I have to repost in full Chad Adams’ Locker Room reaction to the absurd tax-and-spend spiel from state Sen. Dan Clodfelter (D.-Meck.), a prime mover beyond the Partnership for North Carolina’s Future bid to tax the hell out of everything that moves and call it progressive, proper, and right. Take it away Chad:

The story as it originally appeared at WRAL appeared with the following text:

Members said it’s too early for specifics, but they hinted at statewide bonds and more taxing authority for counties. The state treasurer has said North Carolina could safely borrow about $2 billion in the fiscal year. A controversial land transfer tax on all home sales is also getting a lot of play at the Legislature. Plenty of critics are lining up to fight more taxes, but Sen. Daniel G. Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, one of the Partnership leaders, warned against that position.

Let me get this right, Clodfelter is warning folks to not oppose tax increases??? Or what??? Was that a threat of some sort? Is the left tired of people saying their taxes are too high?

But the new story has no such language and Clodfelter’s words seem much softer (How did the story get changed?):

The partnership agrees all revenue options deserve serious discussion. The bottom line about it all, they said, is that keeping the status quo is simply not an option. “That’s not going to get it. It’s not going to get it done,” said Sen. Daniel G. Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg.

Truth is that your local tax money goes to city coffers where it then (at least some of it) goes to the NC League of Municipalities to guys like Ellis Hankins who goes about making sure cities have eminent domain power to take property for economic development and that cities have the power to annex without your permission. But today, Hankins got together with lots of lefties to tell you that you need to pay more in taxes. He, along with Senator Dan Clodfelter (Democrat, Mecklenburg) and about 75 other folks launched a new initiative called “Partnership for NC’s Future” which is supposed to scare the heck out of you about the “population tsunami”. Fearmongering is a great friend to these kind of folks. The bulk of this effort, according to insiders, was funded by Z. Smith Reynolds $$$$.

They pulled out all sorts of stops including accusing NC of being a RipVan Winkle (funny, since the dems have been in charge for the bulk of the time since that story appeared in the late 1800s). Yes, NC is having growth, it has for decades, growth is what counties have been begging for (isn’t that what Commerce has been doing with billions in incentive giveaways)? And now we’re being told that growth is bad? These lefties are becoming comical. We have to raise taxes because we don’t have enough growth and now we have to raise them because we have too much growth. Who believes this stuff?

The truth is the Down East Kleptocracy has been spending hand-over fist in recent years on everything from Tea Pot Museums to Tall Ship shrimp-cocktail parties. The latest $20 billion state budget increases spending by 7.6 percent, far above the 5.1 percent needed to keep up with inflation and population growth.

But Clodfelter doesn’t want to talk about that. He rather make idiotic statements like this:

“We’ve spent our heritage,” said Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg. “The investments made by those earlier generations have been used up. We’ve lived off of that inheritance now and it’s time to invest again.”

You mean like the sack of state cash you and Jim Black promised Johnson & Wales? What is this “we” business?

The people of North Carolina have been explicitly cut out of the decision-making process with gerrymandered districts that make competitive state house races a thing of the past. Democracy — that was part of our heritage too. Now we have rule by self-important blow-hards who just love the sound of their own voice.

These loons literally will not rest until North Carolina is one of the highest tax states in the nation. Recall that we are only .6 of a percent behind New Jersey in tax burden right now. New Jersey! And Clodfelter wants more. Demands more. Threatens more — or else.

Or else what, you gaseous oaf. You are no position to make threats. Not with your track record, not with the things you have done.

Change is coming. And not 20 years hence.