SPECIAL MASTER RELEASES NEWEST VERSION OF MAPS
2011 v. new Special Master proposal


Guilford County – House
2011 v. new Special Master proposal
Cumberland and Hoke Counties – Senate
2011 v. new Special Master proposal
N.C. GOP FINGERPRINTS ON NATIONAL GOP TAX SCAM

GOV COOPER ON TAX SCAM: “MIDDLE-CLASS SHOULDN’T MEAN SECOND CLASS”
GOP TAX CREDIT CUTS TO HURT NORTH CAROLINIANS
N.C. GOP WAR ON CHRISTMAS
- using the holiday as a political attack,
- slamming charitable giving as a “leftist idea,” and
- posting graphic, lewd jokes about a young woman seducing Santa Claus.
All this from the party that claims to hold faith and family values dear. Merry Christmas from the N.C. GOP!
DEMOCRATS PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM RATE HIKES
N.C. SENATOR ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR ROY MOORE
DID THOMAS FARR LIE TO THE SENATE?
Despite testifying that he had no prior knowledge of the Helms postcard campaign, the INDY week reported that Farr helped plan the campaign weeks before it happened. Did Farr lie to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his involvement in an “unconscionable and unlawful scheme to disenfranchise African-American voters”? Americans deserve answers.
WHAT EDITORIAL BOARDS ARE SAYING THIS: GOP TAX SCAM BAD FOR N.C.
“The problems with the plans, however, are beyond just the additional $1.5 trillion added to the national debt by Republicans who once viewed any Democratic spending on social programs as inflationary and ruinous with regard to running up debt. Some nonpartisan analysts think that in the long term, middle-class Americans might actually be paying more in taxes, while the super rich pay less and less.”
WRAL: Under latest tax bill, N.C. sends $669 million MORE to Washington
“Don’t be fooled, people in 19 states, including North Carolina, will pay more in federal taxes under the “reform” plan being considered by the U.S. Senate. North Carolina will send $669.5 million more in 2027 to Washington than if nothing is done. Of course, not EVERYONE will pay more. The richest 1 percent in the state will get huge tax cuts while the bottom 60 percent would, on average, pay more taxes.”
WRAL: Tax overhaul must work for all, not just rig it for rich and big business
” You don’t grow the economy by cutting taxes. The economy expands when consumers – mostly those at the middle income levels – have more disposable cash to go out and buy things. Look no further than our own state to see the proof. Over the last five years, the General Assembly has lavished tax cut upon tax cut to corporations and the wealthy while, in many ways, increasing tax burdens on those in the middle. What is there to show for it? A stagnant economy, underfunded critical state needs, declining tax revenues and the distinct possibility of a half-billion hole in the next state budget.”
Star News: A tax credit we need to preserve
“The Republican plan to rewrite the U.S. tax code is a massive document with dozens of complex provisions. Folks in Wilmington and Southeastern North Carolina, however, ought to pay attention to one point in particular: the federal historic preservation tax credits. As it is, when you repair and renovate a qualifying building, you get a 20 percent tax credit over a five-year period. That’s a hefty incentive to preserve a historic structure — a practice that’s pretty important here. The House version of the tax bill eliminates the credit entirely. The Senate version keeps the tax credit, but adds some limitations.”
WRAL: Big tax breaks — reality for GOP donors, fantasy for the rest of us
“Sadly, it appears the truth here is the tax cuts are payback to the big donors and corporationswho’ve been financing Republican campaigns. These folks are now getting what THEY paid for. The rest of America gets a fantasy – a check that cannot be cashed.”
Greenville Daily Reflector: Estate tax benefits only people like Trump
“An estate tax repeal would provide a tax windfall of more than $3 million apiece for the top 0.2 percent of earners, and more than $20 million for the wealthiest Americans. It would cost $239 billion in revenue over a decade. It offers nothing for middle-class people, except more evidence of Mr. Trump’s and Republicans’ bad faith.”
Greenville Daily Reflector: Congress must restore teacher tax deduction
“The current House version of a bill to overhaul the federal tax code eliminates the educator expense deduction, a popular, uncontroversial line item that allows teachers to deduct the first $250 they spend on classroom supplies from their taxable income…If our congressional leaders can’t find better ways to offset lost revenue than picking teachers’ pockets, it’s time voters send them home to bone up on basic arithmetic.”
Fayetteville Observer: Our view: Historic building tax credits face the wrecking ball
“If not for federal tax credits, the Prince Charles Hotel would likely be a pile of rubble by now…And if the tax-reform bill now in Congress passes in its present form, the tax credit — and thousands of beloved historic buildings — will be gone.”
HIGHLIGHTING OUR LEGISLATORS
REP. DARREN JACKSON stands up for our independent judiciary
SEN. JEFF JACKSON talks early childhood education in new video
REP. CHAZ BEASLEY visits Puerto Rico to talk hurricane relief
REP. DEB BUTLER shares big news on GenX in walk and talk
“Within six months, this grassroots pressure has brought to bear complete and total cessation of dumping into this Cape Fear River”
TWEET OF THE WEEK
NPR: The meaning of Meghan: ‘Black’ and ‘Royal’ no longer an oxymoron in Britain