Issues
If you would like to know where I stand on other issues, please feel free to call or email me.
ON THE ECONOMY
The economy is a major issue for most North Carolinians. Unemployment is high, energy prices are high, and the outlook is dim. How do we turn this around? There are some things that the General Assembly can do to ease the burdens on small businesses:
· Remove unnecessary regulations ($1.5 billion is spent by NC businesses to comply with State and Federal Regulations [2006 figures])
· Lower corporate tax rate (consumers pay these taxes in the form of higher prices)
· Reduce spending at the State level, thereby requiring less taxation of business and citizens (there are many programs at the State level that are redundant or obsolete which may be eliminated or scaled back).
Excessive regulation, taxes, and State spending impedes production, exhausts cash reserves, and prevents expansion and hiring in our business community.
ON EDUCATION
One third of our students do not graduate from high school. Of those who do graduate, many are not proficient enough in math and English to begin college without first taking remedial courses in these subjects. Many of our graduating students know less about their Country, its history, how the government is structured, and how they are the caretakers of their liberties. Many do not know how to balance a checkbook, figure out their change on a purchase, and other mundane things that every adult citizen should know.
These problems are not the result of a lack of funding for the school systems, they are a result of a lack of focus on the core curriculum necessary to turn out productive, knowledgeable citizens. Our school systems are run by a State bureaucracy which mandates a curriculum which is not adequate for the needs of a global economic system.
· The school systems should be run locally, with minimal input from the State
· Our schools need to return to a core curriculum of reading, writing, math and science and American history and government (civics).
· School vouchers should be given to parents to allow them to decide where their children are educated. This will increase competition for students in the public schools as well, and the quality of education will improve as a result (this is proven in those states where vouchers are being used).
· Now that the cap on Charter Schools has been removed, the authority of the State Board of Education over these schools should be minimal. Initiative and ingenuity are the hallmarks of Charter Schools, and these traits should not be stifled by the SBOE as they have been in our Public Schools.
ON FERRY TOLLS
Highways, bridges, and ferries are a legitimate function of government. The Ferry is nothing more than a bridge from one land mass to another. Had the State built a bridge where the ferries are now, surely they would not have charged a toll. Bridges require maintenance and upkeep, no less so than the Ferry system. Therefore, my position is that the State should continue to provide the ferries to the citizens with no ferry tolls. The citizens of North Carolina have bought and paid for the ferries, and to charge them to use what their taxes paid for is a travesty. The ferries are merely and extention of the roads, and therefore should be just as free and accessible as the roadways. To charge the citizens of North Carolina who use the ferries daily to commute to and from work, while allowing free passage on the ferries which predominantly carry tourists is immoral and unethical.
It is likely that pending cuts by the State are going to be more prevalent with each successive session of the Legislature. This is necessary to reduce the tax burdens on the citizens and on the business community. If we cannot get the State to understand that we paid for the Ferry system and should not pay again and again with each use, and if the only way they can operate effectively in the face of budget cuts is to charge for their services, then the following should apply:
· If the ferry system is going to charge passengers, then the charges should be applied across the system, i.e., all of the ferries should charge a fee. No exemptions. This will lower the cost across the system for all passengers.
· There should be a ‘regular rider’ discount program in place for those who use the system regularly to get to and from their places of employment.
· The Ferry system needs to look at ways to cut costs and save money, in order to minimize the cost of the tolls to their riders.
ON THE ECONOMY
The economy is a major issue for most North Carolinians. Unemployment is high, energy prices are high, and the outlook is dim. How do we turn this around? There are some things that the General Assembly can do to ease the burdens on small businesses:
· Remove unnecessary regulations ($1.5 billion is spent by NC businesses to comply with State and Federal Regulations [2006 figures])
· Lower corporate tax rate (consumers pay these taxes in the form of higher prices)
· Reduce spending at the State level, thereby requiring less taxation of business and citizens (there are many programs at the State level that are redundant or obsolete which may be eliminated or scaled back).
Excessive regulation, taxes, and State spending impedes production, exhausts cash reserves, and prevents expansion and hiring in our business community.
ON EDUCATION
One third of our students do not graduate from high school. Of those who do graduate, many are not proficient enough in math and English to begin college without first taking remedial courses in these subjects. Many of our graduating students know less about their Country, its history, how the government is structured, and how they are the caretakers of their liberties. Many do not know how to balance a checkbook, figure out their change on a purchase, and other mundane things that every adult citizen should know.
These problems are not the result of a lack of funding for the school systems, they are a result of a lack of focus on the core curriculum necessary to turn out productive, knowledgeable citizens. Our school systems are run by a State bureaucracy which mandates a curriculum which is not adequate for the needs of a global economic system.
· The school systems should be run locally, with minimal input from the State
· Our schools need to return to a core curriculum of reading, writing, math and science and American history and government (civics).
· School vouchers should be given to parents to allow them to decide where their children are educated. This will increase competition for students in the public schools as well, and the quality of education will improve as a result (this is proven in those states where vouchers are being used).
· Now that the cap on Charter Schools has been removed, the authority of the State Board of Education over these schools should be minimal. Initiative and ingenuity are the hallmarks of Charter Schools, and these traits should not be stifled by the SBOE as they have been in our Public Schools.
ON FERRY TOLLS
Highways, bridges, and ferries are a legitimate function of government. The Ferry is nothing more than a bridge from one land mass to another. Had the State built a bridge where the ferries are now, surely they would not have charged a toll. Bridges require maintenance and upkeep, no less so than the Ferry system. Therefore, my position is that the State should continue to provide the ferries to the citizens with no ferry tolls. The citizens of North Carolina have bought and paid for the ferries, and to charge them to use what their taxes paid for is a travesty. The ferries are merely and extention of the roads, and therefore should be just as free and accessible as the roadways. To charge the citizens of North Carolina who use the ferries daily to commute to and from work, while allowing free passage on the ferries which predominantly carry tourists is immoral and unethical.
It is likely that pending cuts by the State are going to be more prevalent with each successive session of the Legislature. This is necessary to reduce the tax burdens on the citizens and on the business community. If we cannot get the State to understand that we paid for the Ferry system and should not pay again and again with each use, and if the only way they can operate effectively in the face of budget cuts is to charge for their services, then the following should apply:
· If the ferry system is going to charge passengers, then the charges should be applied across the system, i.e., all of the ferries should charge a fee. No exemptions. This will lower the cost across the system for all passengers.
· There should be a ‘regular rider’ discount program in place for those who use the system regularly to get to and from their places of employment.
· The Ferry system needs to look at ways to cut costs and save money, in order to minimize the cost of the tolls to their riders.
"It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." ---Justice Robert Jackson
Paid for by the Speciale for NC House campaign. 2012 Website created and maintained by Dawn Stewart.
