#ncga: Look who’s back in town!

They’re already making a mess in DC.  And just as we’re coming down from the trauma of THEIR return, the Raleigh crowd is deciding to put in an appearance at our expense.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the honorables — and, in some cases, we are using that term veeeeeeeerrrrrry loosely — are back in town ready to run your life and spend your money. 

Things will be a little different this time.  Yes, Mr. Apodaca is still prowling the Senate chamber in search of fresh meat.  On the House side, Thom Tillis has moved on to bigger shakedown and influence peddling opportunities in our nation’s capital.  But Tim Moore — last session’s Rules chairman — is ready to fill the seat that the gentleman from Cornelius Huntersville Florida Tennessee Virginia kept warm over the last few years.  Moore is talking a good game about making the lower chamber a little more democratic.  But folks with their long-term political memories intact remember all too well that Moore enjoyed far too much those intimate closed-door, smoke-filled room get-togethers with Tillis and his cronies “fixing” legislation. 

The drive-bys and — surprise, surprise — the Democrats are all preaching the importance of moderation for the GOP majority on Jones Street.  *And we all know how those folks have the best interests of the GOP at heart.*  Obviously, we want the opposite of what the drive-bys want.  If you’re not scaring the living hell out of Mark Binker and Chris Fitzsimon, you are NOT doing your job. 

Medicaid.  Gov. Pat and newly-minted GOP caucus member Paul Tine favor expanding Medicaid.  That means spending more money that we don’t have.  Medicaid is already a money-bleeding mess.  In North Carolina, we have some of the nation’s most generous Medicaid offerings.  It’s well-known in health care provider circles that providers outside North Carolina are shipping their Medicaid patients to North Carolina facilities — because we PAY FOR MORE STUFF.

Scale Medicaid back to solely what the feds require you to cover.  Couple that with a serious search for ways to cut the cost of health care delivery in our state.  (I have a friend in private practice who says he employs TWO ladies whose sole job is to spend all day complying with government regulations.  No patient care.  No customer service.  Just bureaucratic nonsense.) 

“Expanding Medicaid” is a sneaky way of saying “Implementing ObamaCare.”  The statists desire to have us all fat and dependent on the state.  THAT is what expanded medicaid will make us.  Our health care system — if the statists have their way — will soon have all the efficiency and compassion of the British National Health System and the DMV.  Don’t even think about putting more money toward this. 

Transportation. We’re getting hit with this spin about how we have all of these transportation needs and no money to pay for it.  Yet, we have a gas tax in place supposedly to pay for road projects.  That tax is currently the highest in the southeastern US.  And they say we have no money. 

Cut the gas tax rate.  The gas price is dropping like a rock.  People will be buying more gas than they have in nearly a decade.  A lower rate will lower the price and lead to higher demand.  More gas will be sold and, in the end, more revenue will be collected.  Stop with the privacy-invading, wallet-gouging new ideas like toll roads and HOT lanes.  Why should we be punished because you’ve done a poor job managing OUR MONEY?

Economic Development. It appears Gov. Pat and Speaker Moore are on the same page about handing out corporate welfare.  We’ve had way too many cases lately of businesses coming into the state, taking a lot of our money, and then leaving.  Charlotte recently got passed over by Mercedes, which was looking for a new location for their headquarters.  Some have blamed that snub on not enough goodies.  I’m hearing that this case — and other similar snubs — has more to do with the complicated nature of the state’s business tax structure.  It’s much more of a complex hassle than what many of our neighbors employ.  Let’s have some across the board tax reform.  Lower tax rates will encourage more people to take a gamble on the Tar Heel State.  

In the end, we want you folks on Jones Street to remember why we gave you a majority.  We want government as far removed from our lives as possible. Fix our roads and keep the bad guys away from our property and our families.  Give us more opportunities to make choices with our own money that make the most sense for US and OUR FAMILIES.