Years ago, before North Carolina had a lottery but Virginia did, I was visiting a friend in Richmond. He was a moderate Republican who was not overly political. I asked him what he thought about the Virginia lottery.
His answer gave a lot of insight into his perspective and how differently we view the world. He told me that he didn’t pay much attention to the lottery and had never played it. That said, he thought it was a good thing because the people who play the lottery are the people who most use government services. It’s the idea that the poor should pay for the services they use and the rest of shouldn’t have to.
While my friend didn’t have figures to back up his assumption that mostly poor people play the lottery, the sentiment was clear. The people who need government assistance shouldn’t be his responsibility. And it also implies that those needing help aren’t really that deserving.
The budget passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives yesterday reflects that attitude. They’re funding raises for teachers through increased lottery sales. The N.C. Education Lottery says that it won’t work, but no matter. At least they aren’t asking the people who have most benefited from our economic system to help out.
And that’s the mentality of Republicans running our state. There is no shared sacrifice. The wealthy should be able to keep as much money as possible because they don’t need public schools, public universities or public services. That’s why they shouldn’t be asked to help pay for teachers’ salaries or any other benefits.
Republicans like to say they oppose taxes. But that’s not true. They oppose taxes on businesses and wealthy. They’ve shown little reluctance to take more money out of the pockets of people who need it the most. They made the working poor pay more when they ended the Earned Income Tax Credit. The increased tax on power bills will hurt people for whom a few pennies makes a big difference. And the effect of increasing lottery sales is playing on the sentiments of people who believe that they have a better chance of getting rich through winning the lottery than through hard work.
Joe Biden famously said, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” And that’s what this budget is really about–values.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Businesses pay Federal tax, State tax, FICA, and Payroll tax. These are taxes that have not been lowered for decades. Tax breaks only affect the income tax imposed on business owners. they still are subjected to pay the full percentage on the other taxes. Business owners provide jobs, its just that simple. Even most card-carrying liberals can agree with that statement. The rich are paying plenty and as a person paying way less with my sixty Gs a year, im actually not too upset if they didnt pay at all. I would like for more people to go into business for themselves but it seems that most of the world will hate them if they so much as bring in more than a million a year. I incourage everyone to be rich. Its not a sin at all. Here is the undebunkable truth: lower taxes and no lobbying = more jobs and less need for government assistance.
Word.
(My shortest comment ever!)