Dirty Little Rumors

I hate gossip. It is something that we as men, chide women for doing, yet I have to admit that men seem to do it more. Sharing the office scuttlebutt around the water cooler is a normal thing. Washington D.C. is no different. There are countless blogs and papers that treat members of congress like the Kardashian sisters. I did stumble over some gossip that I found intriguing if not troubling.



There is a rumor that Rep. Renee Ellmers, 2nd District Congresswoman from North Carolina, is having an extra-marital affair with a member of the GOP leadership. There are several sources sniping that Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader is that man.
http://rightwingnews.com/republicans/member-republican-leadership-kevin-mccarthy-affair-rep-renee-ellmers/





It is not a surprise that the leadership seems to like Rep. Ellmers. She is totally devoted to the party line, and is a loyal foot solider for Speaker John Boehner. Nowadays, loyalty is very appreciated by the leadership. I hope that these rumors are untrue. For one, it would devastate the families involved. Two, it would mean that once again the Hubris of Washington D.C. had ensured the country girl from Dunn, NC.

The story has not gained legs. Trust me, if the liberal media gets ahold of this it would be a field day. I do not bring this up to hurt Rep. Ellmers or her family. I take no pleasure in bringing this up. However, we here in the 2nd District want truth. We want a Representative to Congress that is not an adulterer. These rumors may be just that. I would feel a lot better if I heard it from the mouth of our congresswoman.

Links:
http://harnettnews.org/?p=3820

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2015/01/dc-sources-rep-kevin-mccarthy-rep-renee-ellmers-are-having-an-affair-3097652.html

NCGA Has a Gas Problem

     It is widely known that North Carolina has the highest gas tax in the southeast. We contribute vast amounts of money to the transportation department budget. It is also widely known that our infrastructure and the department that runs it, is full of waste and inefficiency. This is not uncommon but still upsetting. We, the motorists of the old North State, pay so much for so little in return. If you weren't mad enough, then just wait till you see what our GOP led State House and Senate are doing.
     The calculation that determines gas prices was going to adjust this year. A The adjustment was going to be rather expansive due to falling crude oil prices. Estimates had the gas tax dropping as low as 26.9 cents. Instead the NCGA has passed a bill that does not allow the drop in prices and actually pushes a gas tax hike. The logic that is being used to justify this bill sounds like talking points from a Jim Hunt administration or a Marc Gaslight budget briefing. Not a GOP led, supposedly conservative legislature.
I understand that we need to spend money on transportation. I want to drive on safe bridges, smooth roads, and uncontested free ways. However, for the money we are already spending and have spent we should have that already. It's time for a new approach.
The legislature could actually start using sound budgeting practices. If you look at budget worksheets and budget documents you see millions of dollars worth of transfers and bailouts. We need to adopt zero based budgeting at the state level. Instead of using base line budgeting that rarely yields cuts or spending reductions, using zero based budgeting would be more efficient and more effective.
    The legislature should also stand up to Tony Tata and enforce fiscal discipline. We need to stop subsidizing pork barrel projects that help politicians and not motorists. The legislature needs to make sure that we look at our infrastructure needs and ensure that projects that need to be done get done and leave the pet projects alone.
     The legislature to me should adopt this common sense approach:
          1. Reduce DOT staff by 25%.
          2. Form a plan that prioritizes the repair of major bridges and highways based on need and not
             who the Rep. or who the Senator is.
          3. Institute a fixed gas tax rate. Not a calculation.
          4. Cap it, and require super majorities in the House and Senate to raise it.
     This plan is just the start. We should look into privatizing the State DOT. The Governor would appoint the Transportation Secretary. The Secretary and their star would put projects out to bid and take the bidder who deliver the best product for the best price.
     I am not a policy wonk, but common sense, conservatism is not hard and is not rocket science. The wizards of smart in Raleigh missed the boat on this one. The GOP led house retreated from a fight that needed fighting. It's tell a Republican face nowadays. Since they always seem to retreat from the fight, all I see is the back of their heads.


Links:


http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=10534
http://pittcountynow.com/post/8477/ncga-gas-tax-hike-for-us-tax-breaks-for-airlines-data-centers.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article12725642.html

Washington is Leaving Our Kids Behind

In the old North State, education is king., It is an issue that affects all levels of government. It never seems to be resolved or fixed. There is always something wrong. It could be that way because as government has grown, so has it's role in education. Have you ever noticed that when government gets involved in something, it always leaves it worse than it found it? Education is a black hole. Billions of dollars are spent on it with nothing to show for it. What can we do about it?
The first thing we need to do is get rid of No Child Left Behind. As is Washington's way, a bill is named for a cause and does the opposite. Millions of children are left behind everyday. They are lacking proficiency in Math, Science, and Reading skills. I thought that the goal of No Child Left Behind was to stop this slide? Instead the problem is much worse.
Teachers are teaching to a test. They are compensated based on a test score and not if the child is actually learning. The children spend most of the year studying for multiple tests outside of their everyday curriculum only to fall behind our international competition. What is the solution?


1. When the vote for No Child Left Behind comes up early this year, kill it. We need Republicans in the House and the Senate to stand strong and vote to not reauthorize. We may even find some moderate, red state democrats to vote with us as well.
2. No more holding states money hostage in exchange for Common Core standards. Under the current system, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan can issue a waiver to a state who is not up to snuff according to the benchmarks in NCLB. In exchange for the waiver and not having to pay million in fees, the state simply has to adopt Common Core as their curriculum. By ending NCLB, we would end the need for waiver and penalties. States could opt out and pursue their own curriculums without penalty.
3. Start using block grants. By block granting the money to the states, it gives our Governor's and Legislator's money free from the web of DC. It allows states, like NC, to not accept the watered down, incoherent standards of Common Core and issue better localized standards. I'm sure the Feds in Washington mean well, but I think Ed Dennison, and Moore County School Board should have more say.


We need to change. We need to stop trying to outsmart ourselves. I went to a small Christian school in Southern Pines, NC. It was a religious based school and it was not fancy. The only kind of smart board we had is if you wrote the word smart on there. We had one room dedicated to keyboarding and the computers we had were not IMac's. I say this not to whine but to enlighten. I would wager to say that the SAT scores of Calvary Christian School, and other private schools like it in Moore County were far superior to out public school counterparts. Why? Because at our school you taught a curriculum that had nothing to do with a test. In schools nowadays you have students with IPads and laptops but I would rather have that old chalk board in my science teachers class than the Surface I am writing this post with. I learned about the subjects. I worked on them, and was a tested on them. I didn't need a ton of standardized tests. My teachers knew how I was progressing by the quality of my daily work and the cumulative tests on the material.
I can remember taking one SAT at the end of the year. That test was a guide. A barometer of how well the curriculum we used worked. It was not a test our teachers were compensated for. It was not a test we prepared for or were taught to. The real mark of whether you passed or not was your report card. The report card was based on your homework, your tests, your mid and end of year exams. If you had an F or a D average you did not pass. There was no t-ball, everybody wins mentality. You either passed on because you earned it or you didn't. We need more of that simplicity in public schools.
The best way to fix our schools is to get Washington as far away from it as possible. Lets get rid of No Child Left Behind. Lets stop the bullying by our Federal government . Lets get teachers back to doing what they do best, teaching. We can fix our education system. It doesn't take a bunch of Washington Bureaucrats to do it. Actually it would be better if they stopped. We just need to go back to what was working before Washington butted it's nose in.




Links: http://heritageactionsentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SB-ESEASB-PDF.pdf
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/no-child-left-behind-congress-114416.html
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chasm-over-no-child-left-behind-1421871165

State Needs To Reform Lottery

The NC lottery was passed under questionable circumstances. Governor Mike Easley and the Democratic controlled legislature jammed it through while some GOP lawmakers were out of town or with sick family members. It came into being in a bad way and today it functions in a bad way. 

According to http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx the last fiscal year only 503 million dollars were contributed to education. That sounds like a lot but when you divide that by the State budget allocation to education of $11,000,000,000, it is only 4% of the funding. 

The legislature routinely uses lottery funds to balance the  budget. Instead of keeping funding at a consistent rate, many times they cut the portion of lottery funds to education if overall general fund spending on education goes up. 

If we are going to use the title, "education lottery", we should spend most of it on education. 

 About 30% of all lottery revenue goes to education. According to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/allotments/lottery/ even if 100% of the proceeds were given to education funding it would be a paltry 19% of education funding. 

We need to make some common sense  reforms to the education lottery. 

1. Education only- make the education lottery strictly for education. No more robbing Peter to pay Paul. 

2. Increase the % of lottery revenues allocated to education no less than 50%.

3. Make the lottery funding a true supplement. Instead of using it to make up a shortfall or to complete the funding, make it in addition to. So instead of $11,000,000,000 you would have $11,503,100,000. 

The legislature, originally, promised 40% of the lottery revenue share would be for the capital project fund. That number is more like 22%. This legislature needs to fulfill their promise to our local schools. 

I was not for the lottery, but it's here to stay. The least they, the legislature, could do is spend most of it on education. 

A Tragic Masquerade

 

Rep. Renee Ellmers was elected in 2010. She unseated Rep. Bob Etheridge. Etheridge was, at the time, a giant in Democratic politics. He was a huge favorite to retain what was thought of as "his" seat. The TEA party revolution and the tidal wave of voters who caused it, swept Renee Ellmers into office. Of all the candidates who won that year, her story stuck out. 

A Nurse from Dunn, NC who was not widely known. Someone who spoke of the evils of Obamacare, not in abstract, but as a medical professional. She spoke of liberty and freedom. She became the face of a movement. 

Sadly, the face was a painted mask of deception. She donned the wool of a sheep to hide the fur and fangs of the wolf. In the end, like all deception, truth was revealed. The Renee Ellmers of 2010 is a different character than the one we see in 2015. 

She became the mouth piece for a flacid leadership. Instead of championing the cause of the David's of her district she drank the wine of Goliath's Phillistines. She became Speaker Boehner's most ardent supporter. Instead of fighting for immigration reform she fought for amnesty. Instead of balanced budgets , she voted for back room deals and more spending. 

There is a clear, unmistakable pattern that has emerged over her time in Congress. She is more at home at DC cocktail parties than at a rally for Moore TEA citizens. She is more in line with the Chamber of Commerce than she is with Heritage Action for America. She is more comfortable with liberal talking points than conservative truth. She has traded her righteousness for filthy rags. She is no longer the Representative of us. She is the representative of the establishment which she worked to defeat in 2010. It is as infuriating as it is tragic. 

Now we hear that Rep. Ellmers is against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This act would make it illegal to have an abortion after the pregnancy has reached 20 weeks. It is a scientific fact that children in the womb can feel pain at 20 weeks and after. This bill was considered, on anniversary week of Roe v. Wade, to be a slam dunk. Rep. Ellmers is fighting it. She is fighting it on two points. 

First, is politics. She, Ellmers, is scared of offending millennials and losing their votes. Do take a moment and pick your jaw up off the floor there's more. 

“I have urged leadership to reconsider bringing it up next week. … We got into trouble last year, and I think we need to be careful again; we need to be smart about how we’re moving forward,” Ellmers said in an interview. “The first vote we take, or the second vote, or the fifth vote, shouldn’t be on an issue where we know that millennials—social issues just aren’t as important [to them].”

Let us bask in the glory of this hubris. She is saying that she would rather let the bill die, and unborn children as well for that matter, because she doesn't want to lose votes. This kind of blatant arrogance and conceit is more at home in a House of Cards episode than from a Rep. of conservative counties like Moore, Lee, Randolph, and Chatham. 

She goes on to say that the language in the bill that would allow for exemptions for rape victims as long as they report the rape to authorities. Imagine, ensuring that women who want an abortion based on the crime of rape, so long as it is reported to the police. This language is not only logical but necessary. Without it, women who want an abortion would simply cry rape. This is simply making sure that the woman and the baby are protected. Yet, our dear Congresswoman is against this common sense language. She is against common sense in general I suppose. 

Where do we go from here. We fight. We call her office, (202) 225-4531, and ask her to drop her opposition to and vote for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Then, when a suitable conservative candidate comes along we throw all our weight behind them. We knock on doers. We raise money. We do what we did in 2010. We unseat a powerful incumbent, who has forgotten their place. Rep. Ellmers represents D.C. not N.C. She must go. Our budget, our spending, our district, and our unborn children will be better off. 

Links: 

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/republican-split-on-next-week-s-anti-abortion-bill-vote-20150116

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/17/pro-life-leaders-blast-rep-renee-ellmers-reprehensible-request-to-delay-house-20-week-abortion-ban/

http://politi.co/1yrRXOW

https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1797

http://www.doctorsonfetalpain.com/

Randy Saunders Takes Mask Off

Commissioner Randy Saunders ran as the anti-Tim Lea. He wanted to be open and transparent. He did not want to play the political games that Tim Lea was so good at playing. However, his actions over the last several months have proven otherwise. 

He went on record with a regional tv station saying that he would not have voted for a resolution the Moore County Board of Commissioners passed in November. The resolution condemned the actions of activist judges who overruled the will of Moore County, and NC voters, who had voted for Amendment 1. Saunders was not present but made it abundantly clear that his spine does not extend to the social issues. 

Then yesterday Randy Saunders continued his deception. He was a voting delegate to the NCACC conference. The conference is an opportunity for the County Commissioners as a group across the state to push their legislative goals. 

The Moore County Board of Commissioners in conversations had come to a consensus on the following goals: 

1. Lottery funding- making sure that the legislature funds education initiatives with the lottery funding as promised. 

2. Keep School bus funding a state matter or responsibility. 

3. No unfunded mandates. 

There were others, but these were the main ones. Education was the main area of concern for the Commissioners. Randy Saunders said that he would carry out the will of the board. 

He instead voted went against the will of the board and went along with the crowd. He voted to make expanding Medicaid more important than what he and his fellow board members agreed to do. He said one thing and did another. 

It is bad on two points. The first is that the expansion of Medicaid makes no fiscal sense. Second, is that he went to represent the Moore County Board and instead of voting the collective will of the board he substituted his own agenda. 

We have learned two things from this. The first is that Randy Saunders is more liberal than he lets on. The second is not to trust Randy Saunders. 

It is sad. It truly is sad that Randy Saunders could have been a leader in that room. He could have shown that Moore County is for education, limited government, and fairness. Instead, he voted, with the crowd, for more spending and more government. Sad. 

We Can Do Better

There is a push going on in North Carolina politics. The push is to expand Medicaid coverage in the state under the Affordable Care Act. You would not be shocked that the Moral Monday Democrat Party is for this. Would it shock you that there are many Republicans for the measure? 

Governor McCrory recently met with President Obama and spoke about expanding Medicaid coverage in the state. There are many institutions like the NC County Commissioners League that have expressed support for such an expansion. It is very likely that we will see this happen. This legislative session. Even if some say so. 

http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/01/14/legislative-leaders-see-no-good-case-for-medicaid-expansion-this-session-video/

When NC Policy Watch says it won't happen, that is a sign it may happen. 

The Percentage of our state budget that goes to Medicaid funding is around 17%. Any study, by liberal or conservatives, only show that the growth will continue to rise. Some projections are that by the year 2040 it could be as high as 50% of our budget. 

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=10532

The expansion will only accelerate the growth. The monies from the Federal Government will pay for the expansion for three years. Then the state will have to start kicking in for a share of the cost. Even at overly optimistic projections of a 90-10 split of the costs, the cost of Medicaid will skyrocket. We already are having trouble with the 17%. The amount of money paid out now does not decrease and the expanded coverage will only bend the cost curve further up not down. 

Expanding Medicaid is pure politics. It allows politicians to claim that they are helping people who can't afford it get coverage. They only see the political upside, not the budgetary and structural downside it will cause our state. 

I know we can do better. Here are a few ways we can help lower health care costs for North Carolinians: 

1. Tort Reform- Texas passed protections for frivolous lawsuits and have seen an exponential increase in medical professionals moving there. We need to do the same here. We will be able to attract good doctors to our state. This will also lower the rate of malpractice insurance and other costs that doctors pass on to consumers/ patients. 

2. HSA- why doesn't the state give folks who can't afford it HSA accounts with $2500 in it. These accounts are tax free and these folks many of whom are younger can bank savings to pay for emergencies and potential catastrophic care. 

These are just a few ideas. There are a great many others that are a better alternative to expanding Medicaid coverage. 

I hope that you will contact your state Rep. and Senator. If you live in Moore County your Rep. is Jamie Boles and Senator is Jerry Tillman. Their contact info is listed below. Please contact them and tell them that we do not want, nor can we afford Obama's Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina. 

Senator Tillman

Home : tel:(336)%20431-5325

Office: tel:(919)%20733-5870

E-mail: mailto:Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net

Rep. Jamie Boles

Home: tel:910-692-6262

Office: tel:919-733-5903

E-mail: mailto:Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net

Whip count on #FireBoehner

Definite 

Jones NC

Bridenstine OK

Gohmert TX

Yoho FLA

Massie KY

Gosar  AZ

King IA

Brat VA

Maybes

Stutzman IN 

Walker NC

Palmer AL 

Hice GA 

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

We all have heard that phrase. The promise of free goods or services, that leads to high costs and fees on the backend. This is the same principle our Governor needs to heed. There is pressure on our legislature, from the governor's mansion, to expand Medicaid. 

The Expansion would be "free" for the first three years. Then after three years is up the cost is shared by the State and Federal Government. The ratio of the burden is 90-10. 

This sounds like a win for North Carolina. The Governor, on the eve of his re-election, can take credit for poor folks getting health benefits. No cost for three years. Then most of the cost is paid by federal dollars. What could go wrong? 

Where do I start? Let's start at the cost to our Federal government. The expansion of Medicaid, provided under the Affordable Care Act, is going to continue to plunge our country deeper into debt. We are 18 trillion dollars in debt and this expansion is unsustainable. 

Secondly, the expansion will obviously increase the amount of North Carolinians on Medicaid. The money will increase but so will the cost. 

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=10532

The percentage, that will only go up, of the budget share for Medicaid is around 16-17%. The expansion will increase this percentage exponentially after the three year subsidization ends. 

This is a hook to get more folks and state  governments on government welfare. This move is bad for North Carolina in the long run. I hope that Governor McCrory will think with his principles and not his reelection dreams. If not, I hope our legislature will not give in. Say no to expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. 

Horace Miller or Jefferson Smith?

The 2016 GOP primary is well under way. We have two candidates that are running. The honorable Horace Miller, and the upstart Jefferson Smith. The former is a career politician; a machine candidate who takes their orders from the puppet masters. The latter is a underdog; an upstart with naive ideas of idealism and democracy. 

For those of you who get the reference, congrats. For those of you who are furrowing your brows, shame on you. The names Horace Miller and Jefferson Smith, are two characters in Frank Capra's film in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". This film is so true in it's themes of idealism vs the establishment machine. The political landscape has not changed since Jimmy Stewart's filibuster. 

The machine has their candidates. The Taylor Machine, or the Rove machine, has their boy, Jeb. Jeb Bush has the pedigree and good sense to do whatever the Chamber of Commerce and good ole boys want. He will cut a tax or two. As one line in the movie goes, "A born stooge, he will perform like a trained seal." Shuffle a few agencies around. He will not make waves to rock the yachts. 

Then you have Jefferson Smith. The wet behind the ears candidates like Cruz, Carson, and Walker. They embarrass the establishment. They talk about God and abortion too much. They align with the TEA party. These candidates are the ones that will filibuster the Willet Creek Dams of the Bush's. They will actually try to rid of us of the EPA and Department of Education. They might actually institute a flat tax and end corporate welfare. They might actually secure the border. Oh no, we can't have these boy rangers stomping all over the Taylor Machine. 

The movie was made in the 30's but the iconic film of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", is timeless. If you haven't seen it, watch it. Not only is it great cinema but also real truth. You will be surprised how the story and the characters are so similar to today, and the upcoming 2016 race. 

Illiteracy and the US Congress

When you saw the title to the blog posting you may have thought I was referring to education. While illiteracy among our nation's youth is worthy of a blog posting, that is not what I am writing about. I am writing about the epidemic of illiteracy among our representatives in Washington D.C. They can't seem to read the bills they pass. Now I am being facetious but the gist of it is this. Legislation matters. Words mean things. Especially when it comes to our nation's laws. Too often in Washington, we have Senators and Representatives who know bullet points but not the fine print. This is laziness, ignorance, and outrageous. We have a few problems that need to fixed for the next congress.
1. Too little time- Our Representatives and Senators cannot be expected to know what it is in a 2000 page bill in 24 hours. We have seen it time and time again. Bills that are too big and expansive, and too little time for markup, amending, and debating. Legislation is supposed to be a deliberate, slow process. It is not supposed to be rushed or hurried. Our legislators need time to read the bill themselves and understand the full ramifications of the bills before they vote.
2. Bills are too big and complicated- It amazes me that bills like H.R. 83, or Cromnibus, and The Affordable Care Act are thousands of pages long. These bills hurt our economy. They violate the  values of common sense, conservative thought. They are a blight on our legislative system. These atrocities of legislation are thousands of pages long, yet some of the greatest and meaningful documents are only pages long. Think of our Constitution. You can fit in your pocket, with a pocket sized edition. The Declaration of Independence is the same way. These two documents not only are the documents that defined and canonized our way of government. They have set the standard for democracy for over 200 years, and they can fit in your pocket. Try fitting a copy of the ACA or Cromnibus in your pocket. You will feel a draft is all I can say. Bills should be succinct. Bills should not be a catch all for hundreds of other bills. Amendments should be short and sweet. No more 500 page amendments. We need to simplify this process.
3. Read the bill- We elected our Senators and Representatives to govern. We did not vote for them to outsource the job of being a legislator. I understand the need for staffers. Staffers in Congress do a great job, but they do too much of the work. Legislators should be writing the bills. Legislators should be reading the bills. Too many times, a legislator will have talking or bullet points on legislation but other than that are clueless. Too many times their staff reads and researches the bill and not the legislator.
To prove my point, here is a section of an e-mail that our local Rep. Renee Ellmers sent my father. My dad had written her office to express his hope that she would vote against H.R. 83 or CROmnibus. Here is what she said that struck me.

         

" I took an oath to serve my constituents and that involves reviewing and understanding federal law, not voting based misinformation from outside groups with their own self-interest in mind. With that being said, our staff thoroughly reviewed H.R. 83, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2015

Notice a key phrase,

"our staff thoroughly reviewed H.R. 83"

My question to Rep. Ellmers is, why didn't you review the bill? If you took an oath to review and understand federal law than why did your staff and not you review HR 83?

Unfortunately, she did not read the bill, and she did not listen to my Father. She did not listen to the thousands of people in the 2nd district, who asked her to represent NC and DC. She voted for HR 83 anyways. I'm sad to say that in Rep. Ellmers case, even if she had read the bill and understood it, she still would have voted for it anyway. Since that is what the House GOP leadership wanted her to do.

The new GOP congress will have a fresh start. A new day in which to begin the process of reviving and repairing our damaged nation. I would hope that in addition to enacting common sense, conservative reforms that they would consider the above issues and reform our process of passing bills. Take your time. Cut the waste, and excess. Above all, read the bill. We have to live under it. The least they could do is read what they subject us to.

Let's Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

The NC legislature created a committee to study the Common Core standards, and ultimately come up with a new set of standards. I don't want to spend a lot of time on Common Core, since there is so much more material on this issue. I will provide some links that discusses the Common Core standards. The bottom line bullet points are these.
1. It is a another top to bottom, one size fits all solution or faux solution to our education issues.
2. These standards water down a lot of things in terms of math, history, etc. We can do better.
This committee convened in September of this year and has made real progress. We have now discovered that the committee is essentially out of funds and may not be able to finish what they started.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331450/nc-commission-says-it-needs-money.html

I personally wish the legislature would have passed their own standards through the legislative process. As a rule, with exceptions, I feel that outside committees are essentially a cop out. Regardless, of my opinion, the fact is that we have the committee and it needs to be funded fully so that it can do the important tasks of:
1. Getting rid of Common Core.
2. Replacing it with solid, dependable standards that will push NC to the top.
I believe that we need more local involvement. We need more local school boards, and parents involved in what they feel is best for the children. We all know the definition of insanity. Well, if we keep buying in to this idea that centralized standards will work, as we long as rename it every couple of years, we will never fix the problem.
The legislature will be sworn in on January 14, 2015. The real work will begin on January 28, 2015. We need to contact our state House and Senate members. We need to let them know the following:
1. I oppose the Common Core standards.
2. I support the replacement of Common Core standards with new ones created with local and state input.
3. There is a committee that was created to recommend changes to the Common Core standards, that has made real progress.
4. This committee is out of money and needs more funds to complete their directive.
5. Please, fund the committee fully and replace Common Core with real standards and real reform for North Carolina's children.
Below are the links to the Senators and Reps. who we need to  contact, who have a direct say on such a funding request.

NC State Senate
Senator Jerry Tillman
http://t.co/AwC7gXqi5s

Senator Dan Soucek
http://t.co/iG6ONL1MEF

NC House
Rep. Horn
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=604

Rep. Blackwell
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=580
Rep. McGrady
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=605
Rep. Johnson
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=292
Rep. Langdon
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=482

Please call, e-mail, use twitter, or Facebook, or write a letter. Let your state rep. in your local district know as well. Sen. Tillman represents Randolph and Moore County already. We also need to contact State Rep Jamie Boles.
http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=581

Related links to Common Core:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/04/08/the-whole-story-on-common-core/
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/12/questionable-quality-of-the-common-core-english-language-arts-standards

Cut Spending First

     The Republicans have always maintained, since Reagan, that we need tax reform The reform takes many forms and has many faces. There is the old guard that wants to cut the marginal rates. There is the crowd that wants to consolidate the brackets into a two. Then there is folks, like me, who feel that a flat tax is the best way to reform our tax code. Any of these method are preferable to the current state of affairs. However, I feel that there is a much more fundamental challenge that needs to be surmounted. We have to reduce spending. Now you may say that we can do both at the same time. I disagree. Here's why.

     In the last 75 years we have seen three major tax reforms. John F. Kennedy reduced taxes in the early 1960's. Ronald Reagan reduced and reformed the tax code in the 1980's. George W. Bush reduced tax rates in 2002. Each time we saw economic growth, and increased revenues. Also, each time we saw dramatic increases in government expenditures. Each of these Presidents did the right thing, but failed to stop the expense of the balance sheet from going out of kilter. We can go 12 rounds and point fingers, but the system is broken and it needs fixing.

     Until we reform Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements the balance sheet will never get balanced. I feel strongly that the GOP can seize the moment with a positive agenda. 

          a) Social Security

              1. Guarantee Benefits for existing retirees. 

              2. Transition those 35 and younger into a voucher based system.

          b) Medicare

              1. Guarantee Benefits for existing beneficiaries. 

              2. Transition those 35 and younger into a voucher, privatized system.

          c) Medicaid

              1. Block grant medicaid dollars to the states. This will ensure maximum help and minimal                       fraud and abuse. It will also allow the states to come up with plans that are more efficient                     and cost effective.
          d) Defund Obamacare
          e) Cut spending back to 2008 levels and then cap them.
          f) Pass a Constitutional Amendment that would require a balanced budget, except in cases of                   national emergency or war.
     These are common sense reform that can set us on a path to fiscal responsibility. After these steps are taken, than we can pursue tax reform. I personally favor a flat tax but there are several other options out there. My only point is this, taxes have gone down and up over the last several decades, but spending has continued to rise. We need to cut spending first. 

Beyond the Pell

Millions of students each year receive a pell grant. This is assistance provided by the Federal government to be able to afford college. It is a good program. I know many people, maybe you do too, that have been able to better their lives through this program. I did not receive a pell grant. I worked my way through school, and I had parents who helped me when I needed it. I wish we did not need it but the truth is that of all the waste and inefficiency of Washington, this program is a bright spot. 

http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/federal-pell-grant-program

Here is a interesting article on the pell grant program and the funding levels. Over the last couple of years, and in projections the program has and will operate at a surplus. That means that less funds are being spent than was allocated. This means that there will need to be no increase in the annual commitment. There is however some caveats. 

There was a significant increase in the spending in 2009, due to the increase legislated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This bill is also know as the President's Porkulus bill. This act raised the maximum grant level per student to $5550. This funding level has been maintained. The program will continue to grow and increase in cost. It is unknown how much longer this elevated rate and projected surplus will last. The program could stand some reforms. 

1. Take the per student allocation maximum back to $4731. This was the level back in 2008. This would still give students plenty of funds while scaling back the cost. 

2. Change the way the program operates. Instead of just taking the money, per semester, out for tution and books, and then refunding the difference to the student, roll the money over. Have the money maintained in a account, associated with the student's social security number. At the end of the allotted time, if there is any overage than the money is rolled back into the program. This will also save costs. 

I am not an expert in this field, but the system needs reform. At this rate the program will continue to grow in terms of expenditures. These ideas are just a start. We need to rethink the way we do things. Just throwing money at the problem is not going to cut it. 

Below is a chart that details the growth over the last several years. This chart was in the above article. 

Pell Grant Funding and Award Level by Year
	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Funding by Source ($ billions)
Appropriation	17.3	17.5	23.0	22.8	22.8	22.8	22.8	22.8	25.0
Prior years' surplus	-	-	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	4.0	0.4
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act	13.5	4.2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010 Student loan reform (one-time funds)	-	10.7	3.9	-	-	-	-	-	-
2011 year-round grant elimination	-	-	3.2	-	-	-	-	-	1.1
Budget Control Act	-	-	0.2	9.8	7.0	-	-	-	-
2012 Grace period interest subsidy elimination/other	-	-	-	0.6	0.6	0.6	-	-	0.5
Mandatory/entitlement formula	2.1	4.5	5.3	5.0	5.1	5.9	6.8	7.7	8.7
Total	32.9	36.9	35.5	38.2	35.5	32.2	33.3	34.4	35.7
Maximum Grant ($)
Appropriation	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860	4,860
Mandatory/entitlement	490	690	690	690	785	870	985	1,100	1,225
Total	5,350	5,550	5,550	5,550	5,645	5,730	5,840	5,960	6,085
Note: Appropriations prior to 2015 are law; figures for 2015 through 2017 reflect Congressional Budget Office estimates of the appropriation needed to fund the grant level shown at the bottom. All other funding sources are currently in law. Total funding row reflects what lawmakers made available, not the cost of the program, which was generally lower than the cost in recent years, particularly in 2012 and 2013, resulting in the large surpluses available in 2014 through 2016.

PUBLISHED SEP 23 2014 15:33