The Fight For Control

This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Becki Gray, Vice President for Outreach at the John Locke Foundation.

RALEIGH — The filing period has ended, and the candidates are off and running in the very important, and many say game-changing, election of 2010. There is a lot riding on these elections, particularly for the state legislature. It’s largely about control.

Republicans need to take six seats in the state Senate to wrestle control away from the Democrats who have held the majority for more than a century. Nine seats are needed to take back the state House, which Republicans controlled briefly in the mid-’90s. Many analysts say chances are good Republicans could take control of one or both bodies in 2010. Republicans are energized and optimistic. For the first time ever, they’ve fielded candidates in all 50 Senate races. Democrats seem unruffled and confident they will do what they have always done: win handily and maintain control.

Aside from control of the state’s budget, rules, regulations and all things government, whoever wins control in 2010 will also control redistricting. Redistricting is that once-a-decade reapportioning of the “one man–one vote” provision of the Constitution that requires the General Assembly to divide North Carolina’s population into 120 House districts and 50 Senate districts. Whichever party has control can draw the districts to its advantage and secure a leg up over the minority party until the next Census is taken in 2020.

With much at stake, the battles for control are heating up. We’re seeing lines drawn, fights picked, accusations thrown, and interparty bickering. The tea partiers are rallying, the coffee breakers are pontificating, libertarians are calling foul, Republicans are calling each other RINOs, and Democrats promise to take care of everyone with someone else’s money. In the meantime, unemployment is in double digits, we’re among the highest-taxed states in the region, 30 percent of our kids can’t graduate high school, and 60 percent of those who do graduate can’t do college level work. Our roads are crumbling, bridges are dangerous, and some who were elected to serve the people are serving time.

Enough already! We are facing a critical time in our state. It’s time for bold leadership, thoughtful decisions, and sound reasoning to get back on track. Nothing is more important than getting back to the principles that our country and state were founded on — of liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, property rights, individual freedom, competition, and free markets. It’s what made us great, and it’s the only thing that’s going to save us.

Whoever and whichever party wins in 2010 needs to apply those principles to the challenges facing our state today.

Government exists to protect rights, not take them away. Government has a role, but it must be limited and is defined in our Constitution. The Constitution is a rulebook, not a list of suggestions.

Fiscal responsibility begins with sound budgeting, living within our means, and controlled spending. Taxes should be fair, equitable, and understandable. Every taxpayer ought to be able to add up what they’ve paid. North Carolina’s tax system originated in the 1930s and is need of reform, but any reform should be revenue neutral, not an excuse to extract more money. Spending should be limited to essential services and prioritized by need. When the money runs out, the spending stops. Every program should be re-evaluated regularly to ensure it is functioning as intended and is still needed.

The key to fighting corruption is openness and transparency. As we wrap up Sunshine Week, it’s a good time to highlight transparency efforts such as the John Locke Foundation’s NCTransparency.com. It grades state and local governments on their willingness to provide important public information online.

We don’t need more laws; we need to enforce the laws we have. It’s hard to get away with something when everyone can see what you’re doing and when it will be reported in the news media, Every penny of public money should be accounted for, and taxpayers have the right to know how their money is used. Elected officials should be held accountable for every dollar spent and every decision made.

Government can’t be everything to everybody, nor should it. If we’re going to provide for those who truly need help, we have to limit that help to those who truly need it. Everyone else is going to have to take care of themselves.

We’ve spent $35 million trying to figure out why 30 percent of high schoolers can’t graduate. The solution is right in front of us in the Career and Technical Education programs that have a graduation rate of 85 percent or higher and prepare students for high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand jobs. Most pursue further education as well. Education dollars would be well-spent to expand those programs.

Teacher pay needs to be tied to student performance, and student performance needs to be measured by nationally normed testing standards. If your child is stuck in a failing school, you ought to have the option to get him out. If your family finds the best opportunity is in a charter school, there ought to be charter school nearby with room for him. Good teachers ought to be paid what they’re worth, and bad teachers should find another profession.

Government has no more business being in the health insurance business than it has being in the liquor business. Health care decisions are best made between patients and doctors. Although health care reform looms large on the federal level, North Carolina can and should make changes to improve the quality of care and affordability of insurance. Health savings accounts allow consumers to spend their health care dollars efficiently and independently. For those who can’t afford health insurance, government should provide them a subsidy to make their own insurance choice on the open market. Legislators should make tort reform a high priority. There should be the option to purchase health insurance in other states if there is a plan that suits your needs at a better price. North Carolina could lead the way in establishing a regional market.

North Carolina used to be the “Good Roads state,” but we’ve gotten off track. Transportation dollars should build roads and maintain bridges, not greenways, buses, or heavily subsidized light rail. Roads should get goods to market and people to work and back home again safely and efficiently. There needs to be a long-term, well-designed plan for the state’s transportation system with projects prioritized that can’t be hijacked by politics or patronage.

Free markets, not government regulations, create jobs. The best thing government can do to create jobs and get the economy moving is get out of the way. A fair playing field with well-trained workers, a low corporate tax rate, and a good transportation system will attract and keep jobs long after the incentive game is played out and bankrupt. Entrepreneurs, capitalism, and competition are what built the state’s economy. They are the only things that will save it.

The 2010 election is under way, and the fight for control ensues. No matter what your party affiliation, where your political philosophy lies, or which candidates’ personalities you find most appealing, or who you are fighting with or yelling at, the answer to solve the problems our state faces, the key to saving our state, was written more than 200 years ago. The founding fathers spoke of liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, property rights, individual freedom, competition, and free markets. That’s the answer. We just need to get back to it. That’s what we must demand from the 2010 elections.