It is generally accepted that the housing bubble precipitated the current recession. Easy access to money and low interest rates fueled housing inflation that made housing speculation profitable without growth in the underlying economy. In 2007 the Chief Executive of the National Association of Homebuilders acknowledged that overbuilding during the boom years was a factor in the housing meltdown.

That same year NC Realtors and Homebuilders fought tooth and nail at the Legislature to prevent counties from having a transfer tax option to pay for the infrastructure demanded by housing growth. Although unsuccessful at the Legislature in 2007 they have since spent millions to defeat transfer tax proposals at the polls in local referendums.

Proponents of the transfer tax argue that it relieves some of the burden of property tax by deferring it until a sale when cash flow is available, especially for existing homeowners on fixed incomes with over-inflated home values. Realtors and Homebuilders argued against it saying “Fight the Home Tax – It’s a Bad Idea”. Now faced with unsold inventories of speculatively built houses NC Homebuilders have turned to the Legislature for relief from “some of the burden of property tax by deferring it until a sale when cash flow is available.”

House Bill 852, “Defer Tax on Builders’ Inventory“, has sailed quietly through the House, 106 votes to 8, and through committees, and is calendered for a Senate vote Wednesday July 8th, with little opposition expected. In fiscal years 2010-11 and 2011-12 combined this bill is projected to have a negative effect on county and municipal revenues of $40-$45 million.

“A builder may defer the portion of tax imposed on real property that represents the increase in value of the property attributable solely to improvements resulting from the construction by the builder of a residence on the property.”

Homeowners will find no such relief and local governments will have to cut services or raise revenues to make up the $40-$45 million shortfall. Realtors and Homebuilders have argued that taxing the equity in homes is a bad idea but now they argue that “It’s a Good Idea” when it comes to builders who overbuilt in the boom years straining infrastructure and local revenue streams. The NC Homebuilders make a great case for the transfer tax.

North Carolina Conservatives are lying about sexual orientation and gender identity to bully the anti-bullying bill into submission. To defeat SB 526, the School Violence Prevention Act, Republican House Minority Leader Paul Stam and the Christian Action League have been claiming the existence of 30 sexual orientations as listed in the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) of the American Psychiatric Association. No such list exists. It is a fabrication of conservative Christians used to defeat any legislation that can be presumed to protect the human rights of gay people.

Whether through ignorance, invective or indifference, Stam and the Christian Action League have been falsely equating sexual orientation and gender identity with sexual disorders or deviations and have perpetuated a myth originated by the American Family Association that incorrectly references and misquotes the DSM-IV-TR. The American Psychiatric Association would describe this as “irrational discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.” The Christian Action League compounds the error by variously attributing the bogus “list” to the American Psychological Association and to the American Psychiatric Association, two separate professional organizations.

The DSM-IV-TR (DSM-IV Text Revision) describes sexual orientation as sexual attraction to males, sexual attraction to females, sexual attraction to both or, sexual attraction to neither. It does not describe sexual orientation as a mental disorder.

According to the DSM-IV-TR gender identity refers to an individual’s self perception as male or female. “The term gender identity … should be distinguished from the term sexual orientation.” The DSM-IV-TR does not describe gender identity as a mental disorder.

The School Violence Prevention Act, SB 526, would require local school administrative units in North Carolina to adopt policies prohibiting bullying or harassing behavior.

“Bullying or harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics.”

The sexual orientation and gender identity of a heterosexual male, with a self perception as male and sexually attracted to females, would be protected under this Act. Nobody would accuse Skip Stam of bestiality or necrophilia, except perhaps while flogging the dead horse that is, or should be, demonization, dehumanization and “irrational discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.”

According to the American Psychological Association:

“Prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected in the everyday stereotypes of members of these groups. These stereotypes persist even though they are not supported by evidence, and they are often used to excuse unequal treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.”

The American Family Association, has claimed the existence of “30 different sexual orientations” attributed to the American Psychiatric Association. This is patently false. An examination of the DSM-IV finds that there is no such enumeration of 30 sexual orientations and no description of sexual orientation per se as a mental disorder.

“The Hate Crime law, S.909 (and HR1913), will make 30 sexual orientations federally-protected. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published 30 such sexual orientations that, because of Congress’s refusal to define “sexual orientation,” will be protected under this legislation.
These 30 orientations are listed in the APA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” Fourth Edition, Text Revision (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), pp. 566-582 (DSM-IV), which is used by physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists throughout the U.S. It is considered the dictionary of mental disorders.”

This false statement has been echoed by the Traditional Values Coalition an anti-gay organization with past connections to Jack Abramoff.

· Protecting 30 Bizarre “Sexual Orientations” And “Gender Identity” — Ever-Expanding Definitions
· Traditional Values Coalition on Sexual Orientation & DSM

· San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Lucky Louie’ throws the dice
· Washington Post on Jack Abramoff and Louis P. Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition

These are the sources of the lies being perpetuated by Rep Paul Stam and the Christian Action League which have been debunked by FactCheck.org in the context of the Federal Hate Crimes Bill.

The American Psychological Association position is that

“Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others. … Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality and includes various forms of bisexuality.”

· Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality
· Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality

What Stam and the Christian Action League refer to are nowhere described in the DSM-IV-TR as “sexual orientations”. Rather they are “paraphilias” or sexual disorders or deviations that are independent of sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding the fact that these references are inapplicable, the DSM-IV-TR clearly states in introductory pages under a cautionary statement that the diagnostic criteria are offered as guidelines to enhance agreement among clinicians and investigators and that the inclusion of diagnostic criteria does not imply that a condition meets legal or other non-medical criteria and may not be wholly relevant to legal judgements.

The following is a chronology of documented references to the bogus multiple “sexual orientations” claims. Stam repeated the claims in a news conference May 26th and in committee.

Christian Action League:
Bill included categories of “sexual orientation,” “gender identification,” and “gender expression.”
Carrboro Housing Discrimination Bill Amended
posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) liberally passed out a handout provided by the Christian Action League to Committee members that explained that the American Psychiatric Association names no less than thirty different “sexual orientations,” some of which are considered criminal activity.

Bullying Bill to be heard in House Education Committee on Thursday
posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create a new protected class under North Carolina law for homosexuals, cross-dressers, and 29 other “sexual orientations” (as listed by the American Psychological Association) ranging from bestiality to heterosexuality to pedophilia. Many of these behaviors are illegal, yet the bill does not differentiate between these “sexual orientations.” Outlawing bullying motivated by illegal behaviors of the victim, tends to give those illegal behaviors legal sanction or approval.

House Committee Passes Anti-Bullying Bill Masquerading Advancement of Gay Rights through NC Schools
posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create for the first time under North Carolina law specially protected classes for persons identifying as homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender, and 28 other “sexual orientations” ranging from pedophilia to bestiality. Even though many of the 30 “sexual orientations” identified by the American Psychological Association are illegal, Senate Bill 526 protects them all without any differentiation.

Download the Christian Action League’s insert for your church bulletin by clicking HERE Use this bulletin insert to get as many people as possible from your church to contact their NC House Representative.
posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create a new protected class under North Carolina law for homosexuals, cross-dressers, and 29 other “sexual orientations” (as listed by the American Psychological Association) ranging from bestiality to heterosexuality to pedophilia. Many of these behaviors are illegal, yet the bill does not differentiate between these “sexual orientations.” Outlawing bullying motivated by illegal behaviors of the victim, tends to give those illegal behaviors legal sanction or approval.

Anti-Bullying Bill Continues to Pose Urgent Threat
posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Senate Bill 526 poses as a policy that would protect school children from being bullied, but in fact is a means by which “sexual orientation” (which includes homosexuals, bisexuals, and 28 other “sexual orientations” ranging from pedophilia to bestiality) and “gender identity” (transsexuals) will become protected classes under North Carolina law.

Bullying Bill to Be Voted on Tuesday and Wednesday
posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Sponsors of the Anti-bullying bill have staked the entire future of the anti-bullying bill on the inclusion of a clause enumerating special classes of victims of bullying, including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” These two terms define homosexuality, cross-dressing, and 29 other variations of “sexual orientations.”

Most recently the conservative Christian organization Called2Action issued this alert, linking back to the Christian Action League:
NC House trying to pass radical “Anti-Bullying” bill!
Called2Action alert:
Posing as a bill to end bullying, the Anti-Bullying bill would actually normalize homosexuality and cross-dressing in public schools
This “anti-bullying” bill is really about promoting sexual anarchy in our public schools and the normalization, if not outright promotion, of deviant sexual behavior. Don’t be fooled by the “Anti-Bullying” language – it is a Trojan Horse! “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” These two terms define homosexuality, cross-dressing, and 29 other variations of “sexual orientations.”

Please take action against bullying and homophobia:

EqualityNC Action Alert:
NC House to Vote Monday on Anti-Bullying Bill

The NC House will debate and vote on SB 526, the School Violence Prevention Act during their session Monday night at 7:00 PM. The vote Monday night will make or break our effort to pass effective and inclusive anti-bullying protections, and it will be the toughest yet. Equality NC calls on our supporters to take action to shore up support for the bill.

More Links:
Prevent School Violence NC
EqualityNC
Equality NC Blog
 
 

NC House Republicans Thursday morning performed another act of the Kabuki theater that is the State Budget process. Standing behind a pile of budget reports at a press conference Rep Skip Stam called out for transparency, without any trace of irony. Stam was trying to make a point that Republicans were shut out of the process. He claimed to have been personally turned away from a closed meeting in committee room 612, next door to his own office, but on questioning could not remember by whom and he did not describe the nature of the meeting.

Rep Thom Tillis called for a show of hands from Republican Appropriations Sub-Committee members (seen in the photo). Tillis said that committee meetings were being held elsewhere in the building at the same time. He said that the reason these committee members could be present at the press conference was because they were “not engaged in the process”, again, without any trace of irony.

Rep Pearl Burris-Floyd claimed proposed “draconion” cuts to Health & Human Services were “intended to incite individuals who are the least of us” and that “we believe this is a time for government to do those things for people who cannot do those things for themselves”. When asked “Would you vote for tax increases?” she replied “Absolutely not”, again, without any trace of irony.

Curiously, for someone who chooses and disects words carefully, Stam made a couple of references to opposition to “tax rate increases” but did not broach the subject of increasing revenues by broadening the tax base and lowering tax rates.

Stam claimed, with all the bluster he could muster, that “the Democratic leadership is just not involving Republicans at all” and that it “is time for the Governor to step up to the plate and lead” and that “the crisis is too great for her to remain on the sidelines”. Stam is one of the smarter Republicans and a skilled parliamentarian, or he wouldn’t be House Minority Leader, but this kind of hyperbole is a Hail Mary pass from Monday morning quarterbacks at best.

Stam and Tillis did have valid observations about the House Rules that constrain Committee actions but the ritualistic drama of party politics obscured those points and the absence of specific proposals ensured that the Kabuki House Theater would move on to the next predictable act.

The general consensus at the General Assembly is that following wrap up by committees a budget will be introduced early next week with House votes Wednesday, Thursday and possibly Friday before sending the bill to the Senate. The noise about severe cuts is expected to pave the way for some revenue increases. It is not yet known if these will be in the House budget or left to the conference committee. Also expected are further pay cuts disguised as furloughs for State employees. The word is that the 0.5% cut (AKA 10 hour furlough) produced minimal savings relative to the effort to set it up in the payroll system. Now that the system is in place and employees have gotten used to the idea, deeper cuts and longer furloughs are expected.

Cross posted at BlueNC.com

There’s an interesting report from actuarial consultants Milliman that pours some cold water on the heated debate over State Health Plan costs associated with smokers and people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI). The report, Impact of Height, Weight, and Smoking on Medical Claims Costs, released in April, was an update of Milliman’s Medical Underwriting Guidelines.

Controlling for age and gender, the study found that smokers cost about 9% more than non-smokers. However, when people’s medical histories are known the cost difference is only 5%. The costs associated with BMI are less clear.

The report finds that BMI is not the best way to predict added healthcare costs, even when medical history is known. BMI roughly uses weight divided by height squared and the report finds that weight divided by height cubed (known as Rohrer’s Index) is a better indicator.

Using BMI as a predictor, actual costs are greater for severely underweight and severely overweight people and, for taller people (within a given range of BMI). BMI is also generally criticized because professional athletes can be classified as obese using the measure.

The State Health Plan should be cautious in the use of smoking and BMI criteria for setting premium rates.

Jack Walker, the man who won’t audit North Carolina’s contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) to control what the State spends on health care wants to audit every teacher and state employee who pays for dependent health coverage and their dependents on the State Health Plan. In a letter to health plan members sent out this week, just on the heels of the decision to audit State Health Plan members for obesity and tobacco, Jack Walker warns that the State Health Plan will audit all dependents covered under the Plan during the 2009 benefit year.

Dependents determined to be ineligible for the Plan will be removed from the Plan. In addition, the Plan may pursue reimbursement for claims paid for ineligible dependents.

Jack Walker, the man with a questionable PhD from a defunct online college, who can’t provide documentation of a dissertation, wants members who pay for dependent coverage to “begin to collect the required documents” to provide evidence to confirm eligibility. Documents include marriage certificates, birth certificate and, tax returns. Eligible dependents under GS 135 are, generally:

Legal spouse
Unmarried children under 19
Unmarried children with disability developed before 19 (or 26 if full time student)
Unmarried children 19-26 who are full time students at a school or college accredited by the state of jurisdiction.

If you take care of nieces, nephews, grandchildren or other kids, they are not covered unless they are legally adopted or foster children. No apparent exception for guardianship or other forms of custody.

I am aghast at Walker’s bravado and the relentless pursuit of remedies for the mismanagement of the State Health Plan on the backs of state employees especially when the buzzards of furloughs and lay-offs are circling over the legislature. Shrinking the pool by scaring off paying customers hardly seems wise unless there is some evidence of massive abuse. I still can’t wrap my brain around the third-party administrator status of BCBS when the plan depends on BCBS’s Preferred Provider Network. Millions are paid out to BCBS with limited oversight yet the people who pay into the Plan for dependent coverage are now to be audited. Just pray that the “College” your child is attending “full-time” has better credentials than “Columbia Pacific University“.

Yesterday in the House Finance Committee, Minority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam tried derailing the Transit Bill H148 by referring to sales tax as an inefficient tax. He claimed that sales tax was not deductible from Federal taxes, as property tax is, and that the effect was to send 15 cents of every dollar in sales tax to the Federal Government. He exchanged words with Rep Deborah Ross, a sponsor of the bill and did not offer an amendment in committee but promised to introduce one on the House floor when the bill is considered. Mr Stam should check with the IRS first.

According to the Internal Revenue Service Topic 503 – Deductible Taxes:

There are four types of deductible nonbusiness taxes:

State, local and foreign income taxes;

Real estate taxes;

Personal property taxes; and

State and local sales taxes.

It is a conservative mantra at the local level that sales tax is better than property tax because everybody pays sales tax. Now we are to believe that property tax is better than sales tax because sales tax is supposedly not deductible on Federal tax returns. The various criticisms are intended to erode taxation anywhere for any reason. In this case the reasoning is wrong.

Generally, sales taxes are not deductible on Schedule A. However, for Tax Years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 if you file a Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A, you have the option of claiming either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes (you can’t claim both). If you saved your receipts throughout the year, you can add up the total amount of sales taxes you actually paid and claim that amount. If you didn’t save all your receipts, you can choose to claim a standard amount for state and local sales taxes. Its easy if you use the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator on IRS.gov for either year (refer to Publication 600 and Form 1040 Instructions).

Update: For taxpayers using the Standard Deduction, there is an additional property tax deduction. However, the maximum additional deduction is $1,000 for married, filing jointly ($500 for singles). As the average property tax bill in Wake County is about $2,000, an increase would not be deductible. Regardless of the merits of property tax versus sales tax as a funding mechanism for transit or other transportation, the federal deductibility argument is a spurious one.

Another potential conflict of interest that Lanier Cansler will have to negotiate as Secretary of DHHS is his association with the nursing home industry. His firm Cansler Fuquay Solutions represented the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association (NCHCFA) until December 23, 2008 when his partner Gary Fuquay resigned as a lobbyist for the trade organization.

Medicaid billing is a huge factor in nursing home operations as Medicaid represents up to 75% of revenues. Nursing home reimbursements are a small but significant of all Medicaid spending in the State which now will be managed by another company which was represented until recently by Lanier Cansler.

Cansler is one of just two people still listed on the NCHCFA website as directors of the organization’s subsidiary FutureCare NC. The other director is J Craig Souza, Executive Director of NCHCFA. Directorship of a non-profit might seem unremarkable except that Souza earns annual compensation in excess of $500,000 to represent an industry that gets much of its revenue through State government from the Federal government.

Souza may be the most influential person in NC you have never heard of. He got his start in the 1970′s in the Holshouser administration working under Dave Flaherty, head of the DHHS precursor known as the Department of Human Resources. Flaherty went on to run unsuccessfully for Governor against Jim Hunt. Souza’s career since has involved representing and lobbying of health care industry interests.

Souza is an Eastern North Carolinian who became an ECU Trustee and has been a member of the UNC Board of Governors for several years. He is credited with bringing a School of Nursing to ECU. The new School of Dentistry at ECU is a client of Cansler Fuquay Solutions which has been researching potential locations for community dental clinics in Eastern NC.

Souza is not known to make political contributions but is associated with lobbying and politics. He is the owner of Vinnie’s Steakhouse & Tavern in Raleigh, scene of Jim Black’s “last supper”, a private dinner attended by 20 Democratic House members and several lobbyists where Black announced his decision not to run for Speaker. The restaurant has private rooms named “The Caucus Room”, The Chamber” and “The Gallery” and was popular with lobbyists at least until spending restrictions triggered in part by Black’s excesses.

Cansler may well be qualified to run DHHS but he’ll have to work extra hard to avoid conflicts of interest with the private sector he’ll be charged with overseeing.