The long con to eventually debut new casinos in North Carolina
It’s a bit amusing to watch the – um – *honorables* on Raleigh’s Jones Street beat their chests and compete with each other on who is the biggest and truest conservative.
Legitimate, limited government involves two parts: cutting spending and cutting revenue. Do one without the other and you have problems. The Democrats in DC conned President Reagan into cutting taxes and not cutting spending, and then raising taxes and not cutting spending in 1982 and 1986. On both occasions, the GOP lost big politically and the country suffered economically.
When politicians promise to shrink government and / or cut your taxes by — say — 2030, watch your wallet. Those folks are counting on being out of office before then and / or you forgetting all about what they said by the time 2030 rolls around.
Check out some of the spin regarding the current budget debate in Raleigh:
[…] The North Carolina House’s reveal of its state government budget proposal makes plain the differences on taxes, salaries and job cuts between Republicans who control both General Assembly chambers.
With strong bipartisan support, the House gave preliminary approval late Wednesday to its plan to spend $32.6 billion in the year beginning July 1 and $33.3 billion the next year — the same amounts Senate Republicans agreed to for their competing two-year budget approved last month.[…]
If you’re seriously pushing the idea of spending MORE MONEY from one year to the next, YOU ARE NOT BEING CONSERVATIVE.
Here’s another instance:
[…] House Republicans would direct state agencies, departments and institutions to eliminate nearly 3,000 vacant positions, while the Senate version directs that 850 vacancies be eliminated. The Office of State Human Resources notes there were more than 14,000 vacancies in state agencies as of last month.
About two-thirds of the House’s cuts come from a directive for agencies to eliminate 20% of their vacant positions, with cost savings intended to beef up salaries to recruit and retain workers for critical hard-to-fill positions. […]
If you are cutting spending in one area — like, say, spending on vacant jobs — and shifting the money toward spending in other areas of state government, you are not being conservative. (They’re only cutting 20 percent of the vacant posts, at that.)
The Senate is laying out incremental cuts in tax rates spread over a number of years. They’re being far more aggressive than the House is. As a result, the House Republicans are being labeled “tax-raisers.” (*Boy, this is going to be awkward when the state GOP campaign arm starts campaigning for GOP reelections over the *tax-raising* Democrats.*)
This ought to remind you of a con so many local elected leaders pull at property tax time. They conduct revaluations of your property. They make your house worth a whole lot more than it was last year. They then keep the tax rate the same. You’re paying more in taxes, while the con artists you elected can claim: “Hey, we held the line on that tax rate.”
That reduces the amount of revenue government has to pay for stuff. Yet, both budget proposals call for even more spending year-after-year than what we’re doing now. There is a study out there right now suggesting that the Senate tax rate reduction proposal will leave the state in a revenue shortfall by mid-2026. Right about the time the next budget needs to be approved.
(Can anyone in the General Assembly seriously tell us — with a straight face — that there are no significant, serious cuts to be made in state government? )
If we’re not cutting spending, and we’re going to have less money in state coffers, the door will be opened for folks to strongly suggest: “Hey, more revenue would be nice right now. Boy, casino gambling could really help us out.”
I know that senator Berger told his people in Rockingham County that casinos were not going to come up this session. But too much money has been spent and spread around for folks to simply pick up their marbles and go home.
This budget battle is one long con to eventually pave the way for casino gambling expansion to save the fiscal day in North Carolina. (Remember how the *education lottery* was supposed to do that?)
Repeat after me: Cut the rates. Cut the revenue intake. Cut the spending.
You folks in Guilford and Rockingham counties can play a huge role in saving the quality of life in your counties and striking a blow against political corruption. There is a state senate primary in your counties in May 2026 that will have repercussions far outside your county lines. Get involved, learn about the candidates and the issues, and do your part.
We’re all counting on you.
