Learning About The Politics Of My New Home State

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I have recently moved from Southeastern Massachusetts to Coastal North Carolina. Obviously the politics are a little different, and I am spending some of my time learning about some of the groups that share my political philosophy. (I’ll probably never get the language down, but the climate and politics I love!)

Today I had the privilege of sitting down with Hal James, Chairman of the Watchdog Committee of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA). I asked Mr. James to list some of the current concerns of the Watchdog Committee.

Mr. James began by mentioning his concerns about the Common Core curriculum which is being introduced into North Carolina and other states around the nation.  He stated that the Common Core curriculum is a federal intrusion on education, and is thus unconstitutional (in violation of the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution). The Common Core curriculum is an attempt to influence the values of young people in a direction not consistent with the traditional values of America. The CCTA is currently working to make parents and voters aware of the things in the Common Core curriculum.

The general goal of the Watchdog Committee is the hold elected officials accountable to the people who elected them.  Members of the Watchdog Committee attend meetings of various city and county boards and legislative meetings. Their goal is to become informed so that they can share information that may not be included in the news in order to make voters more aware of what their government is doing. Watchdog Committee members study the county budget and read the audits. North Carolina law requires every governmental agency to have an independent audit of its books. Those audits are made public, and members of the CCTA Watchdog Committee read them.  Reading the audits will reveal such things as unfunded liabilities that might not be obvious in simply reading the budget.

We are currently entering into the budget process. Department heads in Craven County will be submitting budgets to the County Manager. After review by the County Manager, the budget will be submitted to the Board of Commissioners. There will be public meetings in the county during this process.

Mr. James pointed out that the Board of Commissioners has recently been studying the idea of privatization of home hospice care in Craven County. That move would be a cost cutting move for the county and would save taxpayers money.

Mr. James also pointed out that Carolina East Hospital, which is run by a private corporation, is built on county land. The hospital pays no rent (or taxes) for the use of the land. Originally this occurred because it assured the area of having a local hospital. As the area has grown, other hospitals have been built, and it is time to seek a new arrangement with Carolina East.

Mr. James also addressed the claim by the Board of Commissioners that they have reduced real estate taxes in the county two years in a row. It is true that real estate taxes have been reduced, but somehow they failed to mention that the reduction was about $10 on an average-size home.

If you are interested in learning more about the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association, their website is www.cctaxpayers.com.  The organization is very welcoming and always willing to share the results of their research on various issues.

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How Over-regulation Impacts Local Food Producers

I have lived in Southeastern Massachusetts for almost 35 years. When my husband and I and our daughters first moved here in October 1978, our neighbors told us we had to go see “The Big Apple.” Having New York City roots, we found this rather odd until we realized that The Big Apple was a local orchard and farm growing a variety of produce. Later, one of my fondest memories is driving the daughter of the owners (the Morse family) home one night and following their beautiful Christmas star through the snow to their house.

What I am trying to say is that The Big Apple is a local tradition. It has fresh cider, doughnuts, rides through the farm, apple picking, and a wonderful atmosphere. Unfortunately, government over-regulation may put The Big Apple out of business.

Today’s Attleboro Sun Chronicle posted a story about the impact of new government regulations on small family farms.

The article reports:

With new rules proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The Big Apple would likely face expensive water testing requirements, paperwork and other changes covering not only its fields and orchards but its farm store, which washes fruit and serves up specialties like candy-coated apples.

“There’s a lot of paperwork,” Peg Morse said, adding that meeting the regulatory requirements could require as many as three or four additional full-time workers. The new rules would also require stepped-up water sampling and testing.

…The proposed new irrigation and water testing standards alone could cost the farm more than $20,000 per year, they say.

Currently, the Morses test water once a year. The new rules would require weekly testing of each and every water source the Morses use.

Since they draw from three irrigation ponds and two wells, John Morse sets the cost of testing, alone, at $400 per week.

There are lots of other changes, too, he says.

The farm will have to replace its wooden apple picking boxes with plastic ones, upgrade its machinery and change the way it applies fertilizer.

Proposed rules require nine months between the time manure is applied to a field and harvest time. With New England‘s short growing season, such a rule doesn’t make sense, Bonanno says.

The Morses say they’re worried about the new rules and how they would affect not only their business but their customers. All the added expenses would have to be paid by someone, and most likely would be passed on to the consumer.

“We might have to charge $12 for a bag of apples we now charge $6 for,” John said. “Who’s going to pay that?”

The article reminds us that if we drive the local farmers out of business, America will be forced to import more food from countries that do not have the strict agricultural standards that America has. Our attempt to increase food safety may in fact result in having a food supply that is less safe.

The bill involved in these changes is H.R. 933. The good news is that there is an amendment to the bill, H.AMDT.221 to H.R.1947, which requires a scientific and economic analysis of the FDA’s Food Safety and Modernization Act prior to final regulations being enforced with the focus of the analysis being on the impact of the bill on agricultural businesses of all sizes.

If the original bill is enforced, we will lose many sources of local produce throughout the country. In Southeastern Massachusetts, we will lose the experience of taking our children to a wonderful place where they can see apples sorted and drink fresh cider. That would also be a major loss.

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