N.C. Democrats Jettison Gas Tax Relief

As we begin the hot summer months, North Carolina Democrats have acted to prevent working families from receiving much needed relief at the gas pump. State taxes were scheduled to drop 2 cents on a gallon of gas in July. So what did N.C. Democrats do? They stopped it from happening. That would be against their apparent policy preference when it comes to taxes: not a dime left behind. Democrats also put in place new legislation to prevent any relief for consumers through 2011, likely as a precursor to eventually raising the gas tax.

NC gasoline tax change gets final legislative OK

By Gary D. Robertson
Associated Press
June 8, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Lawmakers gave final approval Monday night to change North Carolina's gasoline tax, three years after their decision to cap the tax pleased motorists but sent road-building revenues nearly a half-billion dollars lower than projected.

The bill passed the House by a 64-52 vote and is likely to be signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue. It would mean taxes at the pump won't go down 2 cents a gallon to 27.9 cents on July 1 as expected under current law.

The change would turn a cap on the gasoline tax at 29.9 cents per gallon into a floor - meaning it could go no lower than 29.9 cents through the middle of 2011. ...

Cover-Up Coming Unraveled

Senate Republican Leader Press Release
June 8, 2009

New documents released by N.C. State University officials as part of a federal investigation show that former Governor Mike Easley and members of his administration were directly involved in the creation of a position for his wife and her subsequent hiring by the university. In addition, N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger resigned today on the heels of weekend reports in The News & Observer that he misled the public regarding the size and length of the severance package given to former N.C. State Provost Larry Nielsen.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger issued the following statement:

“There clearly has been a concerted effort to cover up the circumstances surrounding Mary Easley’s hiring and employment at N.C. State. The new revelations that Mike Easley was directly involved in the hiring of his wife only confirm many of our worst suspicions. Powerful Democrats in state government have ceased pursuing public service and begun trading exclusively in privilege and power. Meanwhile, Democratic legislative leaders have become co-conspirators in this corruption by turning a blind eye to wrongdoing and adamantly refusing to ask the questions that might uncover the truth.”

“The revelations in The News & Observer this weekend that Chancellor James Oblinger illegally changed the terms of former N.C. State Provost Larry Nielsen’s severance package and misled the public regarding the terms of that package are another black mark on NC State resulting from the Easley Scandal. This weekend’s reports left Chancellor Oblinger no choice other than to resign.”

“The News & Observer has done the public a great service by doggedly seeking to uncover the truth in the face of this cover up. The N.C. State Board of Trustees, interim Board Chairman Bob Jordan, and University System President Erskine Bowles also deserve credit for constructively working to end this embarrassment.”

“Unfortunately, Governor Bev Perdue and Legislative Democrats continue working to cover up the Easley Scandal. Legislative Democrats must begin an exhaustive investigation into this scandal or get out of the way so Republicans can.”

“Accountability begins at the top levels of leadership. Governor Perdue should provide the leadership North Carolinians want from her and immediately demand the resignation of Mary Easley. Governor Perdue was not elected to watch as a scandal rages on and the fallout deepens. She was elected to provide accountability and now is the time for her to prove she is willing to do so.”

“It is time for Governor Perdue and Legislative Democrats to do three things: 1. Join University President Bowles, legislative Republicans, and newspaper editorial boards across the state in demanding Mary Easley’s resignation. 2. Move immediately to defund Mary Easley’s faculty position. 3. Join with Republicans to hold legislative oversight hearings seeking to end corruption in State Government by determining how Mary Easley’s contract was agreed to and how the State Highway Patrol ‘lost’ more than a year of Mike Easley’s travel records.”

Teachers and Students Suffer While Democrats Protect Easleys

RALEIGH— At a meeting today, Terri Lomax, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at N.C. State University, announced a moratorium on the creation of new academic centers. This announcement will have a direct impact on the job of former first lady Mary Easley. When Easley was promoted and given a five-year contract and an 88-percent raise last year, her new duties included creating the Public Safety Leadership Center at N.C. State. That center will no longer be created, and therefore, one of the substantial portions of Mary Easley's $170,000 a year job will not be performed. It is uncertain how the change will affect Mary Easley's job status.

The NCGOP has begun the "Perdue Watch" on its Seeing Red Again blog to mark the time that Governor has been watching instead of acting to end the Mary Easley scandal. You can view the blog here.

Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:

"It has been more than nine days since this issue first came to a head and calls for Mary Easley's resignation began piling up. Governor Perdue has refused to do anything about the situation but watch from the sidelines while tolerating corruption and mismanagement of taxpayer money. It was outrageous to spend $850,000 to pay Mary Easley to create the center. It is incredulous that the state would pay Mary Easley $850,000 to not create the center while public school teachers are taking a pay cut and resources are being drained from our children's classrooms. For Governor Perdue and Democrats in the General Assembly to ask teachers and students to bear the burden of a $4 billion budget deficit while they continue to protect the Easleys proves just how out of touch they are with the challenges facing North Carolina's working families. Governor Perdue can act to end this scandal or she can continue to watch it happen. It's her choice."

Perdue Popularity Plummets

A new poll out from the Civitas Institute contains some bad news for Governor Beverly Perdue. In just one month, her popularity rating has fallen 29 points.

Her favorability rating dropped from 58-20 in March to 44-35 in April, a net change of 29 points. That is a enormous decline for one month. There almost seems to be a direct correlation between the state's unemployment rate and her favorability rating. As unemployment goes up, the Governor's numbers get worse.

Even worse news for Perdue is the poll was taken before she announced furloughs for state employees and her new "teacher tax." With Republicans and Independents already skeptical of Perdue's handling of her duties so far, she can ill afford to be losing the confidence of her base. We'll be keeping an eye out to see if voters' lack of confidence continues to erode in the Governor as the fight for the state budget continues.

N.C. Democrats Caught Trading Favors Again?

While education and health care are facing funding nightmares, the state budget is in complete disarray, and roads and bridges are falling into disrepair, where are state funds for needed infrastructure going? Bald Head Island. An island known for "isolation" and "affluence" is controlling more than a quarter of state funds set aside for beach and water infrastructure projects. The cynic in me has one question. Who lives on Bald Head Island and how much money are they giving North Carolina Democrats?

Bald Head in line for $5M from state

Gov. Beverly Perdue and the state Senate think Bald Head Island deserves a big chunk of state money to help rebuild its battered beaches.

But spending 28 percent of the state’s total budget for beach and water infrastructure projects on an island renowned for its isolation and affluence is drawing criticism, especially when North Carolina is experiencing record levels of unemployment and facing a multibillion-dollar deficit for the coming fiscal year.

“I have a hard time understanding how that’s a higher priority than after-school programs,” said Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of N.C. Policy Watch, a liberal government watchdog group.

The Brunswick County island at the mouth of the Cape Fear River would receive $5 million of the $17.6 million the N.C. Division of Water Resources would spend during the 2009-10 fiscal year to rebuild beaches, dredge waterways and fund other water-related projects under the budget proposals.

In comparison, the three New Hanover County beach towns would receive $3.6 million in state funding for their nourishment projects, which are all scheduled for next winter. ...

Jobs Plan? What Jobs Plan?

The unemployment rate rose slightly in N.C. last month from 10.7 to 10.8 percent. However, those numbers might not be as encouraging as hoped at first glance according to economists quoted in the Winston-Salem Journal. Meanwhile, North Carolinians are still waiting on a jobs plan that empowers small business owners from Governor Perdue. Nothing so far.

Number not what is seems; small rise in N.C.'s jobless rate comes with a caveat, experts say

The slight increase in the North Carolina's unemployment rate to 10.8 percent in March may appear a welcome breather given that the rate has doubled in the past year.

However, economists cautioned yesterday that the state . likely hasn't seen a peak in its unemployment rate, and that the 0.1 percentage-point increase was likely caused by nearly 31,000 people no longer being considered as unemployed.

The increase -- reported yesterday by the N.C. Employment Security Commission -- continued the streak of setting a new monthly high for the unemployment rate. ...

When it comes to determining the rate, the commission primarily counts people who are without a job and actively looking for work. ...

Eventually, people who stop looking -- whether out of frustration or by choice -- are removed from the unemployment data.

They aren't the only ones unaccounted for in the data. Others include stay-at-home spouses, retirees, full-time students, people attached to their former employer through severance packages, and people without jobs who have moved into the state.

The unemployment rate also doesn't account for people who are underemployed -- those who are working in full- or part-time jobs below their skill levels.

Economists say that if all those people are factored into the jobless rate, it could be as much as three percentage points higher.

That's why Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University in Raleigh, said that the slight increase in the jobless rate was not good news.

"The lesson is keep your eye on the number employed, not the unemployment rate," Walden said. ...

Cronyism Alive and Well in N.C. Government

Mark Johnson of the Charlotte Observer wrote in an article today that questions are being raised in local and state governments about who is getting hired and why. It seems that even while many agencies of local and state government are under hiring freezes, family members of influential Democrats keep getting jobs. In this section, even powerful Democrats, like Charlotte City Council member and candidate for mayor Anthony Foxx, Governor Beverly Perdue and former Governor Mike Easley don't escape mention for cronyism.

The issue of family connections in government flared last year when then-first lady Mary Easley got an $80,000 raise from her employers at N.C. State University.

Now questions about the influence of personal and family ties are being raised again in the state and in Mecklenburg County.

Commissioners on Wednesday dismissed suggestions of cronyism in the county's Department of Social Services. That came after the director hired the wife of Charlotte City Council member Anthony Foxx after posting the job for one day during a department hiring freeze.

In Raleigh, Gov. Bev Perdue's son Garrett was hired this year by the law firm of Womble, Carlyle Sandridge & Rice as a lobbyist a month after his mother took office. The firm says he'll lobby in Washington, not Raleigh.

Relationships matter in many lines of work, and private companies do their share of family hires. But when relatives of public officials get a government job or a job dependent on government such as lobbying, it prompts the question: Did qualifications or genes get them hired?