It's Time for Better Leadership in North Carolina

When the General Assembly adjourned on July 1, I hoped that were done damaging the state for the year. But, sometimes the fallout lingers long after a disaster.

Since we finished this year’s legislative session, there’s been nonstop news about the harm done to North Carolina in the last few years of Republican legislative action.

Here are but a few examples.

You likely know the NBA has pulled next year’s All Star Game from Charlotte over House Bill 2. What you may not be hearing or what I am hearing from entrepreneurs telling me that they are having a hard time getting out-of-state investments because funders don’t believe they can recruit the best talent to North Carolina in the wake of HB2. One company that is poised for a major hiring push right here in the Triangle told me they may have to move out of state to maintain their funding and growth.

Meanwhile, Republican legislators took $500,000 out of the states disaster relief fund to defend HB2 in court. There is some great irony in that because HB2 is certainly a disaster. But, what if a hurricane hits this fall or Zika spreads north?

Last week, North Carolina was one of three states to have Voter ID laws struck down by courts. The unanimous court decision striking down North Carolina’s law called it one of the most racially biased laws since Jim Crow. There’s some good news in this to voters in access to the ballot. But, unfortunately tax payers now have to foot the bill for the prolonged lawsuit adding to the millions of dollars the state has already spent defending unconstitutional laws passed by this Republican legislature.

New numbers from the North Carolina Justice Center show that the Republicans’ taxation scheme is upside down. In 2015, those people making less than $20,000 paid 9.2 percent of their income in taxes. But, those making over $375,000 paid only 5.3 percent. The top one percent of taxpayers have seen their taxes cut by an average of almost $15,000 while the bottom half of taxpayers have actually seen their taxes go up. Meanwhile, corporate taxes will be cut again to 3 percent beginning in 2017 begging the question of why they should pay a fraction of what you and I pay.

Elections have consequences and laws have consequences. Unfortunately, too many of the consequences from our legislature have been boondoggles and disasters. We’re wasting too much taxpayer money and not doing enough to help everyday working people.

It’s time for better leadership.

— Rep. Graig Meyer