Democracy NC Link-of-the-Day

LOD: Whose Choice is School Choice?

Bob Hall — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:26:59 +0000

North Carolina has the (sad) distinction of having one of the worst-funded public education systems in the nation, and the NC General Assembly appears committed to keep it that way. Legislative leaders are not only extending the education budget cuts, they also want to divert taxpayer dollars from public to private schools.

An analysis by NC Policy Watch sheds light on a major force fueling this anti-public education push in Raleigh. More than $90,000 in political contributions made their way into the campaigns of many of the legislators who are proposing bills to punch holes in our public education system. The money comes from a handful of so-called “school choice” groups and individuals in favor of using taxpayer money to subsidize parents who send their kids to private institutions.

But what kind of “choice” do these proposals really offer? The vouchers and grants offered by the main bills won’t even cover the full tuition at most good private schools. They will work fine as incentives for higher-income families but they’ll lure low-income families into searching for cheap (often lower quality) private schools. That’s really no choice at all; instead, these schemes will reinforce the economic divide and undercut community support for a healthy public school system. Learn more about some of the bills here.

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LOD: Scandal Behind the Scandal

Bob Hall — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:21:18 +0000

More media outlets and bloggers are looking beyond the initial uproar over the IRS’s reprehensible targeting of 501(c)(4) applications from groups on one end of the political spectrum. The targeting is bad enough, but the scandal behind the scandal is the refusal of the IRS to challenge the biggest abusers of the c-4 tax-exempt privilege on the left and right – or even to use the post-Citizens United upsurge in applications to push Congress to clarify the difference between a “social welfare” organization and a political organization. (The video at this link gives a clear explanation of all this.) The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision said campaign finance regulators could not stop corporations (including Section 501 corporations) from spending their money on candidate advocacy, independent of any candidate or party. But the decision did not say the government should give a corporation’s political money special tax privileges or shield it from disclosure requirements. Yet we’ve seen hardly any progress at the national level in those two areas. Political tricksters are using a loophole in a longstanding IRS rule that “social welfare” must be a c-4’s “primary” purpose, not “exclusive” as the law actually says. The tricksters put piles of secret money in the c-4 and calculate they can spend 51% on so-called “issue education” or lobbying and the rest on candidate advocacy; if they overshoot the election spending percent, they’re just liable for a small excise tax penalty. It’s a sweetheart deal for the politically active wealthy elite, so why shouldn’t it be okay for the Tea Party and other grassroots advocates, even if the public good and fair elections are the loser?

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LOD: Citizens Keep Uniting

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:08:37 +0000

The movement against the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling continues to gain strength across the nation. Twelve states have already introduced resolutions at the state level calling on Congress to overturn the controversial decision, and there are efforts underway to make Wisconsin number thirteen.

Similar efforts are underway here in N.C. To date, fourteen municipalities have passed local resolutions saying that “Corporations are not people, and money is not speech,” including Raleigh, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Greenville and Asheville.

North Carolina has been a pioneer in fighting the influence of money in politics, being the first state in the nation to provide a full public financing program for judicial candidates. This program, currently under fire from some members of the General Assembly, has received bipartisan support and national praise as a model for clean elections.

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LOD: Auto Immune Proficiency

Bob Hall — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:08:21 +0000

Legislators who claim they are champions of free enterprise and competition are ready to use the power of Big Government to thwart the marketing plans of a California company that makes electric cars. The company wants to bypass North Carolina auto dealers by selling its cars to customers through the Internet or company-owned stores. That’s seen as unfair to the thousands of NC car dealers who are not shy about selling their point of view. Auto dealers have long been a key part of North Carolina’s buy-partisan, good-ole-boy network that puts in campaign money and labor in return for economic protection from legislators. This article from Slate gives the details, including a nod to the dealers’ contributions to Sen. Tom Apodaca, the pro-monopoly bill’s sponsor. It forgets to mention that Sen. Harry Brown, the Republican Majority Leader in the state Senate, is an auto dealer and vigilant advocate for his industry against all competitors.

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By: LOD: Auto Immune Proficiency | Democracy North Carolina | Lavanaut by LOD: Auto Immune Proficiency | Democracy North Carolina | Lavanaut

LOD: The Goodliest State

Bob Hall — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:01:00 +0000

If you haven’t seen this already, here’s a rundown of the wonderful things happening in North Carolina that the billionaire Koch brothers hope to replicate in other states. Not that they’ve given up on controlling the US Senate, White House, several major newspapers, energy policy . . . the list goes on. But their current pride and joy is right here in the Old North State, with brother Art Pope at the helm and Dallas Woodhouse of the Koch/Pope-funded AFP bragging in this article about the big things yet to come. On the other hand, here’s a short video of preachers, historians and other recent stars who are resisting the elitists’ agenda for what’s good for North Carolina. There were more arrests tonight, with a large turnout for supporters of Moral Mondays.

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What is it going to take of the voters of North Carolina to ... by Joan Maki
I weep for NC and for the country. We are moving down a very ... by Shirly Holman
I agree with you 100 percent, by nancy barna
That citizens are arrested for standing up and speaking Truth ... by Rev. Carl Johnson

LOD: A Nanny State?

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:00:44 +0000

The NC General Assembly is seeking increased control over local governments through bills that would prevent mayors and city councils from deciding what’s best for their communities. An article on Bloomberg’s Businessweek.com highlights two bills, one that would take way Asheville’s ability to manage their own water supplies, and one that would take management of the CharlotteAirport away from Charlotte’s city council. In both cases, lawmakers cite concerns about mismanagement, yet offer no data to back their accusations up.

So wait. . . NC conservatives want “nanny state” control over municipalities now? Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx points out the hypocrisy of the power grab, saying, “I think the legislature would be concerned if the feds stared dictating to them . . . yet they are doing to us what they claim they dislike.”

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Not since NC was known as the “Rip van Winkle” state, has ... by Shelia Bumgarner

LOD: Second Chance for the Cad

Bob Hall — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:29:13 +0000

Piles of money from pro-Democratic sources could not overcome the deeply conservative make-up of the Congressional district that on Tuesday elected tarnished former SC Gov. Mark Sanford over Elizabeth Colbert Busch. Groups backing Busch spent nearly $1 million on mostly negative broadcast ads, about five times the spending by outside groups supporting Sanford. Busch also raised more campaign contributions than Sanford, but he had enough to wage his own strongly negative campaign. In the end, the district’s voters – who had favored Mitt Romney by a whopping 18% margin over Barack Obama – decided they would rather send the lying cheater to Washington than the Nancy Pelosi clone. Do you think the new US Rep. Mark Sanford will apply his philosophy that “people deserve a second chance” in how he votes on issues in Congress?

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By: LOD: Second Chance for the Cad | Democracy North Carolina | Lavanaut by LOD: Second Chance for the Cad | Democracy North Carolina | Lavanaut

LOD: Beer Money Flows

Bob Hall — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:36:56 +0000

Why does the beer industry spend so much money on political campaigns in North Carolina? There aren’t nearly as many breweries as, say, auto dealerships but the beer boys pour in the money way out of proportion to their size in the state’s economy. The NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association PAC handed out $204,000 in campaign donations during the 2012 election, about 20% more than the NC Auto Dealers AssociationPAC – and the beer wholesales for the big labels passed out hundreds of thousands more as individual donors. Speaker Thom Tillis received at least $65,000 from donors linked to the wholesale breweries all over the state. Why? Is it because they’re afraid the combination of Bible-belt conservatives and protect-you-from-harm liberals will gang up against Big Beer and tax or stifle the industry in some distasteful fashion? One minor showdown happened this week in the NC House with H-610, a bill to allow rovers to sell beer to sports fans at their seats in the stands, rather than require them to walk to the beer booth. Despite the combined left-right opposition from a sizeable section of the House, the bill advanced to the NC Senate. Maybe it’s smart policy to let the beer flow where Joe Sixpack relaxes, or maybe the flowing money plays a role in how policymakers vote. Who knows?

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LOD: Direct Action, Ongoing

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:00:22 +0000

The NC NAACP is leading another Pray In / Teach In today, calling for justice and fair treatment for all North Carolinians. According to WRAL.com, the NAACP sent out a release announcing nonviolent civil disobedience that will begin today at 3:45pm with a press conference at Davie Street Presbyterian Church. After that, clergy, professors, students and others will head to the General Assembly. The group invites all people of conscience to join in today and emphasizes that those who cannot commit to the direct action are welcome to join other supporters at the Bicentennial Mall outside the General Assembly.

The action continues tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7 with a mass protest, rally and candlelight vigil at 7pm in front of the General Assembly. You can find more information on the NC NAACP website.

The video below is a recap of last Monday’s actions, a great montage that speaks to reasons behind these protests.

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LOD: State of the Chase

Bob Hall — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:54:39 +0000

Bob Hall from Democracy North Carolina was on the WUNC’s “State of Things” radio show today, talking about the mysteries surrounding sweepstakes moneyman Chase Burns and the unfolding investigation into gambling money in NC politics, including the possible involvement of Gov. Pat McCrory and his former lobby/law firm. The second part of the show moves into a larger discussion of how the chase for scarce dollars can distort political debate and, as two experts attest, the quest for good science.

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Democracy NC Link-of-the-Day

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