The Weekly Activist
As most readers of PunditHouse know, Mark Pellin and our amazing “House Guests” are the one’s whose tireless efforts keep our content fresh and interesting. Writing has never been my strong suit, but I make my contributions to “the cause” by being as involved as possible in the numerous clubs and organizations in and around Mecklenburg County. I’m an activist at heart, and desperately want to do all I can to help our nation and local community find their way out of the pervasive creep of big government socialism. This usually comes at the expense of such luxuries as sleep and proper nutrition, but in the end I feel the effort is worth it. 🙂
I’ve decided to start a weekly column on PunditHouse called “The Weekly Activist” (kudos to anyone who can come up with a better name!) where I’ll try my best to inform our readers of opportunities for involvement in local clubs and any other events that may be of interest to our readers.
While I’m generally pretty “in the know”, I can’t do this alone. As I post meeting announcements and other opportunities for involvement in the column, I encourage (beg, plead, etc!) you to comment on activities you think your fellow readers might be interested in participating in.
When we started PunditHouse, I had a catch-phrase in mind. “Read the News, BE the News”. Keeping informed is very important. Participating in the process of change I feel is even moreso.
So, without further adieu, here is the first weekly look at events and action items that YOU can participate in to make a difference.
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Upcoming Events:
Today @ Noon!: From the MeckGOP: We’ve learned of a high dollar fundraiser at Capital Grille in Uptown Charlotte with Mayor Foxx & Walter Dalton. The NCGOP will be hosting a Counter-Press Conference out front just before noon and is looking for volunteers to show support with signs or just their presence. They ask for supporters to show up at 11:45 to the Capital Grille, 201 North Tryon Street, Charlotte.
Monday, June 4, 6:00-7:30PM: Tonight’s CAUTION meeting will feature Robert Pittenger, candidate for the 9th Congressional District. Following a brief introduction, Mr. Pittenger will be asked a series of questions important to the Tea Party movement. Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, his opponent in the July 17 run off, is scheduled to appear on June 25. We’ll also have a recap of this past weekends NCGOP Convention in Greensboro from CAUTION members who were in attendence.
As always, we will meet from 6:00-7:30 at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille located at 911 East Morehead Street. There is a social hour in advance. Please join us!
Tuesday, June 5, 7:00-8:30PM: The MeckGOP Headquarters, 1515 Mockingbird Lane, Suite 111, Charlotte NC, will host their “First Tuesays” get together. Come meet MeckGOP officers and leaders, and find new ways to deepen your involvement in turning Mecklenburg County RED in 2012!
Wednesday, June 6, 7:00PM: Join our friends of Stand Up North Carolina at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in Mooresville to welcome guests Dan Forest, candidate for Lt. Governor, and Paul Newby, candidate for NC Supreme Court. The center is located at 215 North Main Street Mooresville, NC 28115.
Tuesday, June 12, 6:00PM: The North Mecklenburg Republican Women will host conservative radio talk show host Frank Roche. Mr. Roche is an accomplished currency trader and an adjunct professor of economics at Elon University. Is hyperinflation coming? Join the meeting to find out. The NMRW meet at the NorthStone Club in Huntersville at 15801 NorthStone Drive.
Activism Alerts:
Stop the Tax Increase!! – The Charlotte City Council is poised to vote on the proposed budget and capital investment plan which will mean an 8.2% property tax increase for Charlotte residents!! Many from CAUTION attended and spoke at the public hearing last Tuesday and we generated a great deal of news coverage about our opposition to the budget. Now is the time to capitalize on this and reach out to your friends and neighbors to contact their city council representatives (their district rep and 4 at-large reps!) to let them know a tax increase is bad for our economy and will only lead to diminished private investment in our community! The contact information of the Council members is located HERE.
NC Budget Debate: This info is from Civitas. We must keep our elected officials accountable, whether they be Republican or Democrat. More spending is NOT what we voted for in 2010. Make sure your representative knows we are paying attention!!
House Budget Plan: What Belt Tightening?
Posted on May 25, 2012 by Civitas Staff in Budget & Taxes
In 2011 North Carolina lawmakers passed a two-year state budget which legislators are reviewing this year. The current budget has built in increases of roughly a quarter billion dollars for the second year, and decisions were made based on revenue forecasts at that time. The House budget proposal, however, includes another $436 million in additional spending on top of that.
As of now, the state is on track to run a slight surplus in the current fiscal year, but the House’s recommended additional spending increases could translate into a deficit for FY 2012-13.
The five major North Carolina House appropriation committees that make up the majority of the state’s General Fund budget have settled on their proposals tweaking the second year of the biennial budget passed last year. Rather than holding the line on spending, or even finding some more sensible reductions, the plan would increase spending for fiscal year 2012-13 by $436 million over what was passed last summer. Items such as debt service and reserves for state employee retirement benefits still need to be added separately.
The increases are even more curious given the fact that the most recent revenue projections for 2012-13 show virtually no additional revenue becoming available in the coming fiscal year. This issue, of course, leads to the question: where do House budget writers think they are going to come up with an additional $436 million?
Seems like old times…
Education
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education approved a budget recommendation for public education (K-12, community colleges and UNC System) which — if approved — will add about $268.6 million in additional spending over funding levels approved in last year’s budget. About $248 million of the expected increase is for K-12 education. Under the House’s proposed plan, budgets for the Community Colleges and the UNC System will increase by $10 million and $10.5 million respectively.
| Education Spending By Budgets | |||
| 2012-13 Ed Budget (Approved. Last Year) | 2012-13 Ed. Budget (Approved by House Appropriations Ed. Subcommittee) | Net Gain or Loss | |
| K-12 | $7,444,122,100 | $7,692,234,560 | $248,112,460 |
| Comm. Colleges | $985,000,000 | $995,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| UNC | $2,551,672,698 | $2,562,230,839 | $10,558,143 |
| Total | $10,980,794,798 | $11,249,465,399 | $268,670,603 |
K-12 Highlights:
· $333 million in additional spending to offset reduced allotment to local education agencies (LEAs). $227 million of this is one-time, non-recurring funds to help replace federal Edujobs funds. Some of the funding is to be appropriated from $42 million in projected surplus lottery receipts.
· $6.4 million in savings because of fewer students
· Budget also restores pass-through funding to programs whose budgets were reduced last year including: $3.2 million to restore Teaching Fellows Fund; $900,000 Teach for America and $200,000 Governor’s School
Community Colleges Highlights
· $12.1 million savings because of expected reduction in enrollment
· $10 million NC Back to Work Initiative
UNC
· $11.7 million to lessen management flexibility reduction
· $3 million for faculty recruiting and retention fund
· $9 million for UNC Television
There are several reasons why conservatives should be concerned about the proposed House Education budget.
The Use of Non-Recurring Funds. Lawmakers used $227 million in one-time funds to offset the loss of federal Edujobs funding. The one-time fix shows lawmakers aren’t willing to make tough budget decisions to get state spending under control. Haven’t we seen this before?
Flip Flops. By restoring funding to programs Republicans had reduced last year (i.e. Teaching Fellows, Teach for America, Governor’s School), lawmakers showed little commitment to the principles on which they justified last year’s funding reductions. These actions also indicate lawmakers have no aversion to funding private non-profit organizations with public money. If these programs are doing good work, private support will help to replace the loss of public funds.
Fail to Reflect Winning Themes.Republicans swept to majorities in the House and Senate on themes of reform, less spending and smaller government. Approving a budget which adds $268 million in spending is certainly not consistent with those themes. Patching together a budget that uses one-time funding, additional funding transfers and delays hard decisions on programs only perpetuates our current problems. It is worrisome the House Education budget fails to reflect these themes, and hopefully is not a sign of things to come.
Health and Human Services (HHS)
Amount Approved in 2011 Session: $4,455,162,933
House Appropriation Revised Budget Proposal: $4,617,833,246
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services (HHS) has rolled out its Fiscal Year 2012-13 Budget Proposal. The original approved budget during the 2011 session was almost $4.5 billion but after the interest groups were done with it, it now stands a little over $4.6 billion – just a cool $162 million increase over last year’s biennial budget. While that may be pocket change to some legislators, it’s still quite a bit of money to the average taxpayer.
The highlights include:
· Replace state Smart Start Funds with federal Block Grant funds:This will save the state an estimated $4 million.
· Increase in NC Pre-K Program:These additional funds in the amount of $15 million, along with the lottery funds, provide a total of $143 million for the Pre-K program.
· Medicaid adjustments:Based upon an expected growth in Medicaid eligibility, $168 million in additional funds is now available. Another $55 million will go to fund repayment of a FY 2009 federal overdraw and to repay a drug rebate policy change. There is also expected a $59 million reduction due to projected savings by the Community Care North Carolina network and a $630,000 savings through the 1915 b/c waiver in behavioral medicine. Through fraud prevention programs, another $3.8 million is expected to be saved.
· Eliminate administrative waste and vacant positions: An attempt to minimize waste and redundant positions fell rather short. Only $1 million was reduced due to administrative waste and only 50 vacant positions were eliminated while 650 vacant positions remain open.
Your Part:
If you are concerned about this PLEASE call your NC State House Representative today. You still can have an impact!
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