Cause & effect are too obvious to ignore:
Over in the Senate there’s a more devious and dangerous proposed amendment to the state constitution, with roots in the misleadingly-named “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” (that passed the Senate last year but didn’t get a vote in the House) to cap the state income tax rate at 5.5 percent. Article V of the state constitution currently sets a 10 percent ceiling.
Significantly, the four sponsors of this unnecessary plan, face no consequence or accountability. The lead sponsor, Sen. Robert Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, isn’t seeking re-election. The three other sponsors, Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick; Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph; and Louis Pate, R-Wayne, face no opposition in the fall campaign. They are utterly without accountability to a single voter in their districts – and the state – for their actions.
It's times like this that I look back on our efforts to encourage candidates to file with a feeling of abject failure. While the list exceeded our expectations, several critical (potential) races were left by the wayside. While I'm wallowing in self-pity, it's only fitting that I bring you the news (if you didn't already know) that Elon Law Professor Eric Fink failed to amass enough (qualified) signatures to challenge Phil Berger in November's General Election for the NC Senate. It was a damned fine effort, and I hope Eric takes another shot two years from now. But we really need to make sure the most powerful Republicans have opponents, regardless of the demographics. Or we risk allowing their hubris to destroy our state.
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