Newsletter 04-06-11

8/7/2019 Newsletter 04-06-11

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SENATOR JERRY TILLMAN

SENATE MAJORITY WHIP

SENATE UPDATE April 6, 2011

Education – Time for Reform?

When will the Legislature face the reform issue? If reform is to come, the time is now… Wecan’t keep doing what we’ve always done and expect different results. I’ve always believedNorth Carolina will lead the nation in reform and the results will improve student learning. Ido not care about reform for reform’s sake, this is only mindless meddling. When we putstudents first great things will happen. I hope we will not let this opportunity elude us… Wewill see…

How Broke Are We?

Cities are broke. Counties are broke. States are broke. The Nation is broke… If you aren’taware of this you are living on another planet. Cities, Counties, States (most of them), mayeventually get a handle on their predisposition to overspend and overtax. Will America beable to do the same? I’m not sure. The $14 trillion hole is awfully deep. The GOP led Housewill make a serious attempt to do so. Recent reports refer to proposed cuts in the $4-6 trillionplus range for the coming decade beginning with the 2011-2012 budget. Now this is asignificant and meaningful cut. Cuts of this magnitude have never before been proposed. Of course, America has never experienced a $14 trillion deficit. By the way, these cuts go beyondwhat was proposed by the President’s debt commission, and calls for no tax increases. Timewill tell…

The job will not be accomplished without great criticism, and likely the loss of political powerfor those who are bold enough to stick with it.

Spending Cuts/Tax Increases

The $3 billion budget problem facing the Legislature (2011-2012 budget) is real. How wechoose to fix it is also real. I’ve watched the other side deal with deficits in the past 8 years.The desire to spend more and tax more was the method they employed. To spend it all in goodtimes with no cushion to fall back on, without considering economic recession, in part at least,has led us to where we are today. Their answer was to raise taxes…

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Republicans in both the House and the Senate have pledged to cut spending to the level of expected revenue and at the same time cut taxes. We know the problem in Raleigh is not arevenue problem, it is a spending problem. For some the appetite for increased spending inNorth Carolina will never go away. The way we deal with it will change in the 2011-2012budget. Wait and see…

Nuclear Power

The catastrophe with the Nuclear Power plants in Japan will have a chilling affect onAmerica’s plans to move forward with Nuclear energy as a power source. Maybe it should,maybe it shouldn’t. Time will tell… Whatever we do, we must use caution and proceedwisely. What we do know with a high degree of certainty is this: America’s need for a strongenergy policy with multiple sources has not diminished, it is more crucial now than everbefore. How long can America pretend we will be taken care of by our Arab “friends?” I for one am fed up with our “head in the sand” approach to this problem. I guess it’s like our

National debt; we’ll deal with it when the crisis hits. This my friends will very likely lead toconsequences we can’t live with, not the way we’re living now… We will see…

Civitas Poll: Taxpayer Bill of Rights

Raleigh, N.C. – Amidst a record budget deficit, 67 percent of North Carolina voters support aTaxpayer Bill of Rights that would tie annual spending growth to population plus inflation inorder to limit state spending, according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

A North Carolina Legislator recently introduced House Bill 188, a Taxpayer Bill of Rights,that would limit state spending to average population and inflation increase over the last 3years and create an emergency reserve fund. Sixty-seven percent of voters said they supportsuch legislation, 18 percent oppose it, and 15 percent said they do not know or have noopinion.

Support for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights has remained consistent since an April 2010 Civitaspoll which found voters supported the idea by a 66 percent – 14 percent margin.

“Long-term, out of control spending has gotten North Carolina into a very serious fiscal crisisand voters are looking for a common sense approach to limit state spending while preparingfor the future,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. The Civitas Poll is the onlymonthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina

Federal Government Shutdown?

Will the Federal Government shutdown operations on Friday due to failure to agree on budgetcuts? You might recall that we still have no approved budget for this year (2010-2011), whichends September 30th, 2011. I find this hard to understand. When the Democrats had control of

http://www.nccivitas.org/2010/april-2010-poll-results/




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the current budget with solid majorities in the House and Senate, they couldn’t muster thevotes to get an approved budget. How then do we expect them to agree on the 2011-2012budget? I don’t know… If it takes a government shutdown in Washington to accomplishsignificant budget cuts, it may happen. We will see… At any rate essential services will continue. Many of the non-essential services will not be missed that much.

Photo ID Bill

HB 351, Restore Confidence in Government, which would require voters to show a validpicture ID in order to vote is apparently having difficulty in the House Elections Committee.From what I’m hearing the photo requirement may be coming out and the price tag forimplementation has grown into the millions. Please tell me what good is it to have a photo IDbill without the photo being included? The State Zoo is supposed to be in Asheboro…

Remember these:

A constituent once said to me; “Senator you were not at your best in that debate.” I gentlyreminded her that “only the mediocre are always at their best.”

Stop complaining that your church is not perfect. If it were, you would not be there.

“The first duty of privilege is integrity” unknown author

As Grant Hill says; “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without Calculus, but youcan’t make it in this wide, wide world without common sense.”

Or as Richard Petty says; “Common sense ain’t all that common in Raleigh.”

Senator Jerry Tillman can be reached on Facebook

Are you on Facebook?You can reach Senator Jerry Tillman by clicking this link.

http://www.facebook.com/jerrywtillman

Once you get to Jerry’s page, just hit the like button at the top of the page and you’ll startgetting updates during the week.

If you don't have a Facebook account, you can sign up for an account so you can start gettingJerry's updates.

Then tell your friends and neighbors who might want to know what Jerry is doing in Raleighfor the folks in Randolph and Montgomery counties.




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Again, just click:


To connect today.

Note:

If you have questions you want answered on my Facebook page, please let me hear from youand I will do my best to answer them as time and space permit.

SENATOR JERRY TILLMAN

SENATE MAJORITY WHIP 628 Legislative Office BuildingRaleigh, NC 27601-2808

Phone: 919.733.5870Fax: 919.754.3339

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Newsletter 04-06-11