NC Citizens for Business & Industry

Yesterday's Friday Follies at NC Policy Watch put the smackdown on one of the oft-repeated lies of tax reformers here in North Carolina. Take a look, and put these talking points in y our pocket for the next time a free-marketeer starts blabbering about the economic costs of taxes.

The rabid right wing folks over at Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist’s group, will have some explaining to do the next they complain about tax rates in North Carolina.

ATR recently released a report on state tax policy across the nation and among the conclusions drawn from the report by a national conservative group was that “states with high tax burdens continually lose residents and their income to lower tax states.”

Norquist and his misguided disciples in North Carolina constantly claim that North Carolina is a high tax state and that tax rates are hurting economic development. Neither is true and now we have proof of that from their own report. The U. S. Census says that from 1990-2000, North Carolina grew faster than every other Southeastern state, except Georgia. From 1995-2000, it was the fifth fastest growing state in the nation and forecasters predict that growth will continue at even higher levels.

State Treasurer (and likely gubernatorial candidate) Richard Moore is calling for a $1 increase in North Carolina's minimum wage. (A little quick math: $5.15 x 40hours = $206 a week; throw in a little vacation and that's $10,300 a year; does anyone really think that's enough to live on, much less raise a family on?)

Moore made the call at a meeting of the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, a pro-business lobbying group that styles itself the state chamber of commerce. What's the word for that: chutzpah? meshuggener? Or is Moore's read of the land that NC businesses are ready to support a modest minimum wage increase? Stay tuned...