I have been mulling my next topic for days… between my previous columns about college football distress locally as compared with the devastating allegations at Penn State, a Congressional Super Committee seemingly as entrenched in its opposition as the NBA and its players, and, of course, this week’s elections.
 
Well, it seems I can group 2 of the 3 and leave Penn State for others to dissect, discuss and probably be disgusted by.  I can’t really leave it totally alone but I promise to be brief.  If these charges are true, someone tell me how the safety of a child is less important than football?  
 
————————————————
 
Thanks for joining me for that detour of rage and now I’ll return to my usually composed self.  
 
So, it seems that the anti-tax forces so well-represented in Washington these days didn’t make it to our local party on election day.  Orange County passed a tax increase and so did neighboring Durham.  And most of those who voted are not millionaires.  
 
So, when a plan for job creation gets shot down because of a less-than-1% tax increase on those at the tippy-top of our economic ladder I search for the disconnect. On one hand we have local communities pitching in to grow jobs and better our schools and on the other we have national politicians speaking for a very small number of people nationally and deciding to NOT ask them to kick in.  
 
Aren’t we in tough times?  Don’t we need to create jobs, fix our infrastructure, lessen our dependence on traditional energy?  If we could just call all the millionaires and ask that, instead of donating to a PAC or a candidate, they take that same amount and agree to pay it in taxes, we’d be able to pay for President Obama’s American Jobs Act.
 
I’m far from an economist so I’m not going to attempt to weigh in on the aspects of this particular bill but folks, don’t we need to do SOMETHING?  Isn’t this a decent place to start?  We are stuck, barely moving, with people hurting.  If our community can reach down for that extra quarter cent, why can’t everyone?  Our community voted that the tax increase was needed.  If we got all americans, even the very rich ones, to the polls to vote to pay a bit more to move the economy out of stasis, I bet it would pass.  Don’t you?
 
Instead we continue with gridlock with Republicans dug in on no additional revenue (taxes) and Democrats not willing to sacrifice on entitlements.  Tell these partisans that small communities are voting to make a difference and they must find a way to meet each other halfway.  
 
That Super Committee has a November 23rd deadline to agree on a deficit reduction package.  If they can’t do it, maybe we should schedule a special election and decide it ourselves.  After all, if the North Carolina legislature can ask us to vote in May on a constitutional ban on same sex marriage when it’s already illegal, it seems that a referendum on helping the economy should at least be worth a vote.
 

I know I’ve mixed sales tax with income tax to make my point. But taxes are taxes and I believe asking local folks just might work.  Agree, disagree?  Leave a comment below or write to me at Donnabeth@Chapelboro.com .   

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