It seems that with every passing week liberal politicians exhibit more symptoms of a party that is slipping deeper and deeper into a psychosis. Well, psychosis might be a harsh word but the lack of a significant opposition has left them with a false sense of reality. They now can dream up problems without supplying facts and introduce the much needed (emphasis added for sarcasm) solutions without concern about possible side effects. They are limited only by their imaginations.
Senator Basnight is not immune. He recently decided that plastic bags are posing an immediate threat to us and our way of life. He says that “5 million plastic bags are used in Dare County each year but only 5% of them are recycled” and went on to say that “many” of them end up littering our beaches and highways.
It’s hard to find facts that back up these numbers but as evidenced by the solution to this alarming predicament, facts don’t really matter. As we all now know, Basnight has suggested that the answer is to tax…something. I know, I know…BIG surprise! A 10-20 cent tax per bag (and there is still some ambiguity about how this would be implemented) will eliminate their use. At least he hopes so. “I’d like the tax to generate no money. That means we’re not using them anymore.” But if any money is generated, he wants it to be directed towards environmental science scholarships.
Such a happy scenario. A problem that we can all agree on is fixed and a scholarship that could use some funding is helped. All by the mystical, magical powers of tax. This might have been more readily accepted by voters at another time but these days, when money is tight and out-of-control government spending is on display (thanks to those who attended the Tea Parties), Senator Basnight’s plan almost immediately hit a wall. People are resistant to new taxes. We want to know where our money is going. Liberals aren’t going to like this but our heightened awareness of fiscal irresponsibility has made it difficult to pull the wool over the eyes of voters across party lines. When folks wonder what exactly the Tea Parties were all about, this particular instance should illustrate our answer!
However, I feel that it should not end there. Fighting against new and unnecessary taxes has opened the door to a whole new set of questions. First and foremost; Why? This is something that we should ask of every single government official, regardless of political affiliation. It is a much harder question to answer, yet it is of equal importance if we are to hold our representatives accountable. In this situation, I ask “why now?” Why so much focus on the environment now? We all can agree that it’s a significant problem but with so many other pressing issues, why is there such an immediate focus on this one? I for one will be curious as to how much the good Senator’s campaign fund will benefit from the various environmental groups that take interest in our community. Only time will tell.

Let's hear your tea party stories...

April 15th...tax day. Its raining and unseasonably cold. This should, by all accounts, be a miserable day. But there is something special about today. People all over Currituck and surrounding counties are making preparations to attend one the several tea parties scheduled for later today. There's excitement in the air.

Something is motivating people across the United States to leave work a little early, take a long lunch, pack up the kids and stand in the rain (well, at least in Currituck we'll be standing in the rain). Its the first time in long time that Americans from both sides of the political spectrum have gathered together to make a statement about fiscal responsibility.

Over the last 16 years both parties have lost credibility with tax payers. It has become abundantly clear that irresponsibility is a bipartisan affliction. Now voters from all corners of the political landscape are joining together to speak in unison. We're letting our representatives know just how we feel. We're telling them that if there was ever a time to spend freely, it is definitely not now. Not when we are seeing our local economies falter. Not when we're feeling our personal budgets tightening. Not when the constant threat of layoffs is hanging over a house-hold like a black cloud. We can't spend money if we don't have any; does our government not have to abide by this rule?

Then again, we aren't really saying anything. This isn't how tax payers speak. This is merely a gathering of thoughts, a clearing of our collective throats before we say something. The real statement will be made the next time cast our ballots.

Same story, different economy

Since January 20th, Americans have become familiar with the liberal mantra "never waste a good crisis" (thank you Rahm Emanuel). But there is another leftist concept that utterly confuses free-thinking, right-minded individuals during a recession. It goes something like this: "If it aint' broke...tax it!" And North Carolinians will likely become more and more acquainted with the idea as our good Governor's term proceeds.

Case in point: the so-called "Sin Tax." Historically, when the economy has slowed, sales on tobacco and alcohol have remained relatively steady. Logically then (at least in the minds of democrats) State Senate Leader Marc Basnight (D-Dare) announced his support for the provisions in Gov. Bev Purdue's 21 billion dollar budget that call for a $1 per pack tax hike on cigarettes and a 5% surcharge on alcohol. They argue that the two increases on "discretionary purchases" will bring in an additional 508 million dollars for the state. Perhaps that would be the case IF the equation were as simple as higher taxes = higher revenues. Unfortunately, it's just not that easy.

It's hard to believe that our state's highest elected officials don't understand the relationship between taxes and employment. For those of us in the real world, it's pretty basic. The more expensive it is for a business to exist, the more likely it is for that business to fail. Bearing in mind that unemployment hit 10.7% last month (the highest on record for the state and currently 4th worst in the nation) the question becomes: why would Gov. Perdue raise taxes on the tobacco industry which employs about 65,000 North Carolinians? And with Dare Co. leading the way with 17.3% unemployment, why would Sen. Basnight support a tax increase on alcohol that would effectively raise the cost of business for a major portion of his county's economy,i.e., RESTAURANTS. Not to mention the "mom & pop" stores that are already fighting for their existence. Why now?

Democrats have always tried to find crafty ways to raise taxes in order to prop up failing sectors of government or to fill any budgetary gaps. This is nothing new. What IS new, however, is that due to the current state of our economy, they're running short on targets. Leaving many of their own constituents in the cross-hairs. It is times like these that illustrate one of the many fundamental flaws in the democrat agenda: It just doesn't pay to be a successful business under a liberal government. In fact, it can be down right expensive.

Neighborly concern or political grand-standing?

At the March 2nd BOC meeting, Commissioner Nelms volunteered to sacrifice $5000 of his (as well as his fellow commissioner's) yearly stipend in a valiant effort to prevent layoffs of county employees. What a guy... The thing is, according to County Manager Dan Scanlon, no county jobs are currently in jeopardy. Nor are there any plans to raise taxes.
In another statement, Nelms declared that members of the Board are "seven of the best paid commissioners" in the state. Well, not exactly. In fact, Chairman Etheridge later noted that some commissioners in other parts of the state are paid upwards of $30k per year.
In the spirit of unity and cohesion, one can assume that Mr. Nelms' suggestion was simply a misguided attempt to save the day and, in truth, it IS important that our represenatives on the BOC remain open to new means of saving our tax dollars and improving our community. However, one can't help but feel as though this was simply a public relations move and the cynic in me has to wonder if it was a round-about attempt to make a $5k personal donation to the commissioner's reelection campaign fund.