Tag: Phil Berger

On first day, legislators already showing McCrory who’s boss

January 30, 2013 at 12:18 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Pat McCrory 4Any notion folks may have had that North Carolina’s new governor would be playing a leading role in crafting the state’s policy agenda this year seems to have already been partially dispelled on the first day of the 2013 legislative session.

Right out of the box, without any apparent involvement of Governor McCrory (or even a nod in his direction), Senate and House leaders have seized the initiative by introducing major, hard right proposals on such subjects as Read More…

Busting Tax Myths: Personal income tax no more volatile than other major state taxes

January 16, 2013 at 5:29 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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North Carolina policymakers have pledged to make revenue modernization a legislative priority in 2013. Earlier today at a press conference, North Carolina Senate President Phil Berger indicated that there will indeed be a revenue reform package. At this point, it is not entirely clear which specific policy decisions and principles will guide the leglative leadership’s revenue plan.

With that said, Senator Rucho, the Co-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is touring the state and pitching a proposal that would eliminate the state’s personal and corporate income taxes. One of the arguments used in support of this proposal is that sales tax revenue is less volatile than personal income tax revenue. This is one of many persistent tax myths, however. And if this tax myth is used to guide policy decisions, the result could be even more problems with North Carolina’s tax code.

For sure, sales tax revenues are volatile in the face of economic downturns. This is especially true when the sales tax fails to include services. While Senator Rucho and others have claimed that the sales tax can deliver greater stability than other revenue sources, it is important to note that research demonstrates that the personal income tax is no more volatile than the sales tax in the long-term. Read More…

Berger’s disingenuous claim about unemployment insurance

January 16, 2013 at 3:17 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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At his press conference today, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said the following about the unemployment insurance overhaul bill that conservative lawmakers and the North Carolina Chamber cooked up in some secret meetings late in 2012:

“Even if the bill is passed as it is, fully 84% of the folks that are receiving benefits or, that the benefits are calculated – the way they are presently – 84% will still be calculated the same way, will still receive the benefits. So you’re talking about 16% that are in that upper area, that uh, that would uh… that the overall benefits will be less for newly unemployed people after the bill goes into effect.”

Got that? Notwithstanding Berger’s tortured English, it’s pretty clear that he’s claiming that 84% of unemployment insurance beneficiaries will be unaffected. You can watch WRAL’s video of his press conference by clicking here. The statement in question is made at around the 31 minute mark.

This was the first time such a number has been trotted out by defenders of the proposal — which again makes one wonder about the secrecy of the way the whole thing has proceeded. But laying the matter of process aside, the question arises: Can Berger’s claim possibly be true? Can it be true that the big money Berger is alleging the proposal will save will be wrung out of only 16% of program beneficiaries? 

Subject to new information from the Senator about what he really meant with his his fumbling attempt at a parsed statement, a preliminary one-word characterization of his claim has to be the following: Baloney! Read More…

Senator Berger outlines the far right plan

January 16, 2013 at 11:51 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Phil BergerWRAL has video of all 36 minutes of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s surprisingly far-ranging press conference today and today’s edition of the Fitzsimon File will have a thorough analysis shortly.

For those looking for some preliminary quick takeaways, however, here were a few of the highlights/low-lights:

Berger has decided to go all in with the far right agenda and appears to see it as his pathway to seeking the GOP nomination to take on Kay Hagan in 2014. Moreover, his legislative “agenda” was/is an utterly predictable recitation of Locke Foundation/Civitas/Art Pope priorities: Read More…

Phil Berger adheres to shameful stalling on eugenics

December 14, 2012 at 9:23 amCategory:Uncategorized

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This is just plain ridiculous. Thom Tillis was for it and was prepared to find the money. Bev Perdue was too. And now it appears Pat McCrory is as well. And still North Carolina has not moved (and may not move) to compensate the surviving victims of the state’s disastrous forced sterilization program of the mid-20th Century.

And the reason: the state Senate and its leader Phil Berger. Here’s a Berger  spokesperson addressing the issue in this morning’s Wilmington Star-News:

“While his heart goes out to the victims, the current economic environment – coupled with the difficult budgetary realities inherited from past General Assemblies – prevented us from pursuing proposals to provide financial compensation during our last session,” Auth said.

This is just an embarrassing truckload of crapola. “Current economic environment”? “Difficult budgetary realities”? This from a man who helped ram through a series of absurd tax giveaways to fat cats and profitable corporations in the 2011-12 session? At least Tillis doesn’t have the gall to hide behind such a shameful smokescreen.

There was a time when the Senate President Pro Tem  was widely regarded in Raleigh as a pretty reasonable guy and certainly not an right-wing ideologue. Unfortunately, those times appear to have come and gone.