipated completion date has been pushed back a couple of months to November.

The city’s original construction contract with J.M. Thompson Co., the main contractor, was for $28.5 million. But 16 change orders since construction began have pushed the cost to about $36.2 million, a 27 percent increase, according to city documents.

The Star-News

While that’s going on down in Wilmington, the city of Raleigh is having a wonderful debate on the intelligence (or lack thereof) of raising taxes to pay for a $205 million dollar building:

Mayor Charles Meeker won’t call a vote on the Clarence E. Light ner Public Safety Center at today’s city council meeting, again delaying a formal decision on a controversial project.

Criticism over the likely property tax increase to pay for the proposed $205 million project has stalled momentum in recent weeks.

Several council members, including Thomas Crowder, Bonner Gaylord and John Odom, have raised concerns about the size of the project and the timing of passing a tax increase in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression.

The downtown tower would be the largest and most expensive building the city has ever built, housing police, fire, emergency communications and information technology departments.

The N&O

Raleigh needs the building. Raleigh DOES NOT need a tax increase to pay for a $205 million building. We all have to cut our budgets, Mayor Meeker. I’m pretty sure you can too.

Just days after President Obama boasts of spending freezes to quell the public uprising over his administration’s breakneck spending spree, he insults the entire nation by introducing a record $3.8 trillion fiscal budget with a projected record breaking $1.56 trillion deficit.  To add insult to injury, our own Congressman here in the Fifth District, John Spratt, sends out a press release that may as well have “I’m With Stupid” written at the top accompanied by an arrow pointing to us.  He must believe we are to write this tripe and he may very well be correct considering a recent polling of his reelection bid shows that 46% of this district still thinks he should be reelected.

Let’s take his piece by piece.

“Our economy began backsliding into recession in December 2007, one full year before President Obama took office. Within weeks after President Obama was inaugurated, his Administration and Congress approved a large recovery bill to get the economy moving.

A recovery bill that was an epic fail and may have made things incredibly worse by some estimates.

“The Recovery Act added to a deficit already swollen by recession and the Bush Administration’s budgets and bail-outs. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, in the second half of 2009, the Recovery Act raised real GDP by 1.3% to 3.5%.

Tell that to all the people who continue to lose their jobs, particularly those in Chester County where unemployment is in excess of 20%.  Also, there is no way I am letting the hypocrisy in that first sentence slide by.  Spratt’s right, it was the Bush administration’s bailout, but Spratt voted for the damn thing!

In the last quarter of 2008, the economy shrank by 5.4% and 741,000 workers lost their jobs in January 2009 alone. In the last quarter of 2009, the economy grew by 5.7%, and job losses averaged 69,000 a month.

Job losses in December rose to 85,000 and unemployment held steady at 10%.

“The Obama Administration has realized from the start that it will be impossible to bring the deficit down unless the economy is up. The budget the President is sending Congress today puts a priority on those objectives. It keeps one eye on the economy and the other on the deficit.

He must have a lazy eye because each year that deficit gets larger, breaking the previous Guinness world record.

“We have brought the economy back from the brink, but too many Americans are still feeling the recession and not the recovery, and no one can be satisfied when unemployment nationwide averages 10% and in many places is worse.

Back from the brink?  Really?  When the hell did that happen and why are companies still laying off thousands?

“The President’s budget keeps an eye on the bottom-line. The deficit is cut by half, from $1.556 trillion in 2010 (10.6% 0f GDP) to $727 billion (4.2% of GDP) in 2013.

Ah yes, he trotted out the ole “we’re going to cut the deficit in half” bull shit, the deficit he and Obama raised through the roof and then they say when it falls back down to $727 billion, which is still incredibly higher than any of Bush’s record deficits, Spratt tries to hoodwink us into thinking he’s doing us a favor. Well, please don’t.  Just leave.

The budget continues to bring the deficit down, until it reaches 3.9% of GDP in 2014. The President also proposes a bipartisan fiscal commission to develop proposals to bring the deficit down further.

The commission is only needed because elected officials like John Spratt are too damn incompetent and cowardly to do the job they were elected to do.

“At the same time, the President’s budget funds additional initiatives to spur job creation – such as tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers. And the emphasis is on Main Street rather than Wall Street. The budget freezes non-security discretionary spending overall, but singles out priorities like education for funding increases well above a freeze.

“A three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending and a bipartisan fiscal commission are concrete commitments on the President’s part to bringing down the deficit, even if additional steps will be needed.

Please, the spending freeze is a joke and I cannot believe the hubris behind this.  We’re supposed to believe that the Congress is acting responsibly, despite hiking up the budget deficit to another record high, because they are freezing discretionary spending at a “paltry” $447 billion a year, after they just hiked it up 24% over the past ten months.  Why don’t you just kick me in the balls?

“We proved in the 1990s that it is possible to reduce deficits responsibly, but it cannot happen without concerted effort. Later this week, the House of Representatives will take a step in the right direction by voting to reinstate a statutory Pay-As-You-Go system modeled on the rules that helped turn record deficits into record surpluses in the 1990s.

Well, not exactly.  The calculation of the so-called Clinton “surplus”, which never existed, ignored intergovernmental holdings, in other words, money the government owes the government, IOUs for Social Security, etc.

“On both the budget and the economy, there are hard choices ahead of us, but the budget sent up by the President today marks one more step toward moving the economy up while bringing the deficit down.”

You’re right about one thing, Bubba, there are hard choices ahead and you sure as hell aren’t willing to make them.

John Spratt is the chairman of the House Budget Committee so if this passes you all know where the buck stops.

There are a slew of candidates running to replace Congressman Gresham Barrett (R) in South Carolina’s Third Congressional District.  As you probably know, Banker Bailout Barrett is trying to become our next governor (fat chance of that) and his R+17 district virtually guarantees that a Republican will succeed him next year.  Of the six candidates running I had the pleasure of interviewing State Representative Jeff Duncan of State House District 15.

Duncan is the father of three boys and has been married to his wife, whom he met in high school, for 21 years.  He got elected to the State House in 2002, but don’t blame him for the 40% increase in state spending and all the pork and waste racked up by our legislative assembly during that time.  Duncan was one of the good guys, consistently opposing the largesse of our trough feeding state legislative leadership.  Yes, Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell, I am talking about you, amongst others.  Duncan has received multiple high marks from the South Carolina Club for Growth, a taxpayer hero award from Governor Mark Sanford, and commendations from the South Carolina Policy Council.  In fact, it is this invariable commitment to small government policies that Duncan feels is what makes him the best candidate to receive his party’s nomination and go on to be an effective representative in Washington D.C.

South Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  I asked Duncan specifically about what could be done in Congress to improve our state’s economy.  He supports overhauling the tax code and regulatory environment.  Banking regulations, he says, have frozen access to capital for many businesses preventing expansion and an increase in jobs.  He also advocates slashing the Corporate Income Tax, which is the second highest in the world, and getting back into the business of nuclear power.

I also asked him about health care costs because that’s been a huge issue lately across the country.  One criticism I’ve heard from some of my more conservative friends is that they hold some blame on the Republicans for this health care disaster we’ve been seeing in Washington.  They say the rising cost of health care and insurance has been a complaint from many Americans for years and during all that time the GOP held the majority in Congress they could have addressed that issue, but they didn’t.  Now we have the Democrats on the verge of destroying the entire system.

Duncan says that Congress could take advantage of the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution and use it to bring down state boundaries in health insurance to allow companies to sell across state lines.  Competition will drive down the price.  He is also a supporter of some type of tort reform.  Furthermore, Duncan says that individuals who purchase health insurance outside their company should be allowed a dollar for dollar Federal tax deduction to help pay for it.  Additionally, associations in an industry should be able to pool together to purchase insurance at a lower cost.  He cited the National Association of Realtors, for example.

I also hit Duncan up about the Boeing deal that just happened a few months ago.  Boeing ultimately decided on South Carolina over Washington State to locate their plant that will assemble their new 787 jetliner.  This decision was based on the state’s cheaper labor costs and also targeted tax breaks for the company.  There has been criticism by some groups over these tax breaks, referring to them as corporate welfare.  Duncan, who voted in favor of the deal, said that while it probably isn’t good policy, to not go along with it would put the state in a non-competitive spot due to other states engaging in the practice.

Some additional information.  Jeff Duncan would support a Constitutional amendment imposing term limits on all Federal elected officials and he also is of the opinion that we do not have enough small business owners in D.C. who understand economics and what it takes to run a business in America.  Small businesses make up 75% of all American industry.

The primary is June 8th of this year.  Aside from Duncan, State Representative Rex Rice, State Senator Shane Massey, businessman Richard Cash of Anderson, Easley attorney Neil Collins, and Dr. Mike Vasovski of Aiken are also vying for the nomination to run in the November general election.

This is Haley’s opening statement from the January 28th Republican gubernatorial primary debate in Charleston.

The U.S. Senate today voted to increase the nation’s debt ceiling another $1.9 trillion to continue to pay for entitlement programs, war mongering,  and other unconstitutional government spending that we can no longer afford.  The vote went down by a straight party line vote of 60 to 40.  This new debt increase amounts to $45,000 for every single American.  New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg (R) summed up the situation nicely.

“It took 200 years to build the federal debt to a total of $1.9 trillion,” Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican, said. “Now the majority wants to increase the current limit … by $1.9 trillion so that we can finance the government’s borrowing binge long enough to get us past the November 2010 elections.”

The AP

For those of you in North Carolina, call Kay Hagan’s office and ask why she is sentencing your children and grandchildren to lives of indentured servitude to the U.S. government in order to pay for her piggish greed today.  This woman is an unqualified embarrassment and that might explain her 29% approval rating across the state right now.

Washington D.C.
521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6342
Fax: 202-228-2563

Greensboro
701 Green Valley Rd; Suite 201
Greensboro, NC 27408
Phone: 336-333-5311
Fax: 336-333-5331

Raleigh
310 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-856-4630
Fax: 919-856-4053

Charlotte
1520 South Boulevard; Suite 205
Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: 704-334-2448
Fax: 704-334-2405

Asheville
82 Patton Avenue; Suite 635
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: 828-257-6510
Fax: 828-257-6514

For the next 15 years, South Carolina taxpayers will be paying back nearly $400 million in bonds, including interest, for the new Boeing assembly plant in North Charleston.

And the Chicago-based aerospace giant, which posted $16.7 billion in revenue and $1.2 billion in operating cash flow for the most recent third quarter, will be getting more than $100 million of the bond package up front from the Palmetto State.

The S.C. Budget and Control Board took less than five minutes this morning to unanimously authorize the sale of $270 million in bonds for construction of the 787 Dreamliner final assembly plant, which will be located next to two other Boeing plants.

The total interest on the bonds is estimated at $129,077,721.70, according to S.C. Department of Commerce documents provided today to The Nerve. With the $270 million in principal, that comes out to $105,020.45 in taxpayer-funded debt for each of the 3,800 promised jobs.

The Budget and Control Board – made up of Gov. Mark Sanford, state Treasurer Converse Chellis, state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson – didn’t mention the total cost of the bonds before quickly approving them this morning.

The Nerve

This really isn’t surprising given the state legislature’s appetite for endless spending and government waste over the years in Columbia.  It is out of character, however, for Governor Sanford to sign his name onto something like this.  Perhaps all of the controversy over the past months regarding his “hiking trip” to Argentina has made him much more concerned about his legacy upon leaving office.  Opposing this taxpayer hand out to corporate America may have been the responsible thing to do, but it sure wouldn’t have been the populist route.

Partisan politics have entered the debate over Raleigh’s new public safety center, with the Wake County Republican Party calling for the issue to go before voters.

“The city has also gotten into a habit over the years of just bypassing the voters,” said Claude Pope Jr., chairman of the county Republican Party.

Pope said Friday that he wants a referendum so voters can decide whether the Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center should be built. The center, a 17-story tower, would replace the police headquarters downtown.

The Lightner center, named after Raleigh’s first and only black mayor, is a $205 million project proposed to replace the police headquarters and house the city’s police, fire, emergency communications and information technology departments.

To pay for it, Raleigh City Manager Russell Allen proposed bundling the project with $250 million in remote operations projects and having the council approve a property tax increase of 8percent over five years.

The N&O

I get what Pope is saying, but he is ironically calling for for a direct democracy to supersede the republican form of city government we have now. I’m not a big fan of direct democracy. This is why we have elections- so we can authorize people to decide on stuff like this this. Granted, we usually elect a bunch of idiots, but still…

With the Raleigh City Council wavering over whether to go forward with a new $205 million public safety center, critics of the building are honing their sights on the project’s fine print.

Particularly irksome for Joey Stansbury, who heads the conservative group Wake Community PAC, is the $705,000 designated to pay for public art for the 17-story building.

The city has spent nearly $21 million on the project even though it hasn’t gotten the official go-ahead from the council.

The council will revisit the Lightner project at its Jan. 19 meeting.

Approving it would mean a likely property tax increase of 8 percent over five years, which would also pay for an additional $250 million worth of public works projects, including new maintenance facilities for city and a new solid waste services plant in East Raleigh. Mayor Charles Meeker, who is pushing for the project to go forward, has said the current police, fire and emergency communications facilities are inadequate and should have been updated years ago.

The N&O

So while the rest of us have to scrape every penny together, what does the recently re-elected Raleigh Mayor have to say?

“Public art really is important,” he said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2010
Contact: Josh Kahn
(202) 225-2576

McHenry: Geithner Must Come Clean on AIG Actions

WASHINGTON – Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) released the following statement on House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns’ (D-NY) decision to hold hearings on the growing American International Group (AIG) disclosure controversy.

McHenry earlier joined Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) in calling on Chairman Towns to hold a hearing and bring Secretary Geithner before the committee to testify.

“We owe it to taxpayers and investors to find out why Secretary Geithner pressured AIG to withhold important disclosures from the public, and what precisely he was trying to hide. When billions of dollars are funneled to foreign banks right out of taxpayers’ pockets, both Republicans and Democrats have a fiduciary duty to get to the bottom of it. I hope Secretary Geithner will choose to testify at the hearing voluntarily, but if he declines he must be subpoenaed and compelled to tell the American people the full story.”

###

The U.S. Senate voted to increase the public national debt to $12.4 trillion in dead of night last night.  They have to do these things under the cover of dark and close to the holidays when most folks won’t be paying attention.  In an almost party line vote it passed 60-39.  Senator Kay Hagan (D) in North Carolina was the lone Senator of the four in our two states to support this debt increase, now amounting to $40,000 for every man, woman, and child in our nation.

Yesterday, the Democrats in the U.S. House voted to raise the nation’s debt ceiling from $12.1 trillion to $12.39 trillion resulting in an increase to $40,300 for every man, woman, and child in America.  The very folks who rightly railed against the Bush deficits in 2006 have not surprisingly exposed their hypocrisy throughout the past three years as they continue to spend more and more money we do not have, bringing about the slow bankruptcy of America.

According to the Washington Examiner, the debt as a percentage of GDP has risen from 41% to 53% in just this past year alone.  At current projections the debt will reach 85% of GDP by 2018 and 100% by 2022.  Although, we may not even make it that far.

Long before the debt reaches such stratospheric levels, the commission warns, “Fears of inflation and a prospective decline in the value of the dollar would cause investors to demand higher interest rates and shift out of U.S. Treasury securities. The excessive debt would also affect citizens in their everyday lives by harming the American standard of living through slower economic growth and dampening wages, and shrinking the government’s ability to reduce taxes, invest, or provide a safety net.”

For those of you that ignorantly voted for President Obama last year, ask yourselves if this is the hope and change you expected to get.

Every Republican in North and South Carolina voted against fiscal bankruptcy.  They were joined by Democrats Mike McIntyre (NC-07) and Larry Kissell (NC-08).