Economy

WFMY: North Carolina Republicans Lose General Assembly Supermajority

By Eleanore Wood / November 7, 2018 / Comments Off on WFMY: North Carolina Republicans Lose General Assembly Supermajority

Despite unconstitutional maps favoring Republicans, North Carolina voters sent a strong message that the GOP agenda of continued attacks on health care, cuts to public education, gutting of clean water rules, and reckless tax cuts for millionaires and big corporations is coming to an end. From WFMY: The balance of power in North Carolina shifted…

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WRAL: Constitutional amendments; less better government, more boosting GOP fortunes

By Eleanore Wood / June 14, 2018 / Comments Off on WRAL: Constitutional amendments; less better government, more boosting GOP fortunes

Republicans in Raleigh rightly fear they will soon lose their supermajority.  So they are attempting to rig the constitution in order to ram through their extreme agenda.  They want to trick the people of North Carolina into cementing in tax giveaways to millionaires permanently.  They’d like us to permanently suppress voters with a voter ID amendment…

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From The News & Observer: In NC’s struggling regions: ‘Folks feel like they’ve had the hell kicked out of them.’

By Eleanore Wood / April 3, 2018 / Comments Off on From The News & Observer: In NC’s struggling regions: ‘Folks feel like they’ve had the hell kicked out of them.’

The tax cuts touted by Republicans as the economic boost North Carolina needs has been anything but helpful to struggling families in North Carolina.  While things are booming in the Triangle and Charlotte it does nothing for impoverished rural residents.  With cuts to social services and public jobs, residents in cities like Goldsboro are left…

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ICYMI: Thursday’s HB2 vote was NOT full repeal

By Eleanore Wood / December 22, 2017 / Comments Off on ICYMI: Thursday’s HB2 vote was NOT full repeal

A procedural vote tied to a larger bill that leaves parts of HB2 in place indefinitely can under NO circumstances be considered a full repeal RALEIGH — After breaking their word by refusing to allow a clean vote on full repeal of HB2, Republican lawmakers are now blaming Democrats for not going along with the…

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From The Winston Salem Journal: Tax bill would hurt graduate students like me

By Eleanore Wood / November 30, 2017 / Comments Off on From The Winston Salem Journal: Tax bill would hurt graduate students like me

The tax reform bill currently being considered by the Senate is going to hit graduate students hard.  By removing student loan interest deductions, and by making waived tuitions taxable income many students face having to quit their studies all together as the tax burden is so high it would make it impossible for them continue. …

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See how badly the GOP budget fails public education

By Eleanore Wood / June 22, 2017 / Comments Off on See how badly the GOP budget fails public education

Despite Republican lawmakers’ big claims about the education funding included in their budget, any North Carolina teacher will tell you our public school system has diminished under Republican rule. In fact, a comparison of education funding statistics under the current budget to the 2008-09 budget — the last budget year before the Great Recession began…

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Raleigh News & Observer: GOP budget short on vision, long on breaks for the rich

By Eleanore Wood / June 21, 2017 / Comments Off on Raleigh News & Observer: GOP budget short on vision, long on breaks for the rich

The NC GOP’s budget claims it gives a raise to teachers and state workers, but the average raise for North Carolina teachers is a measly 3.3%. And state retirees are getting a raise also….of 1%. So who is benefitting from the NC GOP’s budget? The top .01% who will receive a 5.25% personal income tax…

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Legislature’s budget — More comfort for the comfortable

By Eleanore Wood / June 1, 2017 / Comments Off on Legislature’s budget — More comfort for the comfortable

The GOP-controlled House revealed their budget plan and it’s exactly what we expected: tax cuts for big corporations and underfunding education. The plan includes The House boasts about adding a small amount of money to NC scholarships, however, they are not providing adequate funding for our public schools and universities. Not only are they not providing…

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Statement on “HB 2.0” and Speaker Moore’s broken promises

By Eleanore Wood / February 27, 2017 / Comments Off on Statement on “HB 2.0” and Speaker Moore’s broken promises

As time runs out to repeal HB2 before the NCAA deadline passes, the so-called “compromise” bill HB186 would only create more problems instead of solving them RALEIGH — Last week, Republican lawmakers introduced a so-called “compromise” bill they claim would repeal HB2 and end the NBA and NCAA boycotts of North Carolina. However, HB186 does…

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Op-Ed: North Carolina cannot afford to lose the ACA

By Eleanore Wood / February 21, 2017 / Comments Off on Op-Ed: North Carolina cannot afford to lose the ACA

Ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, congressional Republicans have been waiting to repeal it. Despite promising to follow through with this plan for the past six years, Republicans have not come up with a replacement and have failed to prove how repealing the ACA will be better for everyone. Unfortunately, attempting…

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