North Carolina (the “First in Corruption” state) may take one more step today to cement its reputation as the most corrupt state in the country.
If all the scandals (which have nothing to do with campaign finance) aren’t enough, the state Senate will be considering whether city council members can take your tax dollars and use it for their own personal purposes.
HB 120, which barely passed the House, would allow municipalities with more than 50,000 people to use tax dollars (including property taxes) to help fund campaigns of city officials. This local political welfare bill very well could get passed today!
Let us review: NC has suffered from scandal after scandal. The legislature is run like an oligarchy. Now the legislature thinks your tax dollars should do directly to politicians for their own use.
It is hard to believe, but some people think political welfare will help improve faith in the system. These are the same people that have pushed the artificial contribution limits and restrictive laws that have led us to where we are today in North Carolina.
Why would anyone still listen to these people?
These “reformers” are the biggest friends to legislators and enemies to real ethics reform. They promote laws that protect incumbents, chill speech, and scare people from getting involved in the political process (such as through the overbroad and vague lobbying law). Everything is about blaming everyone other than the legislators: blame the interest groups, blame the lobbyists, blame the money that is necessary for political advertising–just don’t blame the poor politicians.
Today, the Senate may decide to continue stealing your money and giving it to politicians. That’s what the “reformers” want to happen today.
It is time to stop listening to the “reformers” and to stop blaming everyone but the politicians. The problem is the politicians.
There are numerous reforms that need to happen and don’t require violating the First Amendment and discouraging political participation. Free speech and ethical government aren’t mutually exclusive.
The number one problem in this state is concentration of power. Too few people hold too much power. This primary problem needs to be the focus of citizens in reclaiming their state from a government that has been and continues to be an embarrassment.
