Sen. Bob Rucho

Taking food away from families to build up a surplus:

She says North Carolina got itself into this mess by giving tax breaks to employers, and argues that it's unfair to fix the situation "solely on the backs of the unemployed." But Republican Sen. Bob Rucho says "there were no easy solutions" for dealing with a debt to the federal government in excess of $2.5 billion. He says his plan will allow the state to pay off its debt to Washington three years earlier, while also building up a billion-dollar trust fund for the next recession.

I got news for you, Einstein: when the foreclosures start rolling in from all the families who are financing your heartless scheme, the housing market will crash again, and the next recession will be here before you can replace the batteries in your calculator. But don't listen to me, why not ask some of your real estate buddies?

But those things probably aren't their goal, anyway:

Sen. Bob Rucho, a Republican leading the tax overhaul efforts, said revamping the system is necessary because household consumption has changed, eroding the base of the state’s tax system. Rucho said he favors taxing all services on the list. “It should be a balanced approach because there is more and more of a shift toward the service industry in North Carolina … and it’s just a matter of fairness that everybody should be treated the same,” he said.

Taxing services instead of income is about as far away from "fair" as you can get. Not only does it shift the burden down to those who can afford it the least, it puts downward pressure on small businesses, who employ about 3/4 of the work force. And (if that's not enough) it will create a budget deficit the likes we haven't seen for decades:

The arrogance of power:

The Senate voted 33-16 Tuesday to take Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the city, which has governed it successfully for 78 years, and give it to a new independent authority. Unless House Speaker Thom Tillis of Mecklenburg County slows things down, Charlotte taxpayers will soon lose jurisdiction over a jewel responsible for an estimated $10 billion a year in economic activity.

So much for being against big-government thuggery. A move of this magnitude, that will affect bond-holders and taxpayers in great numbers, should (at least) be dealt with via referendum. That way, all the pro-con reasons would be brought to the fore, and not hidden behind smug opacity:

Hat-tip to CWFNC for e-mailing this link. The ugly starts on page 37:

AN ACT TO: (1) ESTABLISH AN OIL AND GAS BOARD WITH JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY OVER MATTERS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE, INCLUDING THE USE OF HORIZONTAL DRILLING AND HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Before I proceed, let me go ahead and say this up here so you can see it on the front page: This bill needs to be Vetoed with extreme prejudice as soon as it makes contact with Bev's desk. Here's one reason:

Solving NC's unemployment woes by promoting the denial of benefits:

The suspension of the rules Wednesday stemmed from a June 23 letter from the U.S. Department of Labor to state officials. It raised concerns about provisions in the bill that would have given employers 30 days to protest claims made by former workers and language specifying what kind of misconduct would warrant a person from being disqualified for receiving benefits.

You know, it's bad enough Republicans have done absolutely zilch in the area of job creation. But this less-than-human approach to policy could actually encourage companies to terminate employees. And it's no big surprise that such an anti-worker rule would run into Federal trouble:

From my article on Examiner.com today.

For those of you who have been hiding under a rock,

Sen. Rucho "blasted" the Democrats and even their leaders for the past "100 years" on the floor of the Senate Chamber Thursday afternoon.

I thought you would enjoy this article: Profile: NC Senate leader from Mecklenburg, Sen. Bob Rucho. I interviewed Sen. Rucho by phone today. He was at home in Matthews. Also see several articles and videos on the subject at WRAL.com by their Capitol Correspondent, Laura Leslie.