I've been thinking a lot about how Democrats can position themselves against the Radical Republicans who have put a stranglehold on our state. More below the fold.
1. Reverse GOP efforts to set back public education and environmental protection for our state. Enough said.
2. Amend the State Constitution to bring Home Rule to North Carolina. It is time to take Raleigh out of the business of micro-managing counties and municipalities. Local governments should be given latitude to manage their own affairs, within broad guidelines established by the State Constitution. So-called local bills should be abolished altogether. Counties and municipalities should be able to set tax rates, establish development rules and environmental protections, and generally manage their own affairs without intrusion of the General Assembly.
3. Establish uniform rules for annexations, balancing the interests of municipalities and residents of areas targeted for annexation.
4. Undertake a complete review of state government organization. For example, many individual professional and business licensing duties should be consolidated along the lines of South Carolina's Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. As a native of the Palmetto State, I would not look to our neighbors to the south for many examples, but this is an area that is ripe for consolidation to gain efficiency, eliminate duplication, and combine fees into a single structure. For example, as a licensed Professional Engineer, I pay an annual registration fee to the Board of Engineering and Land Surveying, and pay a privilege license tax to the Department of Revenue. The privilege license tax is, I believe, widely ignored by many of my profession.
5. Propose serious, comprehensive tax reform that makes sense, including eliminating the income tax on businesses. That effort should also result in eliminating any kind of tax incentives, including property tax breaks, to lure businesses to the state.
I realize this is a broad outline, and I leave it to other readers to fill in details.
Comments
eliminating the income tax on businesses.
This is not my area of expertise but reducing revenue has not been a real winner since the Kennedy Administration. I'm all for more efficiency.
Love it, USNA
Agree down the line.
Regarding the elimination of taxes on business, that should be a centerpiece of any tax reform. It will have to be done in a way that sustains or even raises overall revenue, which means creating new, higher brackets with higher rates for the ultra-rich.
Corporations are not people.
James
USNA 72
PS My wife wondered this morning if I was writing as USNA 77. Made me chuckle. I know it may be hard for right-wingers to accept, but yes ... there are at least two Naval Academy graduates in the BlueNC community.
This is Very Thoughtful
Glad you shared it.
I think that #2 is particularly important. Dillon Rule hamstrings local governments who have the most direct contact with citizens -- and as we've seen lately, it really breaks down when you have power-hungry, vindictive extremists in charge.
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"I will have a priority on building relationships with the minority caucus. I want to put substance behind those campaign speeches." -- Thom Tillis, Nov. 5, 2014
One more plank...
.... to add to my platform...
Again, stealing from South Carolina....give elected school boards authority to establish tax rates to support school construction in their districts.
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The measure of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR