There is broad agreement that something must be done to address the solvency of the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.  Without action, businesses will face a continued federal increase of their taxes and the trust fund will be in no position to support the economy in the next economic downturn.

And the latter, afterall, is the fundamental role of the unemployment insurance system and why it’s funding was designed to build up in good times so that it could pay out in downturns.  In so doing, the unemployment insurance provides workers with a modest payment to meet their families’ most basic needs and continue their search for work. And as most economists note such support to workers redounds to businesses too in sustaining their consumer base and continuing to circulate dollars in local economies.

But the financing principle of forward-financing, or preparing for the winter so to speak, was abandoned in North Carolina in the 1990s when a series of tax cuts effectively reduced the trust fund balance and left the state ill-prepared to sustain the system through two successive, one historic economic downturn in the 2000s.

Correcting for these failings now is critical.  Doing so in a way that aligns with what most reasonable people agree doesn’t harm North Carolinians struggling with joblessness or the fragile economic recovery is fundamental.   Read More…

State Rep. Stephen LaRoque had financial connections to the billboard business when he pushed and voted for a controversial law last year drastically expanding billboard companies’ abilities to chop down trees on public roadsides, according to records obtained by N.C. Policy Watch.

The law, S.B. 183/S.L 397,  led to the passage of temporary rules last week that created a path for billboard owners to cut down publicly-owned trees on highway roadsides in order to make the advertisements more visible to motorists. Roadsides of major highways in the mountainous western part of the state stand to have the most trees chopped down (see photo illustrations at end of post) from the legislation pushed by the billboard industry and opposed by environmental groups. The law, as passed, doesn’t require that new trees be planted to replace those that are cut down.

LaRoque, a Kinston Republican and member of NC House Speaker Thom Tillis’ leadership team, was a sponsor of a House version of similar pro-billboard industry legislation, and was a significant player in the N.C. House as the Senate legislation made its way into law. His signature appears here on a conference committee report from June about the law.

He also owns billboards — $37,609 to $52,250 worth, according to a December 2010 balance sheet for LaRoque Management Group, a for-profit company he owns.

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Francis De Luca at the Pope Civitas Secession Institute apparently thinks that Locke Foundation President John Hood and Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers are “self-described liberals.”

Here’s what De Luca told the News & Observer about the effect on the marriage discrimination amendment of Gov. Perdue’s decision not to seek reelection.

A Democratic primary is “a mixed blessing for anti-marriage people,” De Luca said. “The only group that opposes it are self-described liberals that make up a very small part of the voting public.”

The Coalition to Protect NC Families officially kicks off its voter education and registration campaign today in Cullowhee, N.C. with the launch of RACE TO THE BALLOT.

Protect NC Families Communications Director Jen Jones, followed by a team of campaign organizers, will literally be running 322 miles across the state to raise awareness about the harms of Amendment One and register voters to defeat the proposal.

The ballot initiative would define marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic union recognized by the state. Supporters of the constitutional amendment say they want to protect traditional marriage from “activist judges.”

Opponents of the anti-gay marriage amendment are launching their campaign on the campus of Western Carolina University, as  organizers believe college-age voters could be the tipping point in this campaign, if they can get them to the polls in May.

A recent survey by Public Policy Polling finds 63% of North Carolina’s college-age students (age 18-29) support allowing gay couples to legally marry or  form civil unions.

Also this weekend,  a group of students at UNC-Chapel Hill will be helping the Coalition’s cause as they present “N.C. Amendment One: The Musical!” Read More…