GET A JOB? PFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTT

On Wednesday, November 3, 2010, the following article was published by The Raleigh Telegram…

NC Legislature Under Republican Control For First Time In 100 Years

RALEIGH - Riding a wave of voter discontent on both national and local levels especially in regards to the economy, Republican legislators have gained control of both the North Carolina House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Republican majority will mark the first time since the 19th century that Democrats have not controlled both houses in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Since then, the Republicans have been fighting the mainstream local media for a fair and balanced report of the work they have been doing. 

I get a monthly publication from the Civitas Institute, a conservative non-profit organization whose mission statement includes: 

The mission of the Civitas Institute is to facilitate the implementation of conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians.

January, 2014 had a great article on page 7 (of 8) entitled SIX NEW NC LAWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.  The purpose of the article was to publicize legislation that has gotten little or no media attention.

For example, HOUSE BILL 392 requires county social services employees to do background checks on all applicants for Work First benefits and food stamps to insure there is no criminal background or outstanding felony warrants.  

Also, if recipients are suspected of drug use they will be required to take a drug test.

How could anyone have a problem with that.

HOUSE BILL 937 amends the state’s concealed carry laws, permitting properly licensed citizens to carry in previously designated gun-free zones – a major step towards restoring gun rights.

HOUSE BILL 74 will overhaul or weed out obsolete and burdensome regulations, and contains a ‘sunset’ process requiring regular review of regulations and setting a date for expiration.  After an initial review, regulations will be allowed to expire unless they can be justified by the state agency making the regulation.

HOUSE BILL 269 creates grants (and replaces the current tax credit program) for Children with Disabilities.  The grants will be based on family income.

HOUSE BILL 248 will require all bond referendums statewide to disclose not only the principle amount of the bond but also the anticipated INTEREST expenses to repay the bond. 

These all seem like common sense laws to me…. but this last one is the shocker.

HOUSE BILL 4 makes adjustments to North Carolina’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.

The maximum WEEKLY benefit will be lowered from $535 (FIFTH LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY‼‼) TO $350 (higher than any Southern state except Virginia).  If you do the math on this, based on a 40 hour week, we NC taxpayers are PAYING PEOPLE $13.38 AN HOUR NOT TO WORK!  And this doesn’t include any other government freebies like WIC, housing or food stamps.  

That may not sound like much in New York or California, but it ain’t shabby in NC.  I know college grads taking jobs for $10/hour and working their asses off and getting NO assistance from the state or federal government.  UI creates NO INCENTIVE TO WORK!  NONE!

Another part of this law changes the period of eligibility for UI, reducing it from 26 weeks to a scaled duration between 12 and 20 weeks, based on the unemployment rate in the state.

As you might guess, the left is up in arms, chanting that Republicans hate the poor.  Personally I’m happy that we may finally have a few fiscally responsible people in my state government.