An interesting event took place at the General Assembly last Wednesday and it involved our very own state senator Steve Goss. The event occurred in Senator Goss’ office and was the result of a disagreement between him and Dana Cope, the executive director of the State Employees’ Association of North Carolina (SEANC). Senator Goss and Mr. Cope were discussing the senator’s vote on legislation that changed some elements of the health care plan for state employees.  This vote was of particular interest to Mr. Cope because he believes the legislation will create higher health care costs for state employees.  The discussion between Senator Goss and Mr. Cope over the issue led to an intense debate that caused the senator to contact General Assembly people so they could remove Mr. Cope from his office.  Senator Goss says that Mr. Cope called him a liar and became “verbally abusive” towards him.  Mr. Cope stated that he was just pointing out to Senator Goss that he was not being completely forthcoming to state employees about the consequences of the legislation he voted for.

It appears to us that Senator Goss completely blew out of proportion a verbal disagreement he had with a recognized spokesman for a organization that represents people across this state, including people in his state senate district.  To be honest, though, we are not surprised that Senator Goss could not stand someone questioning his authority or wisdom on a vote.  Goss and other Democrats believe they are above being questioned by ordinary citizens or their representatives, which is a result of their one party rule mindset. We are glad organizations like SEANC are finally seeing the arrogance of Democrats like Senator Goss. We just hope that in 2010 the people of the 45th district show Senator Goss the same courtesy he showed Dana Cope.

Senator Steve Goss has volunteered to take a half a percent pay cut to show his solidarity with state employees whose salaries were reduced by the same amount in accordance with an executive order issued by Governor Perdue.  Well, what a noble act by the senator, especially since the legislative session is half way over and his voluntary pay cut will only save the state around thirty-five dollars.  We hope that the voluntary pay cut that Senator Goss has taken is not glorified as some grand sacrifice by a public official since he and the other Democrats in control of state government are responsible for putting North Carolina in such a dire financial situation.  If Senator Goss and the fellow members of his party had been more responsible caretakers of the public purse, then it would not be necessary for any state employees to take a pay cut.  Instead, the state of North Carolina is facing a significant budget shortfall because Goss and friends spent taxpayer dollars like there was no tomorrow on wasteful government programs and in establishing slush funds so those in power can bestow favors on their friends.  

Senator Goss broke the covenant he made with the people that elected him to represent their values and interests when he went along with other Democrats by making short-sighted decisions that did not fully take into account the future needs of North Carolina. Instead of taking a voluntary pay cut, Senator Goss should have voluntarily committed to rein in wasteful spending and reform the North Carolina tax structure if he really wanted to help the state.  Goss stated that one of the reasons he decided to take the voluntary pay cut is because he believes that “We are all in this together…”  We believe that Senator Goss is correct on this point but he fails to acknowledge that “we” are not all responsible for creating the current situation we are in. This responsibility resides solely with the elected officials steering the ship of state in Raleigh.  

If Senator Goss really wants to take an action that signifies that we are all in this together, why does he not take a pay cut that is comparable to the one the average citizen in his district is enduring?  Why does he not vote to spend funds wisely and with an eye towards the future as most hard working individuals and families do?  Furthermore, why does he and the rest of the Democratic leadership in the General Assembly not just go on furlough for the rest of the session so they do not do anymore damage to this state. We think it is time the people make sure Steve Goss gets a permanent pay cut in 2010.

This past Monday President Obama sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to fast-track legislation that would authorize a $100 billion loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  The stated purpose of this loan, along with $400 billion in pledged funds from other countries, would be to give the IMF a source of credit to utilize in order to make an attempt at correcting the current problems with the world’s financial system.  

Does anyone have any idea where the United States is supposed to get this money from to loan to the IMF?  One would think the United States exhausted most of its financial resources for the foreseeable future on bailout packages and the economic stimulus and will exhaust the rest of them on the president’s proposed budget.  Furthermore, these financial commitments by the United States are being financed in large part by foreign creditors. The IMF might as well get the loan directly from these foreign creditors instead of wasting time with the United States as the middle man.  

The most disturbing element concerning this proposed loan is how the president wants to ram it through Congress as quickly as possible.  Recent experience has shown us that rushing legislation through Congress does not make for very sound public policy.  Just look at the recent series of financial bailouts and the economic stimulus.  These measures were rammed through Congress and as a result funds were misappropriated due to a lack of accountability and common sense.  Where will the accountability and common sense be for this loan to the IMF?  Is it even the best or right thing to do to help the global economy?  Congress needs to reflect on these questions before it commits future generations to more debt.

A little over a month ago we wrote a post commenting on legislation proposed by Senator Steve Goss that would have put in place civil and criminal penalties for libelous comments made on blogs.  Our post criticized this proposed legislation by Goss because we did not feel it was something our state senator should be focusing on due to all the other problems we are facing as a state such as a major budget shortfall and a cloudy economic future.  Therefore, we were glad to hear last week that Senator Goss has pulled his own bill from committee consideration due to public outcry over it and substituted it with a bill that calls for lawmakers to study the issue.  

Goss probably should have studied the issue a little bit more himself before he introduced the bill.  We will admit, though, that it does take some courage for a politician to admit that legislation he or she introduced is misguided so we commend Senator Goss for doing so.  Our hope is that he will learn from this experience and concentrate more of his energy on the serious problems facing our state but we have our doubts, which we will discuss in a later post.

Citizens of Watauga County:  Our economic problems have been resolved!  The state government is going to widen King Street! Governor Bev Perdue announced last week that the King Street project will be able to go forward due to funds the state received from the federal stimulus package.  No doubt we have Senator Steve Goss to thank for securing the funding for this momentous project since he is a member of the Department of Transportation Committee and is the co-chair of its appropriations.  Goss stated that “These federal funds will be used almost immediately to help us create jobs in Watauga County…”  Surely, as Senator Goss suggests, the widening of King Street will help end all of our economic woes and be the catalyst for unimaginable business growth that will dramatically transform the economy and provide employment for the entire workforce in Watauga County. Right?

Wrong!  First of all we do not think that Senator Goss just had the wellbeing of Watauga County’s everyday citizens in mind when he was advocating for the King Street project to receive stimulus funds.  We are sure Senator Goss was primarily concerned with appeasing the educational, bureaucratic elite at ASU who are among the paramount supporters of this project.  What will happen to the small businesses along King Street that will have to relocate or close due to the widening?  Some of the people who work at these small businesses will probably have to be let go due to the effects the King Street project will have on the area.  What about these Watauga County jobs, Senator Goss? 

Secondly, the widening of King Street is not going to be the answer to the economic challenges Watauga County and the rest of the state are facing.  Our economic problems were not created by a lack of public funds to widen roads.  Our economic problems were created by a state government that has depressed commercial growth through high taxes and excessive regulation to the point that businesses do not want to remain here or come here.  Funding state transportation projects is not a policy that will get Watauga County or North Carolina out of this economic downturn.  It is just a shortsighted ploy by Senator Goss and others to make it seem like they are doing something to turn around the economy so they can get through the next election without really confronting our current economic problems.  Does anyone have any doubt what will happen to the jobs created by the King Street project when it is finished?

What Watauga County and North Carolina desperately need is a long term economic development plan that will sustain growth, employment, and productivity for the foreseeable future.  This can be accomplished by implementing business friendly policies that keep taxes low, avoid burdensome regulations, and partner with businesses to tackle other issues that influence economic development.  It is time we demanded more creative and innovative ideas from lawmakers like Senator Goss so we can get this economy moving again because the same old policies are not good enough and they never worked to begin with.

A measure has been introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly that would ban smoking in all public places.  Current law only prohibits smoking in state government buildings. The new measure would expand the current law so as to include all “public places and places of employment.”  Representative Cullie Tarleton is a co-sponsor of the bill in the House and Senator Steve Goss is a sponsor of the bill in the Senate.  

We believe this issue needs to be viewed in a broader light so as to understand all of the possible implications of this bill if it becomes law. We understand that there are legitimate health concerns when it comes to smoking in public places, but government has to make sure it balances concerns for the welfare of the community with the protection of individual rights when it makes laws concerning personal behavior. If government is not mindful of the consequences such laws may have, it may set a dangerous precedent for more extensive measures that limit an individual’s freedoms. Before you know it you could find government passing more laws that regulate personal behavior closer and closer to the home.

The proposed law does not preclude state government from taking further action on the issue of smoking. We are already witnessing with the introduction of this measure a push by legislators to extend the current smoking ban. What is to stop politicians like Tarleton and Goss from expanding the ban to limit one’s ability to smoke on their own personal property?  The proposed bill allows local governments to implement more restrictive measures.  This is probably a ploy by the bill’s supporters to see how successful cities and counties are in passing harsher laws before they attempt to expand the smoking ban again at the state level.  

The North Carolina leviathan has proved in the past that once it gets its foot in the door on an issue it keeps pushing until the door is wide open.  Just look at how the temporary tax increases Governor Easley implemented in 2001 became permanent tax increases.  So all we are asking Representative Tarleton and Senator Goss to do is to reconsider the bill they are supporting from a broader perspective before they put us on a path that gives state government a statutory precedent to infringe upon individual rights. 

This was not a good week to be employed by the office of Senator Kay Hagan.  The News & Observer reports that Fred Aikens, a former fiscal analyst with the North Carolina General Assembly, was let go by Hagan’s office after being employed by it for only a day and a half.  It was also revealed that Senator Hagan parted ways with her state political director Muthoni Wambu. When Hagan’s office was asked for a statement about both these matters, spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan responded by saying that office policy prohibited her from discussing such things. 

So we are left to ponder why these two high profile hires were let go by Senator Hagan.  Maybe the reason Hagan had to part ways with Aikens and Wambu was due to cutbacks caused by the current economic recession. Maybe Aikens and Wambu were designated by the Obama administration to work for Governor Perdue instead as part of the stimulus funds that are being sent to North Carolina.  What we do know is that Hagan is about to begin her third month in office and she has not yet put in place staff to serve the needs of North Carolinians.  

One of the campaign issues Hagan attacked Elizabeth Dole on last year was Dole’s failure to stay in close contact with her constituents and be responsive to their needs.  If Hagan is to learn from Dole’s mistakes she needs to finishing hiring her staff in North Carolina and set up offices around the state so she can provide adequate constituent services.  Otherwise, North Carolina might as well be in the same situation as Minnesota, which is just having one senator to represent it in the nation’s capital.

* After more than doubling the size of the deficit in just one month, President Barack Obama will host a “fiscal responsibility summit” some time next week.

* President Obama will announce a $75 billion foreclosure prevention program in Arizona today.

* General Motors Corp. and Chrysler said Tuesday that they needed nearly $22 billion more in government loans to avoid financial ruin.

* The Texas financier accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday of “massive ongoing fraud” was a generous political donor who gave mostly to Democrats.

* Three Democrats; Reps. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-FL) gave back campaign donations listed as coming from employees of a major lobbying firm that is under federal investigation.

Democrat Heath Shuler had some critical words for his party’s congressional leadership yesterday at an issues forum in Raleigh.  Shuler stated that he feels the Democratic leadership in Congress failed to effectively reach out to Republicans and moderate/conservative Democrats like himself to develop an inclusive approach in formulating an economic recovery package for the country.  Shuler believes that this should have been done so that a broad consensus could have been achieved among lawmakers, which would have given the American people more confidence in the viability of a recovery plan. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate did not follow such a wise course of action but pushed through their respective bills without any serious debate or compromise.  

These comments by Shuler should be a warning to the American people about what direction the Democratic leadership in Congress is trying to take the country in and that direction is to the far left of the political spectrum.  Not only did the Democratic leadership in Congress fail to reach out to Republicans, it also failed to reach out to the moderate/conservative wing of its own party.  As Shuler stated in his remarks, President Obama did at least reach out to Republicans and take into account their concerns but that sentiment was not reflected by Democratic leaders in Congress.  Instead, Democratic congressional leaders basically said that their versions of the recovery plan were what was going to pass come hell or high water and that there was no time for serious debate because the bill had to be passed immediately to prevent a greater economic downturn.  

We heard these type of arguments before during the debate over the first financial bailout and look how that plan ended up.  The first concern we have with this attitude of Democratic leaders in Congress is that they may not be taking the right actions to stabilize our current economic situation.  The second concern is that we are witnessing a dramatic increase in the extent of government intervention in the economy that may damage our long term economic development and be difficult to reverse.  These are big decisions our country is facing, but we need to make sure that we have a debate that meets the size of these challenges and not petty political maneuvering that only seeks to benefit one party.

State Representative Cullie Tarleton has stepped up to fill the shoes of former House Speaker Jim Black with the recent legislation he introduced in the General Assembly. Tarleton’s new bill would increase the amount health insurance providers pay for chiropractic visits.  A similar provision was inserted by Jim Black into the 2005 state budget without being debated by the General Assembly.  Black was motivated to take this action because he had received $30,000 in illegal cash payments from chiropractors during his time as speaker. 

Is the introduction of this bill by Tarleton an attempt by him to gain favor with state chiropractors so they will reward him with campaign donations for being their advocate in the General Assembly?  It makes sense since no chiropractors will being giving to Jim Black anytime soon. Tarleton also faced a tough re-election campaign in 2008 against Republican newcomer Dan Soucek so he is probably hunting for some deep pockets to build up his campaign war chest.  

We imagine Tarleton is quite familiar with Black’s style of politics since he is a former television and radio executive from the Charlotte area and that was Black’s old stomping grounds before he was placed in the prison yard.  Tarleton seems to have learned well from his former colleague in the House, though, about how to raise money through legislation.  There is no telling what else Tarleton might do if Jim Black is his political role model.