Up in Raleigh, home of the Down East kleptocracy which has seized state government, the criminals are moving closer to throwing people out of work. Mitch Kokai is following the debate and notes that at least one Charlotte-area legislator is putting up a good fight. Rep. Curtis Blackwood, R-Union:
What you’re going to do is put a lot of people out of work. North Carolina — for our area — has the highest income tax. North Carolina has the highest tax rate in the Southeast. … And if you pass this, we’ll probably have the highest labor costs of anybody around here.
Blackwood makes an important point. Charlotte raised business taxes and sewer rates last year and wants to raise property taxes and sewer rates (again!) this year. Mecklenburg County hiked property taxes 11 percent last year and is getting heat from the Raleigh kleptocrats for thinking about giving any of that money back this year.
At some point a locality stops being competitive. Might be now, might be in four years. Or are we gonna wait until tumbleweeds are rolling down Tryon before anyone says “Whoops?”
