Red Clay Citizen

Unfair Competition?

Can you imagine if you were an existing business in North Carolina and the State used your tax dollars to recruit and subsidize your direct competitor to steal customers from you, forcing you to cease operations in the State?  Well, that is exactly what has happened to Allegiant Air.

Many of you have followed the story of Skybus, a startup low-cost airline that was successfully recruited to expand its service and create a hub at the Piedmont Triad Airport (PTI) last year thanks to millions of dollars in handouts from the State, Guilford County and the PTI Airport Authority.

Well, while the state is pouring money into Skybus, word comes last week that existing discount airliner Allegiant Air, which was already operating out of PTI, will be ending all service from Greensboro on May 31.  Government, through its recruitment and subsidies of Skybus, gave it a distinct competitive advantage over an existing business.

So, the state in its infinite wisdom in distorting the market decided that Skybus is the "winner" and any competitor operating under normal market dynamics is the "loser."

But ultimately, the consumer is harmed.  Through government intervention consumers now have less competition and less choices of discount airlines to fly.  At a time when jet fuel prices are sending airfares through the roof, more competition, not less, is needed.

I feel bad for Allegiant Air, they were already trying to exist in a difficult market, but having government stack the deck against them and in favor of their direct competitor made continuing operation impossible.

It's time to end all incentives.  The choice is clear -- tax all businesses the same or not at all.

Moore, Perdue: Debate at the CLC

Apparently, Lt. Governor Bev Perdue doesn't like the accusation that she's running from debates with State Treasurer Richard Moore. So now she has agreed to do two more.

Let it be known, however, that the Civitas Institute invited both of the Democrat candidates to debate alongside four other candidates (Graham, McCrory, Orr, Smith) at this year's Conservative Leadership Conference in Greensboro (April 18th is the debate dinner).

The offer is still open.

We also invited libertarian Michael Munger, who had another obligation that night, apparently. (So now his strategy to whine like a french soccer player has been doubly foiled.)
-Max Borders

"It Takes Money to Take Money"

Or so says Orange County.
-Max Borders

The Climate Bet

Remember the Julian Simon/Paul Ehrlich bet? Here's one by a Wharton prof proposed for Al Gore. Check it out. And gotta love this query for Gore: “When and under what conditions would you be willing to engage in a scientific test of your forecasts?” (HT: Brian Balfour)

BTW, if anyone wants a friendly side action, lemme know. I'm looking at you, progressives.
-Max Borders

$72 million High School: April Fool's Joke?

According to a reader: "The Local Government Commission will be meeting on April 1, to decide the debt application from Watauga County for $72 million for a new high school.  This debt is being sought without a referendum."
-Max Borders

Getting Government out of Water

Great piece by a former EPA administrator on why the government shouldn't be in the water business and businesses should.
-Max Borders

When Journalists Comment on Economic Matters

...you get stuff like this. First, the N&O says:

The Bush era has been for businesses of all kinds sort of like a rebirth of the "free love" movement of the 1960s. Anything goes.

But is this true?

The slightest investigation into regulations would reveal that it is a non-partisan phenomenon and the regulatory state expandes with pretty much any administration. If anything, the Bush Administration has been as reg-crazy as any other, so to characterize it as "free love," means they were more interested in evoking the cute analogy than actually looking into the expansion of the federal register.

The less-than-informed commenters at the N&O would also do well to think outside the regulatory box when it comes to achieving regulatory outcomes. The common law, which is more distributed, precise, and less likely to bring about unintended consequences, is preferable than letting college-grad hill staffers craft legs that uninformed pols simply sign off on for political reasons.

In any case, is the Bush Administration anti-regulation? If anything, they - via the OMB- have made cost-benefit analysis and scrutiny of regs a higher priority, but they have not slowed the growth of the regulatory state to any appreciable degree. A shred of investigation would reveal that regulators regulate -- D or R. More investigation would reveal that regulations have very high social costs that these articles are pretty flippant about. Facts straight, please.
-Max Borders

Google's Green Parody

I can think of no more fitting irony than this "awareness raising" initiative by Google. Why such smart people at such a great company would get into this kind of goofy greenwashing? Anyway, this sums up the irony:

"As to why we don't do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display." This is pretty much analogous to all the (marginal) energy conservation programs like NC Greenpower. In other words, it's sort of like this: if everyone stopped using Google to educate themselves on how to use fewer Google searches (and it worked) Google would have fewer incentives to invest in new algorithms and technologies for Web searches. 'But the human mind is an unlimited resource and fossil fuels are not' Google might reply.

The late great Julian Simon argued they - human ingenuity linked to the use of resources - are one in the same. Resources never run out. I think I'll leave my computer on all night tonight.
-Max Borders

Libertarianism for Progressives

Print and read.
-Max Borders

North Carolina: Rise of the Independents

This is very interesting (you've got to check out these maps):

Between April 2000 and March 2008, the overall number of registered voters in North Carolina increased from 4.93 million to 5.66 million, an increase just shy of 15 percent. This net increase is the result of new registration and the purging of no longer valid registrations from the voter rolls.

Net Democratic registration increased by approximately 40,800 voters, an increase of less than 2 percent, and this increase was spread unevenly across the state. The number of registered Democrats decreased in 72 counties. In only two counties - Mecklenburg and Wake, the largest counties - did Democratic registration outpace overall voter registration, with increases of 24.4 and 23 percent respectively.

Net Republican registration increased by approximately 259,300 voters, an increase of 15.5 percent; this increase was also spread unevenly across the state. The number of registered Republicans decreased in 12 counties. Republican registration outpaced overall voter registration in 46 counties, with increases ranging from 15 percent to 105 percent.

Net other registration (Unaffiliated and Libertarian in 2000, only Unaffiliated in 2008) increased by approximately 432,700 voters, an increase of 56.7 percent. The number of Unaffiliated/Other voters increased in all 100 counties, and in fact outpaced overall voter registration in all 100 counties. Net Unaffiliated/Other registration increased at least four times as much as overall voter registration in half the state's counties.

This says nothing about who will actually turn out to vote. But it does suggest that North Carolina is getting, well, purpler.
-Max Borders

Duplicity

If I said to you, "my attitude is that I believe in the market, I believe in entrepreneurship, I believe in opportunity, I believe in capitalism and I want to do what works."

Then I proceeded to say that we need to double the capital gains rate, increase the top marginal rate to 39%, raise the minimum wage, strengthen labor unions, and roll back free-trade provisions would you call me a hypocrite?  Or just a politician?

If I called for all those proposals in the above paragraph, would it be fair to call me a liberal?  Or should I get defensive and try to avoid being labeled?

All those statements come from Sen. Barack Obama in an interview with Maria Bartiromo of CNBC.

On a Mother's Ethic: 'Work hard and you'll achieve'

A big excerpt from this article:

When I was about 5, Mom took me with her to visit our next-door neighbor, Miss Jane. While at Miss Jane's home, I helped myself to a fistful of rubber bands that she kept around a doorknob in her kitchen. Mom discovered my pilfered booty only after we returned to our house. She grabbed my arm, pulled me back to Miss Jane's and made me return the rubber bands and apologize for stealing. And that's what Mom called it: stealing.

I explained that I took only lowly rubber bands. "It doesn't matter, Donald!" she rightly replied. "Stealing is stealing. And you stole. I'm ashamed of you."

To this day, I remember that incident vividly. I remember being ashamed of myself.

Do not picture my mom as being a stern disciplinarian. While she was tireless in dealing with us when we misbehaved, my mom's demeanor was always gentle and loving. Chiefly through the way she lived each day of her life, Mom made us want to be good.

Both my mother and father were born into working-class families, and Mom and Dad were working-class until they retired -- Mom from clerking in a hardware store, Dad from fitting pipes in a shipyard. Not once did I hear either of them express as much as a whiff of resentment that their incomes were below average.

It simply did not occur to them to envy wealthier families or to suppose that other persons' wealth was extracted from our family's hide. Whenever my siblings or I complained about the poor quality of our family's car or the cramped conditions of our home, Mom and Dad always said, "Be grateful for what we have and work hard so that you can have more when you grow up."

Note the optimism in this reply. Work hard and you'll achieve. As politically incorrect as it is to affirm, this statement is true.

Also politically incorrect was my parents' visceral hostility to victimhood. I recall many times as a child blaming others for my misfortunes -- say, for my poor grades in school -- and each time my parents insisting that the only person to blame was myself. How many times back then did I sulk in anger at my parents' refusal to indulge my excuses? And how many times today do I thank them for those refusals?

My father and mother raised four children to be responsible, honest, nonenvious and hardworking adults. To my mom's memory -- and to the countless other mothers and fathers in our world who've done and do the same -- I give my most heartfelt thanks.

Mom, you lived your life well. Very well indeed.

Economy: The Arrogance of the Planner

Here's a would-be president on how she would "fix" the economy (which is sort of like fixing an ecosystem):

Wake Technical Community College, Clinton proposed a $2.5 billion annual workforce training program, which would expand help for dislocated workers and new "pre-emptive on-the-job training."

"You shouldn't have to produce a pink slip to get help training for a higher-paying job," Clinton said.

So a $2.5 billion "training program" is going to revolutionize a many-trillion dollar economy? What, pray, will you train these workers to do? Who will train them? This, of course, is something that can readily be answered by people with the proper incentives to see that labor shortages are met. But community colleges don't do that good a job at it--it's enlightened guesswork at most (and, sadly, in slo-mo).

Clinton reiterated several of her core economic proposals in language – harsh on drug and oil companies and heavy on praise for the middle class - that often sounded a lot like native son John Edwards, the populist former senator who quit the Democratic primary race before Super Tuesday and remains uncommitted to either Clinton or Obama.

In this same speech she chides John McCain for his admitted ignorance on economics (which he has demonstrated on more than one occasion). She then proceeds to reveal her own ignorance of economics, but with all the humility of Clinton:

“Presidents have to do more than announce principles," Clinton policy director Neera Tanden said in a statement. "They have to solve problems. At a time of crisis in our financial markets, Senator Obama announced a series of broad, vague principles, while offering no new concrete solutions to provide Americans with greater confidence in the market or keep them in their homes. "

So the sum of Team Clinton's wisdom on economic matters is to "solve problems" in a $13 trillion ecosystem interconnected with an enormous global economy. The sheer arrogance of someone who thinks they alone can solve an economic problem - much less bring about economic growth by picking on oil, drug and other major players in the economy and giving handouts to people who made poor economic choices... well that's as meaningful to someone with knowledge of econ as Mrs. Clinton commentary on the NCAA tournament.

Don Boudreaux puts it best in a letter to the Wall Street Journal:

But how scared would you be if such [economic] fears were expressed instead by, say, your veterinarian or your proctologist?  Because these specialists in their respective fields have no expertise at diagnosing the economy, you'd have good reason to take their economic concerns with a grain of salt.  And so it should be, but doubly so, with Sen. Clinton's economic pronouncements.  Not only has she no expertise in economics, but as her recent sniper-fire whopper reveals, Sen. Clinton's own specialty - the dark art of politics - requires of its practitioners an unusual propensity to lie and dissemble.  Almost all that she and her ilk say should be treated with even less respect than would be accorded a professional circus-clown's speculations about string theory.

-Max Borders

Confused on Illegal Immigration

There was some confusion in the Joint Legislative Crime Control Oversight Committee on Thursday.  The committee met to question the NC Sheriff's Association about the $750,000 appropriated last year to administer the federal 287g program. 

The 287g program establishes a working relationship with local sheriffs and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service that allows local jailers to screen their inmate populations for anyone not legally in the US.  Once ICE is notified, the local jail is reimbursed for the cost of that inmate's incarceration and turned over to ICE to be processed in the immigration system and possibly deported.

The program is proceeding at the following pace:

• 4 Counties are committed, Mecklenburg, Gaston, Alamance & Cabbarus
• By June, 65 sheriff's personnel will be trained.
• Training consists of 4 weeks per officer.
• As of Feb 6th, 11% of jail inmates were foreign born. (1,931 persons)
• The establishment of Immigration court in NC is still under negotiation.
• 4,717 illegals have been turned over to ICE under 287g.

Rep. Alice Bordsen (D-Alamance) questioned the purpose of the federal Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS). She made a statement about how DHS had been created in response to 9/11 and wondered how could it have changed to enforcing immigration.  She then expressed concern for the families of illegals, "My larger point is that if we cannot work with those at the federal level that we are removing the bread winner from a family and we are now responsible for those children are we spending more money because of this program."  Interestingly enough, Rep. Bordsen did not comment on the societal costs associated with these family bread winners.  The costs to the state include many monetary expenses but they all pale in comparison to the human cost to North Carolina's citizens.   Maybe  Rep. Bordsen can sit down with the family of Gaston County teacher Scott Gardner and listen to their costs.  Or maybe her own Sheriff, Terry Johnson of Alamance County can 'splain it to her.

Bordsen and Sen. Daniel Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg) were concerned about what happened to the illegals turned over to the ICE.  Once ICE takes custody of an illegal, they are sole responsible for his or her fate and typically don't notify the state of the disposition of an illegal's case.

Not fear though, the illegal lobby was present and accounted for. The American (sic) Civil (sic) Liberties (sic) Union made an impassioned attack on the 287g program by questioning the funding, openness, racial profiling and even the role of the federal government.  The most amusing point was made when the ACLU lobbyist expressed worry of the danger of companies going out of business due to illegals leaving a county in Virginia.  When I think of the defenders of the free market and capitalism, the ACLU is always at the top of the list. Way to go ACLU!  Stand up for 'bidness!

Legislative Lowdown: Health Commission

The Public Health Study Commission met on Tuesday with a large agenda although,the most sensational moment by far was the display of a diseased lung to the committee by anti-smoking advocates just before lunch (Yum!). 
Tom Vitaglione, a Senior Fellow at the nonprofit organization Action for Children, presented his group's wish list for the legislative short session that includes adding five additional vaccinations(including the much questioned HPV vaccine) ($31.3 million, Recurring), more school nurses ($10.8 million, also Recurring) and regulating corporal punishment (Priceless) in schools.

Last year's legislative long session saw a ban on corporal punishment go down in defeat in the House by a vote of 66 to 50 in the House. Legislative rules do not allow a bill that has been defeated to be reintroduced until a new legislature is elected (in this case the 2009 long session.) Not to be deterred by that loss, Vitaglione is still after the paddle.

This new proposal calls for training in the ancient art of corporal punishment, defining what constitutes it and tracking the incidences of it.  Of all of these recommendations, the data collection is probably the most potent. Vitaglione noted that until we measure the use of corporal punishment in schools, we will never know just how many minorities and special needs students are being paddled.   It always comes down to the same thing with the Left.  Race is like the nine iron in the Left's golf bag of ideas.  You know its always going to come out at some point.  (Ironically, many African Americans support corporal punishment.  At least I know my 4th grade ruler ace, Mrs. Barrett did.)

It is instructive to note the tactics of Action for the Chil'run:
Run a bill to outlaw an activity you disagree with.
Lose vote but don't give up.
Restrict and regulate the activity.
Require statistical data to be collected on the activity to use as ammo in the next round. 

Vitaglione stated in the meeting that corporal punishment will be banned in North Carolina eventually and it is clear that he hopes to speed up the process through these proposals.  He would do well to realize that not all North Carolinians are as "evolved" as he and his group are.  There are some parts of the state that still believe in corporal punishment and would rather not have another educational edict handed down from the enlightened intelligentsia high atop Mt. Raleigh.

Healthcare: The Asheville Project

Something good besides Thomas Wolff comes out of Asheville:

A gold standard in health policy is finding ways to improve care, save money, and enlist patients in better managing their chronic conditions. And we have new evidence of the success of a program that is doing just that.

The Asheville Project began several years ago, enlisting local pharmacists to monitor and help manage the health of diabetes patients and coach them about using their medicines properly. In exchange for these regular visits, patients' co-payments are waived for their diabetes medicines.

The results have been impressive: Patients' health improved dramatically, and their employer -- the City of Asheville, North Carolina -- saved money. Direct medical costs fell up to $1,872 per patient per year, absences from sick time decreased, and productivity increased by up to $18,000 a year. The Asheville Project was expanded to help patients manage other chronic illnesses as well.

SEANC Affirms Relationship with SEIU

According to this article (subscription required) in the March 21st Triangle Business Journal, the State Employees Association of North Carolina's executive committee has voted 47-10 to enter into negotiations with the Service Employees International Association (SEIU) on an affiliation agreement -- taking one more giant step closer to finally admitting that they are a labor union.

The move would represent a major shift for North Carolina, the nation's least unionized state. In 2007, only 3 percent of the state's work force was unionized, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic. Adding SEANC's 55,000 members would increase the state's union population, now at 115,000, by nearly 50 percent.

SEANC wants SEIU's sophisticated political operation to have a say in national legislation and help knock down North Carolina's prohibition against collective bargaining for public employees, Cope says.

SEIU, Cope says, is interested in teaming with SEANC because the union wants to learn how to organize workers in the South. SEANC has successfully put together the largest independent organization of public employees in the nation, Cope says, while unions have struggled to recruit workers in the state.

Add this news to the earlier reported $360,000 that the NEA is spending in the governor's primary (and millions more to come from them and fellow unions) and North Carolina is quickly becoming the frontlines in labor's march to destroy the economies of the south much like they have in the Midwest and Northeast.

All those people and businesses who have moved to NC over the past few years to escape the overly high taxation and government regulation are seeing those same people following them down here.  Maybe this time we'll have sense enough to tell the unions we don't want you to do to North Carolina what you've done to Michigan.

AFP Slams U.S. Rep. Price for Porcine Apologetics

David Price thinks costly, vote-buying, pork-barrel projects are ay-okay, according to this article.

Americans for Prosperity disagrees:

“Congressman Price’s defense of the earmarking system shows just how out of touch he is with North Carolina’s taxpayers.

“He claims that pork-barrel earmarks don’t lead to extra spending, but the fact is earmarks are routinely used to buy votes for bloated spending bills that would never pass if nearly every Member of Congress didn’t have a pet project in them.
 
“Congressman Price claims that he opposes funding for unworthy “road to nowhere” projects, yet last year he opposed all 50 proposed amendments that would have killed funding for questionable projects all over the country.  Among the projects that Congressman Price deemed worthy of North Carolinians’ tax dollars: $50,000 for a Mule and Packers Museum in California, $150,000 for the American Ballet Theater in New York City, $200,000 for a Lobster Institute in Maine, and $100,000 to build a prison museum in Kansas.

“Are these really necessary projects that North Carolina’s hard-working taxpayers need to be funding?  Congressman Price apparently thinks so, and that shows just how out of touch is really is.”

Need for Transparency

JLF's Becki Gray with a great editorial in the Charlotte Observer on the need for transparency at all levels of government and from quasi-governmental organizations like the League of Municipalities and County Commissioners Association.

More broadly, two organizations -- the N.C. League of Municipalities and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners -- have lobbied for such tax referenda for years and employ dozens of employees, including several registered lobbyists. Their primary sources of funding are "membership dues" paid for by taxpayers. Can taxpayers clearly see how these dollars are spent? No.

Healthcare: Portability is the Key

So the unions have finally figured out that the government-created system of employer-based insurance has a fatal flaw:

"Approximately three-fourths of American workers are concerned with losing their health insurance if they change jobs, according to a survey released by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)."

How do you increase portability? Level the tax code to include equal tax treatment for individual plans that aren't tied to employment. This would effectively get companies out of the insurance business if people sought out individual policies. But so what? This WWII model has got to go (hey, ho.)
-Max Borders

Whither CLC '08?

Francis DeLuca explains (video).

Predatory Bureaucrats

This letter in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette poses a question that many will find difficult to answer:

"I wonder if the politicians' recent "suggestions" to lenders to "renegotiate" some of the mortgage principal so the borrowers can keep from losing their homes should also apply to those homeowners who happen to be unable to afford their confiscatory state and local property taxes.

How often do you think these bureaucrats make any offers to "renegotiate" your tax bill?"

So-called "consumer advocates" love spinning tales of "victims of predatory lenders." What about homeowners who become victims of predatory bureaucrats who continue to raise taxes in their lust for more power?

Bailouts: Bad, whether Big Guys or Little

Russ Roberts hits a home run with with NPR piece on the Bear Stearns and (likely future) mortgage bailouts:

Yes, letting Bear Stearns go under would have been dangerous. But helping JP Morgan devour Bear Stearns is dangerous, too. Where does the government stop in protecting people from irresponsibility? Home owners and lenders are next. The political pressure is inexorable for some sort of bail out. And then comes more regulation of investment banks.

In a world where people who make bad decisions are spared the full consequences, only one thing is certain. We've encouraged more people to make more bad decisions in the future. The real price to be paid isn't the dollar costs of any bail out but the encouragement of recklessness and irresponsibility. That will make all of us poorer down the road.
-Max Borders

Rush to Biofuels Tempered in Europe?

A case of common sense overtakes Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the UK, while in the US (including NC) we're going corn-liquor crazy. From the Guardian:

In an outspoken attack on a policy which comes into force next week, Professor Bob Watson, the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said it would be wrong to introduce compulsory quotas for the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel before their effects had been properly assessed.

"If one started to use biofuels ... and in reality that policy led to an increase in greenhouse gases rather than a decrease, that would obviously be insane," Watson said. "It would certainly be a perverse outcome."
(HT: Jeff Mixon)
-Max Borders

Labor Unions Trying to Buy the Governor's Race

We've all seen the trend over the past few election cycles that organized labor has targeted North Carolina as fertile ground to expand its reach.  In the past it has mainly been in support of Democratic candidates in the general election, but this year, organized labor is trying to manipulate the Democratic primary for Governor.

Earlier this year, the State Employees Association of NC (SEANC) took it's lawsuit against State Treasurer Richard Moore public spending $30,000 on a series of newspaper ads mentioning their public records lawsuit against his office.  There was little doubt the timing of the ads were politically motivated to throw mud on Treasurer Moore before the primary.

Now, the nation's teacher's union -- the National Education Association (NEA) -- has bought $360,000 of radio time over the next two weeks promoting Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's education credentials.  (Download pdf of their expense filing here -- Download nea_communication.pdf.)  Dome has the full text of the ad here. 

$360,000 on radio statewide is a huge ad buy for two weeks.  Any media consultant will tell you that's enough to pretty much blanket the state.

Oh, and how did the NEA pay for these ads?  With the union dues of teachers.  The funds came from their general fund, not from their political action committee.  How many NEA members who support Richard Moore just had their dues confiscated from them and used without their input to support a candidate they do not agree with? 

How many good, honest teachers joined the NEA because they thought it was the right thing to do in order to support their profession and now come to find out that money is coming straight out of their paychecks to influence elections?

If the unions are willing to spend this much in the Primary to get their preferred candidate, how many millions will they spend to advance their anti-business, socialist agenda in the general election?

Easley e-mail panel eclipses "Sunshine Week"

The e-mail panel Governor Easley has named is HEAVILY stacked to favor less transparency in government. Just one of the members, Ned Cline, is not a current employee of government at one level or another. Four of them could be considered to work directly for the governor in the executive branch. That would be a majority of the panel for math challenged individuals. The advisor to the panel also works for the state.

Does anyone think eight individuals, drawing taxpayer funded salaries, are going to make any dramatic changes that might make government more open and transparent - including their own job?

Who is representing the press? Who is representing groups advocating for open government? Who is representing the taxpayer who pays for all of this? Oh yeah, Sunshine Week was last week, we don't need to worry about any of that anymore.

I can't wait until next March to once again celebrate "Sunshine Week" followed by a total eclipse of the sun!

"Living Wage" Nonsense

Today's N&O offers up this article about a study that allegedly calculates a "living wage."

The study:

"tried to show what it actually takes to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, transportation, taxes and other necessities across the state."

What did they find?

"The average family of four in North Carolina needs $42,841 annually to meet basic needs,"

That's right, not $42,840, not $42,842. They nailed it right down to the exact dollar amount. I'll spare you any stale attempt at "if you don't earn a living wage, will you die?" commentary, but the fact they arrive at such a specific dollar amount is worthy of ridicule.

Predictably, the 'findings' of this study say that a large share of families examined don't meet this income threshold. What appears to be left out is the amount of government aide these families receive. Leaving out potentially thousands of dollars of financial resources helps tilt the scales in favor of the study's intended narrative.

Even more predictably, the report cries out for more government, including:

"expanded support programs, such as childcare subsidies; a push for higher-quality jobs in business recruitment and expanded access to worker training programs."

It's amazing how a group that labels themselves "progressive" continues to champion the status quo of government interventionism.

Who's Paying Tax in N.C.?

Wouldn't you like to know. (Hint: Look out for those calling for the wealthy to pay their "fair share.")
-Max Borders

Primary Concerns

A closer look at some the votes during the Thomas Wright expulsion special session raised a few eyebrows.  The amendment that would have censured Wright instead of expelling him had some interesting supporters.  The Twelve members voted in favor of the amendment were mostly members of the Legislative Black Caucus though two were not. 

Greensboro Democrat Maggie Jeffus was one of "ayes."  Understandably, she had a tough time with the vote since she has shared a desk with Wright for a number of years and considers him a friend. 

Rep. Drew Saunders is another case altogether.  He's currently being challenged in the Democrat primary by Nick Mackey. Mackey has gained a following since being shot down for the job of Sheriff of Mecklenburg County by the NC Democrat Party. 

Mackey is a candidate to watch.  Despite his professional troubles in the past, he has come away from the Sheriff's debacle motivated and well known in a district that is 38% African American against a white incumbent.

Was Drew Saunders trying to head off an attack from Mackey's supporters by supporting the lesser sanction against another African American legislator?  Stay tuned.

The MSM won't cover the war...

... as this post suggests. Why? asks Jeff Jacoby - because we're winning.
-Max Borders

Healthcare: Out of State Insurance

Here is a solid paper on breaking down the barriers to competition in the insurance market by letting people purchase insurance (particularly health) in other states. This is one of the BIG things we can do to remedy our ailing healthcare system.
-Max Borders

Why Roads Don't Get Built in NC

Kinston, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation will spend $800,000 to study the possibility of a rail link to the Global TransPark near Kinston.

Seriously?  I had to double check the calendar and make sure it wasn't April Fools Day.

You've got to be kidding me.  What idiot bureaucrat thinks it's a good idea to poor more money into this boondoggle project?  I want him or her to step forward and take credit for this absurd idea so we can all throw eggs at them.

And we wonder why our roads never get built and the ones that do fall apart.

Rep. Wright Expelled

For the first time since 1880, the North Carolina House of Representatives has voted to expel a member. Representative Thomas Wright of (D-New Hanover) has been expelled after a vote of his peers.  Former Rep. Wright is currently facing numerous felony charges relating to fraudulently obtaining loans through a complex scheme that used a nonprofit and state employees in addition to myriad campaign finance violations.

The special session was called to order by Speaker Joe Hackney (D-Chatham) at 10am on Thursday, March 20th.  Five members were absent; Rep. Debbie Clary (R-Cleveland), Rep. Paul Lubke (D-Durham), Rep. Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston), Rep. Linda Coleman (D-Wake)and Rep. Joe Kiser (R-Lincoln). The first order of business was to accept the resignation of Rep. Pete Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) due to health reasons.  Rep. Bill Owens (D-Pasquotank) introduced the rules for the session which were pretty much pro forma.  The rules passed with only two votes against: Wright (natch) and, inexplicably, retiring Rep. George Holmes (R-Yadkin).

The rules required a two thirds vote to expel. Wrights attorneys were allowed on the floor of the House as were legislative staff.  Also spotted on the back row normally occupied by high school pages were a number of state senators and former Senator Fern Shubert and former Rep. Steve Wood.

The report of the Ethics Committee was read at length and then the motion to expel reiterated much of the same material.  Rep. Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland) sponsored the motion as Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee with fellow Ethics Co-Chair Skip Stam (R-Wake).  Glazier pointed out some of the evidence against Wright:

• over 400 unreported contributions
• 7 years worth of fraudulent campaign reports
• 40% of all contributions were never reported
• $200,000 in expenditures were never reported

Rep. Earl Jones (D-Guilford) offered an amendment that would censure Wright instead of expelling him.  After some debate by Glazier, Stam and Rep. Larry Womble (D-Forsyth), Wright rose to address the body.  After emphasizing the need to be careful about what he said due to pending legal action, Wright declared his innocence of the charges and plead with the members to give him the chance to prove his innocence.

The vote on the amendment was held with 12 supporting it (Jones, Womble, Wright, Rep. Alma Adams (D-Guilford), Rep. Mary McAllister (D-Cumberland), Rep. Beverly Earle (D-Mecklenburg), Rep. Larry Bell (D-Sampson), Rep. Maggie Jeffus (D-Guilford), Rep. Mickey Michaux (D-Durham), Rep. Larry Hall (D-Durham),Rep. Annie Mobley (D-Herford) and Rep. Drew Saunders (D-Mecklengurg) while 102 members voted against the amendment.

House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson) then supported expulsion and the vote was held.  The motion to expel passed 109 to 5.  The five against expulsion were Wright, Womble, McAllister, Jones and Rep. Earline Parmon (D-Forsyth).

Speaker Hackney then ordered the Sergeant at Arms to escort Wright from the House.

The last two years have seen a parade of disgraced lawmakers leave the legislature for the penitentiary.   None have held out longer than Thomas Wright.  Former Speaker Jim Black waited  months to leave but he did resign before he could be expelled.  Former Representative Michael Decker, the GOP Judas, was removed by the electorate before his stint as an inmate.  Even former Rep. Paul Miller and David Almond had the dignity and common sense to resigned rather than face their peers in an expulsion vote.  Thomas Wright did not .  Representative Wright turned out to be Representative Wrong.

Climate Change: Politicians Better Back Off

"Forty-eight percent of Americans are unwilling to spend even a penny more in gasoline taxes to help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new nationwide survey released today by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The poll found just 18% of Americans are willing to pay 50 cents or more in additional taxes per gallon of gas to reduce greenhouse emissions. U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, has called for a 50 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax." (NCPPR release.)
-Max Borders

Bill Coming to Raleigh

Media outlets are reporting that former President Bill Clinton will be in Cary on Friday, speaking at the Cary Senior Center around 4:45pm.

Hey Bill, you may want to re-think the timing of that whole thing.  There's a little tournament going on that this area is bat-crazy about, so that is going to be the focus of most everyone's attention for the next 4 days.

And, the Tar Heels are scheduled to play in Raleigh a little after 7.  If your motorcade stops traffic on I-40 and keeps people from getting to the game on time, you could blow this state for your wife just like you did when you ran your mouth in South Carolina.

What scheduler in their right mind drops a candidate or surrogate in the middle of basketball Mecca during the middle of the NCAA tournament?  That's really not good planning.  It's like sending a candidate to campaign in Boston two hours before the Red Sox start Game 1 of the World Series.  Dumb move Clinton camp (Well, given the way you've run the campaign, what else was really expected?).

At least Obama was smart enough to get in and get out before the thing tipped off.

A Full Cent

The budget passed last year gave counties the option of holding a referendum to increase the sales tax a 1/4 cent.  Wake County leaders recently announced they wanted to do just so to pay for school construction.

But then they wanted a 1/2 cent sales tax increase to pay for mass transit.

How do these conflicting proposals compete for limited resources?

Combine it into one and raise the sales tax a full percent in Wake County!  Or at least that is the latest proposal from Wake County Commissioner Joe Bryan.  "A penny for progress."

Give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile.

Budget & Tax Blueprint for N.C.

Check it out.

The Irrationality of Transit Planning

Check out this post from transportation scholar Randal O'Toole, in which he shows how to carry out more rational transit (and transportation) planning:

I would suggest that, instead of focusing on inputs (how much land to manage for timber, how much for wilderness, how much money to spend on highways, how much for transit), plans should focus on outputs. Here is my four-step process for developing alternatives.

First, identify the goals of the plan. They might include safety, congestion relief, reduced air pollution and other environmental effects, energy efficiency, and so forth. Goals must be outputs, not inputs. Things like “multimodalism” and “walkability” are inputs, not outputs. Goals should not be biased towards any particular mode but should focus on the things that people consider important.

Second, measure the effects of every possible transportation project in the region on each of the goals. How many lives will each project save or destroy? How many hours of congestion relief will the projects provide? How much pollution will they prevent or generate? How much energy will they consume or save? In addition, how much will each project cost?

Third, rank all of the projects using each goal. Planners should divide the benefits of each project by its dollar cost to get a cost-efficiency estimate. Then sort the projects from high to low cost efficiencies.

Fourth, create an alternative from each goal’s ranking. Planners know roughly how much money the region will have to spend on transportation improvements. So pick the top projects ranked according to each goal until all the money is spent.

The result would be alternatives emphasizing Safety, Congestion Relief, Clean Air, Energy Efficiency, and any other goals planners considered important (and quantifiable). None of these alternatives are biased toward transit, autos, bikes, or whatever. Instead, they each focus on an important community goal. Moreover, it is likely that there will be a lot of overlap between alternatives, because some projects that improve safety will also reduce congestion and air pollution. By finding such overlaps, and weighing trade offs when goals conflict, planners can put together a preferred alternative.

The trouble with O'Toole's criteria are that they assume a) that planners desire rational approaches to planning, b) that these would be able to trump considerations like "progressiveness" or "community" (whatever these have to do with getting from A-to-B), c) that transport planners/politicians haven't already been captured by special interests (or, as with N.C. aren't themselves special interests), and d) that taxpayers realize they're being scorched for these rolling boondoggles and can put government functionaries in their place to adopt more sensible means of transportation.
-Max Borders

Legislative Lowdown: Water

Governor Mike Easley has decided to come out of his shell and get guvmint to solve some problems.  At Tuesday's meeting of the Environmental Review Commission, Easley's proxy, Franklin Freeman, presented the administration's plan for dealing with the drought. 

Whenever the government tries to "fix" a problem, the little guy needs to look out.  In this case, the little guys are the owners of a private wells. Easley's proposal would give local water systems the authority to force conservation measures on private well owners.

This is a dangerous maneuver designed to ensure that everyone suffers due to the drought.  This kind of effort by the government to "equalize" the impact of the drought ignores the property rights of the well owners while appealing to the notion of "fairness" held by people that have had their access to water restricted by municipal agencies or private water utilities.   While rumors of mandating meters on private wells have been circulating for the past few weeks, no steps were taken in that direction. 

Despite the proposals to increase the power of government, there were some innovative recommendations too.

• For anyone who has spent a significant time on the high seas, the concept of "gray" water is not that unusual.  The Navy does a great job of not using drinking water for any purpose other than human consumption.  The Governor's proposal would make it easier to use waste water from sinks and tubs for irrigation.
• Changing to market for water to remove the "bulk" discount for customers that use large amounts of water.
• Creating a sales tax holiday on water saving devices similar to the school supplies tax holiday.

This is just the initial effort on water conservation. Keep an eye peeled for more heavy handed guvmint "solutions."

Skybus Cutting Flights

Skybus, the low-cost, no-frills airline that is set to receive nearly $10 million in state and local incentives, announced it is reducing its number of flights due to high oil prices.

You mean the $10 million we're giving you doesn't subsidize the cost of jet fuel enough?  Well, just plead poverty to the General Assembly and they'll be sure to write you a bigger check.  Who cares if your business model is fundamentally flawed.

Disposal Backlash

The backlash from the Raleigh ban on garbage disposals has the rest of the state chuckling. But it's not funny for the residents who are ready to turn these council members out on their ears. While the garbage disposal presents a difficult question on the philosophical issues of individual rights versus the public good - as the disposal represents the interface between private and public spheres - it's one of those problems (clogging) that Raleigh would have done better to figure out without government intrusion.

What I find most interesting about this is that when state and local governments find ways to stick it to the public by indirect means (impact fees, excessive industry regs, subsidies, corporate giveaways) the public largely yawns because the media do a poor job of communicating the costs to individual families, and people, well, are just more likely to think "you can tax me, but don't mess with my garbage disposal." Ah, democracy. In any case, the public is "rationally ignorant" about the negative unintended consequences of what the government gets away with on a daily basis, but I can't give the media a pass. It's their job.
-Max Borders

Come be our Governor, Bobby Jindal

...because of what you're doing in Louisiana on education, taxation, and ethics reform. The guy hasn't been in office that long yet and already he's been able to work with the Louisiana General Assembly to accomplish a lot of good things.

Meanwhile, in N.C. we've got scandals aplenty (not to mention this garbage), a state legislator to be removed from office, record levels of government spending, plans for more rolling boondoggles while urbanites sit in traffic and rural yokals ride new roads, the highest taxes in the southeast, and crap legislation from last session coming online. The worst part is, the liberal mobocracy that's long been bought and sold by less-than-scrupulous power-brokers from eastern North Carolina shows no signs of letting up. Help, Bobby Jindal, help!
-Max Borders

Legislative Lowdown: Transportation

Today's meeting of the Joint Committee on Transportation Committee held few surprises though the Department's report on how they have been addressing the shortcomings found in a department wide review by consultant McKinsey & Co. was an interesting exercise in corporate culture techno-babble. The entire multi page handout was emblazoned with the words "NCDOT Transformation."  Tons of lip service was paid to accountability, performance metrics and controls.  All of the performance enhancing rhetoric in the world won't fix a bureaucracy that is controlled by a good old boy network that uses cronyism as its main tool. 

The committee also heard presentations from the choo-choo people in Charlotte and Raleigh.  Charlotte is singing the praises of light rail's economic impact on the areas of the Queen City served by the train.  This appears to be their lead tactic to secure funding in the future.  They claim that property values near the train have increased  more than the rest of Charlotte.  They also outlined the plan to build Charlotte's version of Grand Central Station uptown. The total funding request for the Charlotte Transit system is $470 Million for the next 15 years.

Not to be outdone by their big brother to the west, the Triangle Transit Authority gave the next presentation using Charlotte's experience as justification for their efforts.  TTA General Manager David King, formerly of the NCDOT, (King fell on his sword during the Ferry Division's infamous "booze cruise.") cited Charlotte's successes to push for more funds for the Triangle's own choo-choo. Their funding wish list includes new taxes for the Triangle in the form of a 1/2 cent sales tax to go along with the money they already get from the State and Federal government and the rental car tax. TTA's wish list adds up to $2.3 Billion.  'Em trains are high class travelin'!

Civitas Blueprint Series

Civitas is rolling out it's series: "Blueprint for North Carolina". The education and transportation blueprints are live.

Citizens, thought leaders, and elected officials are encouraged to give these a close read. (Budget & Taxes, Healthcare, and Immigration are to follow...)
-Max Borders

More on the Elon Transportation "Poll"

The Elon “poll” (scarequotes, because the methodology and presentation of the results strains the limits of legitimacy) found that 66% support a $2 billion statewide transportation bond. It also found that voters don’t want higher taxes on gas, cars, or property to pay for transportation projects. The question is, as one of my colleagues points out: do voters understand that bonds mean higher taxes?

Of course not. And Elon doesn't want them to, either--otherwise we might see far different results.

I'm always astounded at how readily the press laps up the results of the Elon Poll. Just a tiny bit of critical analysis would yield all sorts of problems both in the approach and the execution. My little tinfoil hat theory is that the press is simply eager for stories of great big shiny public works projects that - while they destroy prosperity - make great frontpage stories. Of course, the media have also bought into light rail fetishism and urban planning backwardness. (Witness WRAL's trips to Charlotte and sundry other attempts to convince people that rail transit is some sort of silver bullet.) Polls of under-informed voters are likely to validate the biases of the media and the pollster--all for the sake of a grand illusion that will pull the wool over the eyes of the citizenry and pluck more money from their paychecks.
-Max Borders

Climate Change: Jim Rogers Bootlegger & Baptist

He's a bootlegger and baptist wrapped up in one. Check out this malarky on CEO Jim Rogers who apparently attended some climate alarmist meeting in Brussels:

But one of the people most talked about behind his back was Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers.

People were stunned by his candor and apparent strong commitment to climate change action. His first line when he spoke at the Forum yesterday was to tell the audience to focus on the numbers 3, 12 and 41.

He said that Duke Energy was the third largest emitter of carbon in the United States and the twelfth in the world -- and if considered an independent nation, Duke Energy would be 41st in the world -- so carbon emissions is a huge issue for him and his firm and wants to turn that around.

Jim Rogers ain't no angel people. He's not atoning for anything. What he knows (just like Paul Anderson knew) is that if Duke Energy has to compete in a carbon tax environment, then they'll kill their competition. Duke has huge interests in nuclear and natural gas. Competitors are not in such a good position. So don't be fooled. Jim Rogers wants to kill his competitors with climate change regs. He may have convinced himself that it's the "right thing" but he's a bootlegger and a Baptist all in one.
-Max Borders

Elon Poll: Public Confused on Transportation

Elon University released a poll today on transportation in North Carolina.  The jist of it... People want more transportation options but don't want to pay for it.

I have some complaints with the wording and choices for some of the questions.

For example, they asked an open-ended question on what was the most important issue facing transportation in North Carolina.  The results were:
Gas Prices - 30.8%
Public Transportation - 17.1%
Road Conditions/Quality - 12.7%
Congestion - 9.7%
Traffic - 4.0%
Road Construction - 3.2%

My beef here is, why are "congestion" and "traffic" listed as two separate answers?  Aren't they basically the same thing?  And isn't "road quality" and "road construction" basically the same thing as well?

Also, I highly doubt 17.1% of the people responded specifically "public transportation."  Some probably said we need more bus routes, other probably said more light rail or mass transit options.  So why were they all grouped together into "public transportation" other than to make that response seem like it was more important?

Why was "public transportation" grouped as one answer when four roads-specific answers were listed singularly?  The obvious answer is there is some sort of bias in attempting to make it seem there is more support for public transportation than roads.

Second, their questions on tolls are misleading.  The questions make it sound like the state is going to stick toll booths on existing roads to collect more money.  In fact, the only proposal for toll roads is to be collected on newly-constructed roads (finishing 540, finishing 485, Monroe bypass, Triangle Parkway, another bridge to the outer banks, etc).  To make it sound otherwise is nothing more than scare tactics and is polling something that isn't reality.

And sure people say they support more rail options when you don't give them a price tag for it.  Living in Fantasyland where everything is free is fantastic, but again, not realistic.  Why not ask the public if they support raising $2 billion in taxes to pay for that rail expansion?
Asking blanket questions with no basis for personal impact or personal reflection is pointless.  It's like asking children if they like ponies. Of course they are going to say yes.  Do they like ponies as much when they have to feed them and clean up after them?  Of course not.

So maybe I've changed my summation of this poll by Elon -- basically, it's a poll of the wishlist of transportation if we lived in some magical world where trains and asphalt grew on trees.  But things cost money, real money, and people don't seem to want to pay.  So without juxtaposing those two things together, the poll is basically worthless.  But the media will fawn over it anyway.

Transportation: Another Transpartisan Truth?

Moves towards privatization, tolling, and congestion pricing are starting to capture the imagination of people around the country. In this very good (long, but well worth the read) piece in the Washington Post, the author profiles one Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Tyler Duvall, who has been laboring to move us away from the centralized, corruption-laden and inefficient pork-barreling of roads to the distributed, dynamic and common-sensical approach of congestion pricing. Of course, some lefty Congressman in the piece (DeFazio from Oregon) decides to call him a neocon - twice - in