• Budget a Boon • Linking America for State’s Schools? C A R O L I N A to Nazis at UNC Forum GTP: Name’s Not Same Deaver Does Reagan Right

Volume 10, Number 11 A Monthly Journal of News, October 2001 Analysis, and Opinion from JOURNAL the John Locke Foundation www.CarolinaJournal.com www.JohnLocke.org Terrorism and Taxes: Dark Days for N.C. Economy

Severity and Depth Easley Touts Budget of Recession Unknown, Despite Weak Economy, Economists Report Split in House, Senate

By RICHARD WAGNER By PAUL CHESSER Editor Associate Editor RALEIGH RALEIGH $685 million tax increase voted by xtended two and a half months be the General Assembly and signed yond the start of the new fiscal year A Sept. 26 by Gov. Mike Easley will E and almost eight months to the day serve only to exacerbate and prolong a re- since convening, the General Assembly cession in North Carolina, economists say. adopted a state budget Sept. 21, which Gov. “Going into a recession we’ve already Mike Easley signed the following week. had high taxes. Now we’ve just instituted The plan elevates state spending by 5.2 this massive tax increase, which is going to percent for fiscal 2001-02 — more than $700 make it worse,” said Dr. Roy Cordato, an million. Tax increases will raise revenue by economist with the John Locke Foundation. $435 million in 2001-2002 and $620 million Although the nation’s economy has not the following year. Combined with tax in- yet “officially” entered a recession, North creases passed earlier in the legislative ses- Carolina’s economy is “certainly” in one, sion, lawmakers heaped $1billion on tax- Cordato said. “We’ve had a huge increase payers. in unemployment in this state. We went “North Carolina is moving forward,” from a little over three percent a year ago to Enforcing a crackdown, Raleigh-Durham Airport security workers examine passengers’ luggage. Easley said in a statement. “We will not sit well over five percent now.” idle waiting for better economic days. Our “We have the highest unemployment rected state agencies to cut spending across Dr. Stephen E. Margolis, head of the state has come together like never before to rate in the Southeast,” Cordato said. “And the board by 4 percent. Department of Economics at N.C. State Uni- ensure that our children get the education we’ve had the biggest jump in unemploy- Many analysts of the Blue Chip Eco- versity, said tax increases, in general, put a they deserve and our most vulnerable citi- ment in the Southeast in the last year.” nomic Indicators expect the nation’s Gross damper on spending. Taxes tend to cause zens get the care they need.” Dr. Michael L. Walden, an economics Domestic Product to shrink by 0.5 percent decreased output and lower business and While the governor may believe the professor at North Carolina State Univer- in the July-September quarter and decline consumer spending, he said. state came together, the legislature was sity, confirmed that North Carolina has by 0.7 percent in the final three months of clearly divided over the tax and budget been in a recession and that the terrorist the year. A recession is commonly defined A High-Tax State plan. Both the House and Senate voted along strikes of Sept. 11 and the state’s tax increase as two consecutive quarters of declining party lines, with Democrats in favor and will make North Carolina’s recession GDP. North Carolina already had compara- Republicans against, except for Rep. Mon- “deeper and longer.” While administrative and legislative tively high income taxes on upper-income roe Buchanan, R-Mitchell, who voted for leaders in Washington are fashioning a bi- earners before the recent tax increase. the package. “Stupid” in North Carolina partisan approach—looking for various “We are now eligible to be regarded as The state’s, and the nation’s, economic ways to cut taxes—to stimulate the a high-tax state for the highest-income earn- downturn was the primary reason Republi- “The direct effect of tax increases will economy, North Carolina officials took the ers. That is not desirable,” Margolis said. cans gave for opposing the budget. They be negative,” Walden said. “That is, eco- opposite approach by raising taxes. Low-income earners especially will be hard- claimed raising income taxes on individu- nomic growth in the state will be slower James Smith, business professor and hit by the half-cent increase in the state sales als earning more than $200,000 annually, in with the tax hikes than without them.” economic guru at UNC-Chapel Hill, said in tax, he said. addition to a half-percent sales tax increase A report issued Oct. 8 by the governor’s a News & Observer of Raleigh news story People will be more cautious, both in and various additional taxes on goods and office showed that revenue in the first quar- that “It’s one of the all-time stupidest things terms of their personal safety and their services, would place a further drag on the ter of the current fiscal year fell 3 percent done by a legislature anywhere. It’s a ri- spending, after the attacks, Margolis said. economy in a time of crisis. compared with the same period last year diculous budget … You don’t raise taxes in Widespread uncertainty about the war on “This is absolutely the worst time you and was $700 million less than expected. a recession, or even in a dismal economic terrorism and the nation’s economy will can take to raise taxes on the people of The state’s budget, approved by the environment.” inhibit consumer spending and business North Carolina,” said House Minority legislature only a few weeks ago, was based Cordato agreed. “I think it’s interest- investments. leader Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston. An ac- upon an anticipated growth rate of 4 per- ing to note right now the big talk in Wash- North Carolina’s economy was anemic companying elimination of the marriage cent for the entire year. Economists had ington is opposite from the talk in North for several months before Sept. 11, and the tax penalty and increase of the child tax predicted 2 percent growth in the first quar- Carolina,” he said. Thinking in the nation’s attacks that day will exaggerate the state’s credit failed to mute Republican outcries ter and 6 percent in the fourth quarter for an capital now is, “Gosh, the economy is going economic downturn, Margolis said. against the plan. average of 4 percent. in the tank, we need more tax cuts,” such as Because of the downturn, Easley di- a capital-gains tax cut. Continued as “Terrorism and Taxes,” Page 3 Continued as “Now is Right Time,” Page 3

Which Kind of Tax Do You Dislike Most? The John Locke Foundation NONPROFIT ORG. Contents 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 U.S. POSTAGE Income 38.3% Raleigh, NC 27601 PAID Sales 18.1% RALEIGH NC Property 29.8% Calendar 2 PERMIT NO. 1766 All Equally 13.8% State Government 3 Education 6 Higher Education 10 Local Government 14 Books & the Arts 18 Opinion 20

% of N.C. Respondents in Sept. 1998 JLF Poll Parting Shot 24 C A R O L I N A Contents

ON THE COVER Morganton can truly claim it has closed the • Samuel Walker says the solution to ur- JOURNAL achievement gap. Page 9 ban sprawl lies in fixing the problems that • The North Carolina legislature added in- cause people to leave cities in the first place. sult to injury when it raised taxes on con- HIGHER EDUCATION Page 15 stituents at the end of September. The state Richard Wagner is already suffering from a recession and the • The ‘Progressive Faculty Network’ at • An interview with Gaston County Com- Editor terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 only made things UNC-Chapel Hill blames the U.S. for the missioner Pearl Burris-Floyd. Page 16 worse, economists say. Page 1 Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a series of ‘teach- ins.’ Page 10 •An inflatable gorilla haunts Hickory offi- Thomas Paul De Witt NORTH CAROLINA cials; Wilmington annexes and retroactively Opinion Editor • UNC Chancellor James Moeser goes a- taxes; and other local news. Page 17 •New and improved? The former Global begging in his first “state of the university” Paul Chesser Transpark Development Zone is now being speech. Page 11 THE LEARNING CURVE Associate Editor marketed as North Carolina’s Eastern Region. Page 4 •Arch T. Allen is troubled by Moeser’s “po- • Reviews of A University for the 21st Cen- litically correct platitudes.” Page 11 tury by James J. Duderstadt and Lady of Ar- Sherri Joyner, Erik Root, Jon Sanders • Would North Carolina’s proposed ‘Clean lington by John Perry. Page 18 Assistant Editors Smokestacks’ legislation actually increase • UNC-Chapel Hill offers this month’s pollution in the state? Page 5 choice for a sex-obsessed class. Page 12 • Reviews of A Different Drummer: My Roy Cordato, Charles Davenport, Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan by Michael Ian Drake, Tom Fetzer, • Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr. captivated a John Locke • A prank in the Daily Tar Heel leads to calls Deaver and The Satanic Gases by Patrick J. Nat Fullwood, David Hartgen, Foundation luncheon audience Sept. 27, fo- for a homosexual student center. Page 12 Michaels and Robert C. Balling. Page 19 Paige Holland, George Leef, cusing on taxes and terrorists. Page 5 Michael Lowrey, Kathryn Parker, • U.S. News & World Report’s annual col- OPINION Marc Rotterman, Jack Sommer, EDUCATION lege rankings gain a lot of attention, but George Stephens, John Staddon, many grumble about their methodology. • Editorials on terrorism in America and Jeff Taylor, Michael Walden • Is the new state budget really an “Educa- Page 13 Jesse Helms’s retirement. Page 20 Contributing Editors tion Revenue Act?” Page 6 • N.C. State’s College of Design needs pro- • Editorials on North Carolina’s budget and Hans Hurd, Rheta Burton, Brian • A new plan to help low-performing stu- fessionals to develop its website. Page 13 red-light intersection cameras. Page 21 Gwyn, Nathan Littner dents is producing results in Charlotte- Editorial Interns Mecklenburg Schools. Page 7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT • Michael Walden on the Fed’s fine-tuning. Page 22 • A true graduation test challenge, Maine’s •The AAA Carolinas reported that vehicle education voucher program, and Japan cuts assessments for county tax purposes in N.C. • Richard Wagner says pork takes priority back on curricula. Page 8 may vary as much as 50 percent for the in the N.C. Legislature. Page 23 same vehicle. Page 14 • The N.C. Education Alliance goes on tour PARTING SHOT John Hood to tell the state What Works in public educa- • Wilmington’s neighbors fight annexation Publisher tion. Page 8 and the General Assembly legislates Ford • Patriotism falls to earth in a stunning out of its own customer service program. skydiving photograph in North Carolina. Don Carrington • Mountain View Elementary in Page 15 Page 24 Associate Publisher Calendar

Published by The John Locke Foundation 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 Raleigh, N.C. 27601 M. Stanton Evans To Speak At Locke Luncheon Forum (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 www.JohnLocke.org . Stanton Evans started the Na- librarianship.”Jones says he is “often mis- tional Journalism Center in taken for other unreconstructed relics of the Bruce Babcock, Ferrell Blount, Washington, D.C. and has been failed social policies of the Sixties.” If his John Carrington, Hap Chalmers, M Sandra Fearrington, Jim Fulghum, its director for almost 24 years. He will website photos are current, he has very long William Graham, John Hood, speak at a John Locke Foundation Head- hair. Kevin Kennelly, Lee Kindberg, liner luncheon at the Brownestone Hotel in Asa Spaulding, chairman of the Durham Robert Luddy, William Maready, Raleigh at noon on Nov. 13. County Republican Party, will speak Nov. J. Arthur Pope, Assad Meymandi, The NJC trains journalists in the skills 19. Tula Robbins, David Stover, of press work and assigns them internships WRAL-TV chief meteorologist Greg Jess Ward, Andy Wells, at cooperating media locations. NJC gradu- Fishel will be Shaftesbury’s first December Art Zeidman ates have worked at major television and speaker, on Dec. 3. He has been with the Board of Directors radio networks, as well as the major leading station since 1981, and holds a degree in news publications across the country. meteorology from Penn State University. Alumni include Wall Street Journal colum- Fishel will offer his expertise on weather CAROLINA JOURNAL is a monthly journal nist John Fund, syndicated columnists Ann trends and wind patterns, and should have of news, analysis, and commentary on state Coulter, Maggie Gallagher, Debbie an interesting perspective regarding the and local government and public policy Schlussel, ABC News correspondent Terry Smokestacks bill. issues in North Carolina. Moran, and Locke President John Hood. J. Russell Allen, Raleigh’s recently ap- As a journalist, Evans became editor of M. Stanton Evans pointed city manager, will speak on Dec. 10. ©2001 by The John Locke Foundation the Indianapolis News at age 26. He was also Allen came to the city from Rock Hill, S.C., Inc. All opinions expressed in bylined ar- publisher of Consumers’ Research Magazine, Society, a group of civic-minded individu- ticles are those of the authors and do not in April, replacing longtime manager necessarily reflect the views of the editors of a columnist for Human Events, a commenta- als who meet over lunch to discuss the Dempsey Benton. Carolina Journal or the staff and board of tor for both CBS Radio and Television, and issues of the day. The Shaftesbury meetings are held at the Locke Foundation. a syndicated columnist. He is also the au- Featured speakers for the fall include the Locke Foundation offices in downtown thor of several books, including The Theme Don van Vaart and John Evans, who serve Raleigh at 200 W. Morgan Street, Suite 200. Material published in Carolina Journal is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the Ameri- in the Air Quality Division at the North Plenty of parking is available in nearby lots may be reprinted provided the Locke Foun- can Tradition. Carolina Department of Environment and and decks. dation receives prior notice and appropri- Natural Resources (Oct. 29). Van Vaart and If you would like to suggest a speaker ate credit is given. Submissions and letters • John Locke Foundation Chairman Evans are scheduled to address the scien- for Shaftesbury, or if you would like to join to the editor are welcome and should be and President John Hood will continue to tific data used as the basis for discussing the directed to the managing editor. us, call Kory Swanson for details or email tour throughout the fall promoting his new state’s proposed “Clean Smokestacks” leg- [email protected]. Readers of Carolina Journal who wish book, Investor Politics: The New Force That islation. to receive daily and weekly updates from CJ Will Transform American Business, Govern- On Nov. 5 Dr. Don Tomaskovic-Devey, “Locke Lines” editors and reporters on issues of interest to ment, & Politics in the Twenty-First Century. a sociology professor at North Carolina State North Carolinians should call 919-828- See the Locke Foundation website University, will speak at Shaftesbury. The John Locke Foundation publishes 3876 and request a free subscription to (www.johnlocke.org) for dates and loca- Tomaskovic-Devey has researched the ef- a monthly audio magazine called Carolina Journal Weekly Report, deliv- tions and visit TempletonPress.org to order fects of stratification regarding race, the “LockeLines” that features speeches made ered each weekend by fax and e-mail, or a copy of Investor Politics. workplace, and the political economy. at Locke events that month. “LockeLines” visit Carolina Journal.com on the World Following him Nov. 12 will be Dr. Paul Wide Web. Those interested in education, includes Headliner speeches as well as higher education, or local government Shaftesbury Society Jones, associate journalism professor at Shaftesbury Society speeches and commen- should also ask to receive new weekly e- UNC-Chapel Hill. Jones is also the director tary by Locke staff. letters covering these issues. Each Monday at noon, the John Locke of UNC’s information archive project Ibiblio, To subscribe, call Kory Swanson at (919) Foundation plays host to the Shaftesbury described as “the future of Internet 828-3876. CJ C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL North Carolina 3 Terrorism and Taxes Push North Carolina Deeper Into Recession

Continued From Page 1 “Huge” losses in North Carolina’s overnight loans. In response, commercial also ignorant of economic terminology,” Travel, in particular, will be affected, he manufacturing sector in the past year, 49,000 banks are expected to reduce their prime Cordato said. “The effect that Kudlow de- said, because people are concerned about jobs — the highest in the nation — will lending rates, the benchmark for millions of scribes is known as the ‘broken window terrorism. “Until people feel safe then, the contribute to economic instability, Jud said. consumer and business loans, by a half- fallacy’—from the destruction of wealth war will have a fairly dramatic effect on the The nation’s manufacturing sector con- point to 5.50 percent, the lowest since Oct. 3, comes prosperity. It is the same ignorance economy,” Margolis said. The longer people tinued to decline in September for the 14th 1962, when the prime reached that level. of economics that leads some to conclude are uncertain about the war, the longer the consecutive month. The Association of Pur- In light of decreased consumer spend- that wars are good for economies.” economy will remain sluggish. chasing Management index fell to 47.0 from ing, Walden said he thinks the war on ter- U.S. airline traffic has declined by 40 47.9 in August. An index of 50 signifies rorism will necessitate a reorganization of Breaking a Fallacy percent to 45 percent from year-earlier lev- growth in manufacturing. priorities in Washington. Issues such as els since the attacks, according to an esti- The NAPM index is closely tracked by Social Security reform, tax reform, and edu- The broken-window fallacy stems from mate by Dave Swierenga, chief economist economists because it offers an early read- cation reform will take secondary roles in the observation that when wealth is de- for the Air Transport Association. Airlines ing on the health of the manufacturing sec- the national debate. stroyed, through war, natural disaster, or, have reduced flight schedules by about 20 tor. Its index is based on a survey of pur- “I think the only debate will be about as told by 19th century French economist percent because of the decline in demand. chasing executives who the size of the federal fis- Frederick Bastiat, a hoodlum throwing a Dr. G. Donald Jud, an economics pro- buy the raw materials for cal stimulus; for example, brick through a show window, it is usually fessor at the University of North Carolina at manufacturing at more There will be more talk whether $50 billion or replaced. As the story goes, in replacing this Greensboro, said that the state was “skating than 350 companies. $100 billion or more,” destroyed wealth, jobs are created. In turn on the edge of a recession” at the end of In another report, the about government Walden said. employment and economic activity is stimu- August and that the terrorism “shoved the Commerce Department subsidies. But the “In North Carolina, lated in all the industries that these people state over the edge into recession.” said consumer spending tightness of money will there will likely be more do business with, in the industries that those Because the attacks were the first ever managed to edge a little talk about government people do business with, and so on. on the continental United States in almost higher for the second contain these to the ideas, efforts, subsidies, The problem with this argument, two centuries, fear among the public is month in a row, rising 0.2 discussion level. for example, to stimulate Cordato said, is that it ignores opportunity greater, the damage to consumer confidence percent in August, but the economy, particularly costs. Kudlow assumes that all the resources is worse, and the impact on the economy falling short of expecta- in lagging regions,” he that must go into rebuilding the World could be greater and long-lasting, Jud said. tions. Lower federal tax rates and tax rebate said. “But the tightness of money will con- Trade Center and the Pentagon would lie “We’re in a period we haven’t seen checks also pushed disposable income up tain these ideas to the discussion level.” idle. This is a “ridiculous” assumption, before,” Jud said. “We don’t have any par- for the second consecutive month. North Carolina’s tax increase will have Cordato said, because the resources would allels,” on which to base any forecasts for September’s reports—the first to reflect the a widespread impact, Cordato said. “Talk have gone elsewhere in the economy. the economy. impact of the terrorist attacks—are expected about wrong-headed. It’s absolutely absurd. Massive sums such as those insurers “If this recession is average,” he said, to plummet. It goes against every principle of economics must now pay for claims would have been “we won’t come out of it until July or Au- Construction spending fell for the fourth — no matter what school of economics invested in the insurers’ portfolios of stocks gust of next year. If it’s an extended reces- straight month in August despite lower you’re looking at. and bonds, Cordato said. The money would sion — if the fear persists — the length of the interest rates. Construction activity fell by “Every school of thought says you cut have been used in more-productive ways, recession will be difficult to predict.” 1.1 percent—the biggest drop in 13 months, taxes when you’re going into a recession. such as building homes and businesses or North Carolina’s recent increase in taxes led by a decline in spending on commercial You certainly don’t increase them. And inventing new lifesaving drugs. “The re- “can’t help” the situation, Jud said. Higher projects, including industrial complexes, going into a wartime economy, especially sulting improvements in our lives are now taxes will have a negative impact on retail office buildings and hotels. in this state, individual businesses are go- lost as a result of the attacks,” Cordato said. sales, especially passenger-vehicle sales. Spending on durables—costly manu- ing to be hurt because of our strong military The same is true with any money that is Retail sales dropped by 0.8 percent and car factured goods expected to last at least three presence,” Cordato said. spent by FEMA or other government agen- and light-truck sales fell 15 percent in the years, such as cars and washing machines Cities that rely on military bases to cies. Taxpayers, if allowed to keep this past 12 months. Lower-income buyers in —fell by 0.8 percent, on top of a 0.3 percent drive their economies will be hard-hit as money, would be spending it on them- particular will be hurt by the higher sales drop in July. troops depart for the Middle East, Cordato selves or their families, or saving or invest- tax, he said. Spending on nondurables, such as said. Among those are Fort Bragg and Pope ing it, Cordato said. clothes and foods rose by 0.2 percent in Air Force Base in Fayetteville, Seymour “It is truly goofy economics to assume Miserable Economic Indicators August, after being flat in July. Spending on Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, and that if the government doesn’t make use of services increased by 0.4 percent for the Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville. the money, the people who they must first Unemployment in North Carolina second month in a row. War, in general, damages an economy, take it from would simply be doing nothing soared from 3.6 percent in July 2000 to 5.3 In another effort to stimulate the Margolis said. And, because of its reliance with it,” Cordato said. “The true absurdity percent in July 2001. North Carolina not economy, the Federal Reserve Board on on international trade, North Carolina’s of the broken-window fallacy is that if it only has the highest unemployment rate of Oct. 2 cut the target for the federal funds economy is prone to damage. were true then we could simply make the any Southeastern state, over the last 12 rate by a half-point—driving it down to 2.5 Economists such as Larry Kudlow who entire economy wealthy by constructing months it has had the largest increase in percent, a level not seen since 1962. The rate say the attacks will boost the economy are buildings, blowing them up, and then re- unemployment in the Southeast. is the interest banks charge each other on “not only ignorant of economic theory but building them.” CJ Now Is the Right Time to Raise Taxes, North Carolina’s Democrats Say

Continued From Page 1 given year will pay an additional $500. compared the increase to the cost of a bottle Fifteen legislators, by signing the bill, New taxes on satellite television would of soda each week, or other seemingly non- reneged on a pledge to not raise taxes. In the Democrats said now was just the right cost subscribers of a 100-channel package essential items. House, they were Daniel Barefoot, Nelson time to raise taxes to make sure essential on Dish Network an additional $18.60 per Yet the question of non-essentials in the Cole, James Crawford Jr., Andrew Dedmon, state services such as education and mental year. North Carolinians who averaged $50 state budget was what clearly divided Zeno Edwards Jr., Dewey Hill, David health care remain fully funded. in out-of-state phone calls per month would Democrats and Republicans. Some items Redwine, Eugene Rogers, Ronnie Smith, “With this budget, North Carolina gives pay $36 more annually as considered unnecessary and Alex Warner. The five senators who our children — all of our children — every a result of new 6 percent and excessive by oppo- violated their pledges were Cal opportunity to succeed,” Easley said at a telecommunications taxes nents included: $15 mil- Cunningham, John Kerr, Jeanne Lucas, Tony signing ceremony at Wiley Elementary (in-state tax rates would The tax increases lion for the Governor’s Rand, and Scott Thomas. School in Raleigh. “North Carolina sent a fall by a half-percent). will push the state’s Industrial Recruitment Proponents voted for the package clear message to the nation that our state Alcohol drinkers face Competitive Fund (called mainly to support public education, even will take care of its people, in good times a 6 percent increase on li- tax burden far above “walking around calling the original tax package the “Educa- and bad.” quor. Purchasers of ve- that of other South- money” for Easley by tion Revenue Act.” Yet the final version of Taxpayers with incomes over $120,000 hicles greater than $50,000 many Republicans); mil- the bill allocated less for education than the who are single, or $200,000 who are mar- in value would also face eastern states. lions for economic devel- original House proposal. The budget also ried, will see their earnings taxed an addi- new taxes. opment (including two added $181 million to the rainy day fund tional half-percent. Doing the math, the Starting in 2002-2003, new “economic devel- and $125 million to the Repair and Renova- increase could cost such individuals $6,000 HMOs would be required to pay a 1-per- oper” positions) that conservatives call cor- tion Fund for government buildings. yearly and couples $10,000. The increase is cent gross premiums tax to the state, which porate welfare; continued funding of the Yet the personal savings and private scheduled to end after two years, unless would likely be passed to customers. In Global TransPark; grants to local arts coun- property of North Carolinians will likely lawmakers extend it. An increase in the addition, the state will repeal a children’s cils; research subsidies to state universities; fall victim to the new taxes. According to standard deduction for married taxpayers health insurance tax credit for middle-in- and excessive Medicaid expenditures. Hood, the new levies will push the state’s and an increase in child credits would lessen come wage earners. The budget allocates an additional $126 tax burden as a percentage of income far the hit for those who fit those categories. Supporters in the legislature defended million through 2003 to paying off debt. above that of other Southeastern states. It Purchasing power for North Carolin- their actions. “Ask yourself, am I willing to Locke Foundation President John Hood in would also raise the tax burden signifi- ians will diminish also, via a half-percent pay $1.10 a week to make the world a little an editorial referred to “those higher edu- cantly above those notoriously high-taxing sales tax increase. For example, individuals better?” said Senate Majority Leader Tony cation bonds that supporters told you last states of Massachusetts, Maryland and Cali- who spend $10,000 on taxable items in a Rand, D-Cumberland. Other lawmakers year wouldn’t raise your taxes. They lied.” fornia, as well as the national average. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 4 North Carolina JOURNAL

Around the State GTP: Signs of a Fading Dream

• On Sept. 13 the N.C. Environ- Commission Dumps ‘GTP,’ Changes Its Name to ‘North Carolina’s Eastern Region’ mental Management Commission approved a permitting system to regulate isolated wetlands and wa- By DON CARRINGTON the potential economic impact from the GTP state Department of Transportation offi- ters. Isolated wetlands are those not Associate Publisher in 2000 would be 59,173 jobs and $3.8 billion cials will have to consider the fate of some connected to surface waters. They RALEIGH in revenues. But the jobs and economic specialized highway signs. The green road typically are depressions in the elcome to the region formerly activity have not materialized. signs that read “Entering the Global woods that fill with water. “The per- known as the Global TransPark TransPark Development Zone” and “Leav- mitting system provides a mecha- W Development Zone. Bad News in the Budget ing the Global TransPark Development nism for approving activities at these On Sept. 13, the Global TransPark De- Zone” have become misinformation signs, sites and associated ways to replace velopment Commission, a taxpayer-funded The recent passage of the state budget since such a zone no longer exists under the or mitigate for lost wetlands uses,” 13-county economic development entity was also not good news to the GTP Author- GTP name. The signs are on several major said Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, acting responsible for economic development in ity. The budget bill contains a special provi- highways in the 13-county region. director of DWQ. “It will also help the Global TransPark Development Zone, sion that starts the process of turning the DOT spokesman Bill Jones told CJ that protect valuable isolated wetlands voted “to pursue a long range plan to use a state-owned GTP airport back to its previ- his department has not received any re- from impacts associated with filling, new marketing name, North Carolina’s East- ous owners – the City of Kinston and Lenoir quest for the signs to be changed or re- dredging and draining activities.” ern Region.” At the same meeting the com- County. moved. If the department did receive such mission dumped its old logo, which fea- The provision specifically requires the a request it would go to the Traffic Engi- • An Insight Magazine article tured the GTP letters. Department of Transportation’s Aviation neering Branch for evaluation. Each of North Carolina’s 100 counties is Division to “study the transfer of the Global GTP license tags may also become a highlighted how the IRS continues assigned to a publicly funded regional eco- TransPark airport fixed assets and opera- problem. Even though the GTP Commis- to single out churches with conser- nomic development program. The GTP De- tions from the Global TransPark Authority sion was free to dump the GTP name, about vative beliefs for closer examination. velopment Zone was one of seven such to another appropriate entity.” 10,000 eastern North Carolina motorists are Writer John Berlau reports that programs. The report must be delivered to the still required to promote it on their cars. “houses of worship are threatened “The geographically oriented name Joint (House and Senate) Legislative Trans- As part of a promotional effort for the by the IRS with losing their tax-ex- change is a part of the Region’s effort to portation Oversight Committee by Feb. 15, original GTP project, state lawmakers or- empt status if their leaders engage in increase effectiveness in recruiting good 2002. If the General Assembly follows dered the Vehicle Registration Section of anything that fits the agency’s in- jobs to Eastern North Carolina. North through with the process, the airport pre- the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue GTP creasingly loose definition of forbid- Carolina’s Eastern Region will market with sumably will be renamed the Kinston Air- prefix license plates for all new registra- den ‘political activity.” a name that places emphasis on the Re- port. tions in the 13-county region. About 10,000 The article focused on federal gion,” stated a press release from Executive Aviation Division Executive Director of the plates were issued. legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Director Tom Greenwood. Bill Williams told CJ, “We are in the process The GTP plates were mandatory as long Walter Jones, who represents North The organization claims the name of determining the exact nature and scope as the supply lasted. If a vehicle owner Carolina’s 3rd District. The Houses change is for marketing purposes. A CJ of the legislatively mandated study.” objected to being forced to advertise the of Worship Political Speech Protec- review of the General Statutes revealed the Williams’s study will likely focus on the GTP concept he would have to pay a fee of tion Act would “give churches and commission would need legislative author- mechanics of such a transfer, not the poli- $10 to replace his tag with a non-GTP tag. synagogues more freedom to speak ity to make a formal legal name change. tics. In addition to the license plate promo- out on political issues by relaxing For the past two or three years, Since the commission has dropped the tion, the GTP Commission also received an IRS restrictions.” The legislation is Greenwood’s organization has given hints name, and the airport itself appears headed annual $5 per vehicle additional tax on cosponsored by House Majority that it was trying to distance itself from the for a new owner, the GTP Foundation may every vehicle in the 13-county region. The Whip Tom DeLay, a Republican from GTP Authority, the organization that actu- soon be the only remaining organization. special tax program, which has ended, lasted Texas. ally manages the airport industrial park in The GTP Foundation is a privately funded five years and raised about $17 million. The Kinston. The commission’s name change economic development and grant-making funds were to be used for economic devel- • Gov. Mike Easley, after sign- can only be thought of as another blow to organization. opment projects in the 13-county region but ing a state budget and tax package the struggling TransPark project. Since the GTP Commission no longer were not to be used for GTP site develop- into law Sept. 26, finally released es- A 1992 taxpayer-funded study claimed exists—at least not for marketing purposes, ment. CJ crowed funds belonging to county and local governments. Easley froze the intangibles tax reimbursement money while legislators debated the Legislators Stick With Body-Piercing Regulations budget. A total of $129 million had been due to the local governments at the end of August. By BRIAN GWYN Interestingly, those established in the ing-related infections in New Hanover Editorial Intern body-piercing industry do not seem to County. This occurred after South Carolina • At a time when the legisla- RALEIGH mind. “We won’t have to change a thing,” passed a law requiring practitioners to reg- ture is scrutinizing license-issuing egislators in South Carolina last year said Archie Noel, a body piercer at Blue ister with the state. If North Carolina tight- procedures at the Division of Motor decided that the practice of body Flame Tattoo in Raleigh. Noel said body ened its control on body piercing, many ar- Vehicles, the Associated Press re- L piercing was becoming unsafe. piercers already try to model themselves gue that piercing establishments would be ported that the state gave licenses to Needles were being thrown out as normal after the tattoo industry, which has tradi- safer, but much fewer. three men whose names were on a garbage and reports of infections were in- tionally been more strictly regulated. The The bill would provide for the Depart- list of those being sought by the FBI creasing, so the South Carolina legislature only part that will apply to him, Noel said, ment of Environment and Natural Re- for questioning in relation to the decided to pass a stringent set of laws de- is the CPR class, which Blue Flame currently sources to set specific guidelines for body- Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The names signed to deter body piercings and create a does not require him to take. piercing shops. Once the guidelines have matched listed residences through- safer environment for everyone. However, he acknowledged that other been chosen, health departments in indi- out the state, and one matched a However, since North Carolina had vir- practitioners in his field may not take as vidual counties would enforce them. The Middle Eastern man who had re- tually no regulations on body piercing, the much care in health and safety as his com- bill sets aside $45,000 to train local health ceived flight training at Roanoke new law’s effect on the border areas in pany does. “There are a lot of people doing officials on enforcement of the Rapids airport. North Carolina has South Carolina were minimal, because pa- piercings that shouldn’t be doing regulations. Counties would also select an received national attention recently, trons and practitioners of body piercing piercings,” he said. Noel said customers fre- amount for the licensing fee, provided that specifically in a New York Times ar- simply went across the state line. quently come into Blue Flame and are sur- it covered only expenses and that no profit ticle, because of its lax standards in Recently, a New Hanover County prised by how clean its operation is com- was made. allowing illegal immigrants to ob- Health Department official told Rep. Frank pared to other stores. Possibly the most significant part of the tain licenses without valid docu- Mitchell (R-Iredell) that infections from the While some say the bill was designed bill is the requirement that body-piercing mentation of residency. The legisla- piercings were becoming a problem in to dissuade young people from obtaining practitioners dispose of utensils as medical ture is considering a bill that would North Carolina as well. At the time, there body piercings, Noel said the law can only waste. Many venues such as Blue Flame require proof of legal residency be- was no regulation of body piercing except help. Those who may want piercings but Tattoo already follow such procedures, but fore obtaining a license. that minors had to get permission from their have traditionally been confident in the others still eliminate byproducts by tossing parents. Mitchell then decided it was time safety of the process will feel more comfort- them in the trash. This is particularly dis- • Statewide motor vehicle North Carolina had comparable regulations able now, he said. turbing to health officials because of the emissions testing has now passed to those of South Carolina, so he put to- Mitchell said he thinks the bill will threats of disease, particularly Hepatitis C both houses of the legislature; now gether a bill that recently passed the House. cause a decrease in the number of people (HCV). each chamber must agree on a price. The bill requires any practitioner to ob- getting body piercings. “Hopefully we can Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Currently nine counties administer tain a permit valid for one year and to dis- stop some of the kids from looking like Koop has said HCV is spreading rapidly the test at a cost of $19.40 to car own- card any utensils as medical waste. Body- walking tackle boxes,” he said. He reasons “and unless we do something about it soon, ers. The House would allow a $34 piercing facilities are to then be inspected that once piercings become unavailable on it will kill more people than AIDS.” charge for the statewide test, while at least once a year. The practitioner would every street corner, people who got them The bill still must pass in the Senate, the Senate set the price at $26. also be required to take a CPR course, on out of convenience before will now think but there has yet to be any clear opposition. the chance that a customer is rendered un- twice. Early evidence shows that this could Body-piercing regulations would go into conscious by the body-piercing procedure. be the case, judging by the influx in pierc- effect Dec. 1. CJ C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL North Carolina 5 ‘Clean Smokestacks’ Bill Might Cause More Pollution Articles in Raleigh’s News & Observer Ignore Scientific Data, Oversimplify John Locke’s Position on Legislation

By Dr. ROY CORDATO Various Locke Spotlight reports highlighted “fine particulate matter.” Sulfur dioxide from the east and south on these low-vis- and PAUL CHESSER the misleading nature of an American Lung emissions from North Carolina plants are ibility days.” Associate Editors Association study regarding ozone levels in blown out to sea, for the most part. All but one of the 14 power plants oper- RALEIGH the state; research illustrating the offsetting Under the federal government’s Clean ated by Duke Power and CP&L are located oth houses of the General Assem positive health benefits of ozone; findings Air Act, a tradable emissions allowance east of North Carolina’s mountains, and bly, after agreeing on a state budget, by the N.C. Department of Environment program exists for sulfur dioxide. Accord- most of the sulfur dioxide generated by Bneared the end of their respective and Natural Resources that levels of sulfur ing to the act, national levels of sulfur diox- them is blown out to sea. The likely result of sessions without passage of the controver- dioxide in the state have dropped since the ide have been established, and power com- the passage of the Clean Smokestacks bill sial “Clean Smokestacks” bill. The proposed 1970s; findings that the decline in visibility panies have been issued allowances to emit would be increased pollution in the Smoky legislation passed the Senate in April, but in the Smoky Mountains is due to out-of- some portion of the total. If a plant reduces Mountains because of the trade allowances has failed to move in the House. It may not state power plants; the questionable science its emissions, that makes available some of in the federal Clean Air Act. exit the Public Utilities Committee until of reducing carbon dioxide emissions within its allowances, which it is then permitted to The N.C. Senate has also recognized next year’s session at the earliest. the state; the gross misrepresentation of “fine sell to other utilities that want to increase that the Smokies’ pollution problem comes Meanwhile, The News & Observer of particulate matter” pollution by a group of their emissions, either from existing plants from the west, in a letter to President Bush Raleigh in a Sept. 27 article oversimplified environmentalists called The Clean Air Task or by building new ones. As a result, sulfur signed by each Senate member calling for the John Locke Foundation’s position on Force; and questionable statistical data on dioxide emissions are not reduced nation- stricter emission controls on power plants the bill, citing a Spotlight report claim that death rates related to such pollutants. wide, but shifted. run by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The smokestack regulation represented “a hid- If North Carolina adopts the Clean senators wrote, “It is very clear…that the den tax.” News & Observer articles on the bill Law Could Boost Pollutants Smokestacks bill, it cannot be known which substantial problems impacting our west- have ignored scientific data disputing claims power providers will purchase those al- ern areas of the state are caused in large part that the legislation would significantly re- New Spotlight research argues that be- lowances resulting from Duke Power’s and by the (Tennessee Valley Authority).” duce pollution in North Carolina. The legis- cause of provisions in the federal Clean Air CP&L’s reductions, but it will almost cer- According to the estimates of each lation affects the 14 coal-fired electric power Act, it is possible that a state Clean Smoke- tainly be power companies located west power company, Duke power’s costs to plants run by the for-profit electric utilities stacks law could increase pollutants in North and northwest of the Tar Heel state. comply would be $1.5 billion and CP&L’s Duke Energy and Carolina Power & Light, Carolina, because neighboring state utili- In its briefing report “Air Quality and costs would be $700 million, The Business ordering the companies to reduce nitrogen ties then could increase their emissions be- Respiratory Problems in and Near the Great Journal reported in its edition of May 25, oxide emissions by 78 percent by 2009 and cause of federal allowances. Smoky Mountains,” to Congress in May, 2001. Under a provision in the bill, such sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent by Under the proposed Clean Smokestacks the U.S. General Accounting Office said, costs would be passed to their customers, 2013. Costs for compliance would be passed bill, coal-fired power plants in the state “[In the Great Smoky Mountains] on low- resulting in a rate increase of 5 percent for to customers, at an estimated $2.2 billion by would be required to reduce sulfur dioxide visibility days… the majority of the air residential users and 7 percent for busi- 2013. emissions by about 75 percent by 2013. Sul- masses started over the industrial Mid- nesses and industry. The Locke Foundation has produced fur dioxide from power plants west of North west, or spent considerable time there where As reported by the News & Observer, the voluminous information since April, dis- Carolina is the major contributor to poor they could have accumulated substantial Clean Smokestacks bill does represent a puting claims of environmentalists regard- visibility in the state’s mountains, to prob- quantities of sulfur dioxide from this high hidden tax placed on customers of Duke ing pollution problems in North Carolina. lems of acid rain, and to formation of the emissions area… Few air masses arrived Energy and Carolina Power & Light. CJ Congressman J.C. Watts Headlines Locke Luncheon John Hood President, John Locke Foundation By PAUL CHESSER ment,” he said. Watts said he doesn’t think and Publisher, Carolina Journal Associate Editor America can survive if its citizens must give RALEIGH more than 50 percent of their income to the magine the life of Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr., government. “We can’t make it work,” he who represents Oklahoma’s 4th Dis- said. Is now on a statewide and national tour to Itrict. Busy enough as chairman of the Watts said punitive government policy read from & discuss his latest book: House Republican Conference and occa- has contributed to the decline of the Ameri- sional preacher on Sunday mornings as a can culture by discouraging families. Watts Baptist minister, Watts also serves on the cited the marriage tax penalty, taxes on Investor Politics: The New Force That Will Transform Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism on savings interest, and lack of school choice as American Business, Government, and Politics in the 21st Century the House Armed Services Committee. The some of the problems. terrorist strikes Sept. 11 brought him an “We literally force kids to go to schools additional burden of responsibility. that don’t work,” he said. Upcoming dates in the tour include: Yet based on Watts’s remarks at a Locke Watts likened work in Congress to his Foundation luncheon Sept. 27, he gives the days as a quarterback at the University of impression that the tax burden placed on Oklahoma, and later in the Canadian Foot- - Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh Americans is as dangerous to families as are ball League. - Nov. 1, 12 p.m. Cato Institute, Washington, DC Middle Eastern terrorist activities. Moving policy ideas through both “If you want to create poverty, do this: houses of Congress and the executive branch - Jan. 19, 2002 Chicago Conservative Conference Reward the drug dealer more than you is akin to moving a football team in a long - February 2002 Tour of New England think tanks reward the risk-taker,” Watts said, com- drive down field, rather than striking with a menting on taxation that encumbers hard quick 90-yard touchdown pass, he said. Wel- work and business activity. “You create fare reform worked that way, Watts said— “John Hood has produced a timely and informative account of . . . the poverty if you weaken the link between Ronald Reagan introduced the idea 27 years most significant demographic shift of this century — the rise of a effort and reward.’” before it became law during the Clinton “We don’t need more taxes; we need administration. shareholder democracy in America. Anyone who is interested in how more taxpayers,” he said. “It is a very, very difficult process,” he this demographic shift will shape American politics in the 21st century Watts wove his thoughts on punitive said. “We chose to define compassion… by taxes with memories of his home life grow- how few are on food stamps, not how many.” should read this book.” ing up in Eufaula, Okla. He said he never However, Congress is now forced to — Former Vice Presidential Candidate Jack Kemp remembered his father, Buddy, having react to a terrorism threat that is urgent. fewer than three jobs at a time. As a result, “We’ve got some difficult days ahead,” concepts such as an allowance were foreign Watts said. “But when I look at the Capitol “[Investor Politics] offers many astute observations about the reasons to him. dome representing freedom all over the government social programs are imperiled.” “If you made money in the Watts house- world, I am encouraged.” hold, you worked for it,” he said. Watts mentioned the racial and reli- — Greensboro News & Record Watts said he believes that not enough gious barriers that seem to have been torn politicians grasp what it means to struggle down as a result of the attacks, unifying For more information about these events or to schedule other appearances, call to earn and save money, and meet financial America. 919-828-3876 or visit www.JohnLocke.org. More information about Investor Politics obligations. “We find out we have a whole lot more “People in Washington need to under- in common than we ever disagreed upon,” can be found at www.TempletonPress.org. stand the joy of making the last car pay- he said. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 6 Education JOURNAL

School Reform Briefs A Budget for North Carolina’s Children • Guilford County Schools re- Does the Budget Represent a Commitment to Education, as Governor Claims? ported losing fewer teachers in the 2000-01 school year. The district lost 9.8 percent of its teachers this past year, down from By SHERRI JOYNER Supt. Mike Ward spoke briefly after sary to fund the budget, especially given 12.3 percent in the 1999-00 school Assistant Editor Easley to show his support for the budget. the dramatic falloff in expected revenues year as reported by the News and RALEIGH “The budget affirms the fact that legislators for 2002-03,” Gerlach said. Record of Greensboro. ith fourth- and fifth-graders in support high standards,” Ward said. “Budgetmakers invested resources in While Guilford County saw a the balcony watching with ea- The budget provides $8.3 billion for children with special needs, with limited loss, the state reported a gain. Ac- W ger eyes, Gov. Mike Easley education as follows: English proficiency, and children not per- cording to the Department of Public signed the long-awaited budget in a cer- • $93.1 million for bonuses under the ABCs forming well on end-of-grade tests. I think Instruction, the state turnover rate is emony at Wiley Elementary School. The plan this spending will be what improves stu- nearly 14 percent, a slight gain over symbolism was all too strong. This budget • $4.6 million for bonuses under an ABCs dent performance, not the threat of tests” last year’s turnover rate of 13.59 per- was referred to by many politicians earlier pilot project Gerlach said. cent. this summer as the Education Revenue Act • $25.1 million to reduce class sizes of at- However, as pointed out in the — a budget for North Carolina’s children. risk students and kindergartners Calling the Budget into Question February edition of Carolina Journal, Indeed, the budget does reserve fund- • $2.5 million for teacher recruitment and turnover rates can often be misinter- ing for elementary and secondary educa- scholarships for certification While many have cited the need of ad- preted. For instance, a major portion tion. During the signing ceremony, Easley • $75 million for additional teachers, sup- ditional tax dollars to pay for educating of the turnover rate in 1999-00 in- announced that the budget includes teacher plies, and school inflationary increases young children, others claim this is simply cluded teachers who were not leav- salary increases, teacher expense accounts, • $5 million to help students who are be- a falsehood. ing the profession, who were not a compensation and recruitment package, low grade level “Not a penny of the more than $735 leaving the state, but who were and accountability report cards for parents • $4.1 million for instructional supplies, million increase in our annual state tax bur- merely moving from one district to that will identify how many students are in $100 per teacher den will protect classroom teachers or im- another. their child’s class and whether the teacher is • $10 million for special-needs children. prove education. Elementary and second- Another problem is that the certified. The budget also raises teachers’ and ary schools are the state’s highest priority, turnover includes many teachers “With this budget, North principals’ salaries. and therefore were not at risk if lawmakers who leave for reasons other than job Carolina gives its children Teachers will see on had held the line on taxes. The real benefi- dissatisfaction with their careers. A the opportunity to succeed,” “With this budget, average a 2.86 percent ciaries of higher income and sales taxes in full 8.6 percent of the 13.59 percent Easley said. “Amid all the increase, while princi- North Carolina are special-interest lobbies reported left for a variety of reasons debate ... the goal was noth- North Carolian gives pals can expect an av- who will prosper from surprisingly large unattributable to schools, including ing short than protecting the our children — all erage increase of 2.93 state spending growth outside of public family relocation, health problems, education of our children.” our children — every percent. All other pub- schools,” said John Hood, president of the retirement, and even death. The budget also sets lic school employees John Locke Foundation. aside $6.4 million in funding opportunity to suc- will each receive a $625 Indeed, for quite some time, the major- to create a statewide pilot ceed.” — Gov. Easley annual salary increase. ity of the budget has funded elementary • The North Carolina Depart- preschool program for at- While others dis- and secondary education. With the passing ment of Public Instruction recently risk 4-year-olds, More at agree with budget and of this year’s budget, more than 57 percent reported that the state is receiving a Four. tax increases, teachers’ unions say there of the budget will go toward education $306,144 AP Incentive Program “The courts will not have to mandate or was nothing left to cut. while only 10 percent will go toward justice grant to help widen access to AP order it, we will do it [4-year-old preschool} Carolyn McKinney, president of North and public safety. courses and exams for minority and on our own,” Easley said. Carolina Association of Educators, said ear- In fact, many conservatives and liber- rural students. After touring two kindergarten class- lier this year that the Department of Public als agreed that increasing the sales tax was The number of public school rooms before the ceremony, Easley opened Instruction could not be trimmed. not the best way to balance the budget students taking Advanced Place- the ceremony praising the success of small “Since 1995, the staffing and services of especially when the economy was already ment examinations in North Caro- classes. the Department of Public Instruction has deteriorating. lina increased by 9 percent to 20,980 “The class size is getting a little been slashed to the bone; this is a fact that no The John Locke Foundation and the students from 2000 to 2001. The smaller...and the smiles on the teachers’ one disputes. And the Department of Pub- Common Sense Foundation agreed that leg- number of AP exams taken by stu- faces are getting a little larger,” Easley said. lic Instruction has been on the chopping islators should look to cut wasteful spend- dents increased by 11.6 percent over block—yet again—throughout this budget ing. At the top of this list was corporate the past year for all North Carolina Details of the Budget crisis,” McKinney said. welfare—this year’s budget sets aside $15 public school students. Eddie Davis, vice president of the million to attract businesses to the area. For comparison purposes, there The final budget raised taxes and in- NCAE, said the association was concerned Sen. Patrick Ballantine, R-New are approximately 136,000 students creased education spending on public about the increase in taxes but thought it Hanover, also questions the idea that addi- in 11th and 12th grade — the grades schools by 3.6 percent from last year to was “the best way to keep education mov- tional tax dollars were necessary to pay for when students are most likely to ensure “education was protected.” The fi- ing in the right direction.” educational needs. take AP courses and exams. nal version includes a half-cent increase in Davis also pointed out that education “Of the money derived from the gen- White students constituted 80 the sales tax beginning Oct. 16, a half-per- was a priority of this budget. “Obviously eral tax increases, none of it is earmarked percent of the students who took AP centage point increase in the income tax on since so much of the revenues go to educa- for education,” Ballantine said. “Increasing exams in 2001. Although minority the wealthy, and new taxes on out-of-state tion, this budget is clearly for education, as taxes did not fund education, education groups’ participation rates are phone calls, liquor, satellite television, and all budgets are for this state.” was already a priority. Increasing taxes kept growing, the number is still small. HMOs. Dan Gerlach, a fiscal analyst with the lawmakers from having to make unwanted Black students taking the tests With a banner behind him touting “Edu- North Carolina Budget and Tax Center in spending cuts.” increased by 19 percent from last cation First,” Easley made it clear our tax Raleigh, also considers the tax increases In fact, many other departments en- year to 1,997 and Hispanic test tak- dollars were going to educate North necessary as a way to maintain the standard joyed larger increases in funding this year. ers increased by 16.8 percent to 347 Carolina’s youth. of living. “I believe it [tax hikes] was neces- Health and human services, highway im- students. American Indian numbers provements, debt service, general fund op- are also small with only 113 Ameri- erations, and the rainy day fund all were can Indian students taking AP ex- Annual Growth in Final Budget, FY 2001-02 earmarked for a larger annual growth. ams, but that number is 20 percent “If the Democrats treated education as higher than in 2000. a top priority, we would have done some Health/Human Services But State Superintendent of 15.0% real reforms this year in education like raise Public Instruction Mike Ward was the cap on charter schools. Instead, most of Gen. Fund w Rainy Day 6.5% encouraged. "Not only do we hope our alternatives were ignored,” Ballantine that North Carolina students will Highway Improvement 5.6% said. perform well on the AP exams, we While the debate continues between Gen. Fund w Capital also want to see access to these rig- 5.2% parties, proponents of the budget hope that orous courses and tests provided to this year’s efforts to further reduce class Debt Service 5.1% thes all qualified students. Our goal sizes and expand preschool programs will is to encourage students to take GF Operations 4.1% help boost N.C. schools to the best in the challenging coursework, and North nation. Carolina’s AP report shows that we Public Schools 3.6% “To be the best in the nation, we must are making progress. eliminate the achievement gap that has been Community Colleges 1.4% "The federal grant we are receiv- tolerated for far too long and put in place a ing will help us do more to help UNC System 0.4% system of education that gives every child qualified students gain access to in every county every opportunity to suc- these courses," said Ward. Justice/Public Safety -1.6% ceed, regardless of geographic location or -10.0% -0.0% 10.0% 20.0% economic condition," said Easley earlier this month. C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Education 7

Using a Data-Driven Plan What Works Is Working Mecklenburg’s A+ Program fter visiting six cities in the past Works report identified 10 key ele- two days and sharing the results ments of success, including: leader- Improves Academic Performance A of the first annual What Works ship, a mission statement, commu- Report, I would expect to feel exhausted. nity and parental involvement, ongo- Instead, I feel energized and optimistic. ing assessment and after-school tu- By SHERRI JOYNER them to a higher level,” Dr. Smith said. I had the opportunity to meet many toring, to name a few. However, these Assistant Editor After its first year in full implementa- of the best principals and teachers in North common characteristics are not the CHARLOTTE tion, CMS educators are happy with the Carolina and the United States, including interventions you often hear about in mproving the academic performance results. Of the six elementary schools in the Terry Chestnutt, principal of Waccamaw discussions concerning school reform. of low-performing students has taken program, four made exemplary growth in Elementary in Brunswick County. a new path in the Charlotte- this year’s ABCs. Middle and high schools Waccamaw is one of only two schools Different Conversations I in the nation to receive recognition this Mecklenburg School System. Dr. Eric Smith, also showed progress. superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg “We know it was successful,“ said Gail year as both a “blue ribbon school” and a Those conversations usually in- Schools, partnered with the American Pro- Daves, academic monitor for CMS. “A+ “Title I school of distinction.” clude issues such as school and class- ductivity and Quality Center in Houston, isn’t a model you can just go out and buy, Chesnutt shared his thoughts: “Our room size, equity in spending, paren- Texas several years ago to organize the though, schools have to fit the program to philosophy is that every child can be suc- tal choice, and teacher pay, which in school system effectively and focus on be- suit them best.” cessful. There is no such thing as main- many ways would be preferable to coming a data-driven organization. CMS changed the model slightly. The taining. You either go forward or you go many people, but none of them repre- Results have been astounding. Of the 15 schools added professional development backward. At Waccamaw there is no fail- sent a true solution. Too often these schools participating in the program in as a ninth component to “eight quality con- ure — just success, one student at a time.” reforms are considered the best alter- Charlotte-Mecklenburg, many have im- ditions for success.” This statement rings true. Schools can native because, while you can legis- proved as much as 20 to 30 percent in read- “A+ contains very effective practices be different in a variety of ways, but their late the size of classrooms, you can’t ing and mathematics scores in just one year. that when used in schools can be very effec- ultimate goal is to make sure students are clone great leaders to ensure each The program has proven to work ex- tive. They can close the achievement gap,” exceling and moving toward a goal of school has visionary principals and ceptionally well with all students, includ- Daves said. proficiency. The teachers and principals I effective teachers. ing minorities and the poor. While only 15 schools in CMS fully met had a variety of backgrounds and Feedback and conversation from Brazosport, a district implemented A+, an additional 10 schools challenges, but they shared a belief that all these successful educators through- of more than 15,000 stu- were able to use portions children can learn. An enthusiasm for what out the tour shed new light on the dents outside Houston, of the plan as needed. they do is infectious. situation. Top priorities implemented the pro- “A Plus contains very Success isn’t just about the In New Bern I met repre- ,according to educators, in- sentatives from Comfort El- cluded the need to have gram in 1991-92 after see- effective practices, A+ plan, Daves said, but ing a large achievement just one of the many ementary in Jones County. flexibility in funding and gap between students of that when used in pieces schools use. Dixie Whaley, the principal, planning to meet the needs different socioeconomic schools… can close captured the formula for suc- of a particular school and levels. By 1998, every Statewide Plans cess succinctly when she ex- region. Who better to iden- group of students had the achievement plained her school’s team strat- tify the needs of a school moved up to the 90th per- While Charlotte- egy: “We expect every child to than the people who are gap.”—Gail Daves Paige Holland centile, the dropout rate Mecklenburg Schools has set achievable goals and then there everyday — espe- decreased from 6 percent taken the initiative to sup- we help them achieve these cially those who are hav- to 0.1 percent, and more students were tak- port effective practices in schools, the North goals. In order to accomplish this, you ing great success in their efforts? ing the AP exams. Carolina Department of Public Instruction must have high expectations for all chil- It is clear that there is not a one- The plan works by providing three ma- was on the right track a few years back dren and hold everyone accountable.” size-fits-all solution that can be legis- jor components: when it created a “total quality in educa- Comfort Elementary was one of 21 lated at the General Assembly to fix 1. Effective School Correlates. The “ef- tion” strategy in 1992 to close the achieve- schools highlighted in the North Carolina the problems our schools face. We fective schools framework” has a track ment gap. Education Alliance’s What Works report. must look to our successful educators record spanning 25 years of helping schools In 1992, the state implemented a pilot The criteria for selection were straight- for guidance and assist them with the improve achievement of low, middle, and program in five school districts, Bladen, forward. Schools chosen had populations resources they need to achieve suc- high socio-economic students. Craven, Winston-Salem Forsyth, Charlotte- where at least 60 percent of the students cess. At the same time, we must also 2. Total Quality Management. “Quality Mecklenburg, and Elizabeth City- are eligible for free or reduced lunch and continue holding educators account- initiatives” have worked for years in the Pasquotank. where at least 75 percent of the students able for their success. business sector and can have a direct im- “We haven’t done a final analysis on it were at grade level, based on the com- Instead of talking about our fail- pact on student achievement. because of the delay in ABC scores,” said bined 2000 ABC reading and math tests. ures, we must begin to celebrate our 3. Eight Quality Conditions for Success. Judy Williams, education consultant with The results of the report give us much successes. This tour is our opportu- These included data disaggregation, plan- DPI. “But the ABC report does give results to ponder. Schools that met the criteria are nity to share with others what works ning, instructional focus, assessment, tuto- on how many of the districts met expected found across the state from the mountains so others can begin to emulate their rials, enrichment, maintenance, and moni- growth.” to the coast. Schools selected are from success. toring. The results are broken down by race, both urban and rural areas, poor and Former Education Secretary Wil- performance, and economic status. wealthy counties, small and large school liam Bennett says it best :“If we seek Closing the Gap Looking briefly at the results of the districts, which shows that students can to build schools of excellence, then pilot program, poor students — those re- learn when efforts are focused and re- we must recognize, praise, and re- The APQC believes that all students ceiving free or reduced lunch — did not fare sources are used effectively. ward those that are excellent.” can learn and works in partnerships with well on this year’s end-of-grade tests. Of the There are many characteristics in com- Holland is director of the N.C. Alli- school districts to close the achievement 214 pilot schools, only 95 schools met ex- mon among successful schools. The What ance for Smart Schools. gap. pected growth with their free and reduced- Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools have lunch population; 113 schools didn’t. been successful closing the gap between As a whole, most schools failed to meet white students and minority students. the pilot’s growth expectations in all sub- Statesville Road Elementary, an A+ school groups, which included student groups di- Pilot Schools Meeting Growth Expectations with about 74 percent of students on free vided by ethnicity, student populations di- and reduced lunch, has achieved tremen- vided according to whether they receive Met dous success with its low-income students. free and reduced lunch, and groups based Elizabeth City-Pasquotank The percentage of fourth-graders perform- on performance on pretests. Not Met ing at or above grade level in math in- In Bladen County, only 8.3 percent, or creased from 64 percent in 1999-00 to 92.1 one school out of 11, met growth expecta- SOURCE: N.C. Craven percent in 2000-01. Reading scores also rose tions. Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools Department of from 42 percent in 1999-00 to 55.6 percent in had the best results of the five school dis- Public 2000-01. tricts, with six of the 10 schools meeting Instruction. Among schools witnessing dramatic growth expectations. On average, K-8 Results of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg 2000-01 ABCs improvements in its black population is schools in Pasquotank improved by 5 per- Pilot Program. Nathaniel Alexander Elementary. Fifth- cent on End-of-Grade tests, from 65.6 per- grade reading scores for black children at cent in 2000 to 70.6 percent in 2001. Nathaniel Alexander increased from 44.7 Even though the A+ plan includes a Winston-Salem/Forsyth percent performing at grade level in 1998- “total quality” strategy, the programs are 99 to 78.7 percent in 2000-01. not closely linked. CMS went a beyond “Our goal is to be an A+ school system, what the state implemented to a more com- Bladen which means we can’t do business as usual. plete program. Williams was unfamiliar That’s what the A+ Plan is all about— meet- with the A+ plan and the results CMS is 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% ing the needs of every student and taking having with all students. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 8 Education JOURNAL

School Reform News From Across the Nation What Works in 12 Cities N.C. Education Alliance Tours Graduation Tests, Vouchers State to Highlight Success ost states across the nation tion? have implemented high 3. How would you stop the flow of blood on-going assessments, and creating a mis- By SHERRI JOYNER M school exit exams—basic from an artery in case of laceration? sion statement were critical to the schools’ Assistant Editor skills tests students are required to pass success. to graduate from high school. In Utah, Orthography: RALEIGH state officials are expected to consider a 1. What are the following, and give ex- he North Carolina Education Alli- The Programs new policy that will allow students who amples of each: Trigraph, subvocate, ance hit the road this month with its fail the Basic Skills Competency Test diphthong, cognate letters, linguals? Tfirst What Works tour. The tour high- The Alliance also identified 12 programs three times an alterna- 2. Give four substitutes lighted the results of a statewide search for in the state that are making a difference tive way to prove they for caret “u.” schools, programs, and businesses that are serving at-risk children. possess basic math, 3. Use the following cor- having the greatest impact educating poor “Many children who are served by pro- reading, and writing rectly in sentences: Cite, children. grams like Helping Hands in Wake County skills. Although the test site, sight, fane, fain, While the achievement gap between Schools, and Community Learning Centers is untimed and covers feign, vane, vain, vein, races is large, studies show that failure in have little chance to succeed without the only material taught up raze, raise, rays. school is more closely related to income additional help,” said Paige Holland, direc- to eighth grade, stu- As reported by The than race. tor of the Alliance. “These programs are dents who repeatedly Salt Lake Tribune and The The Alliance released its finding on a capable of shaping the educational outcome fail can submit a portfolio of work with Christian Science Monitor. statewide tour. Members of the Alliance of young students through mentoring and completed assignments and other test and John Hood, president of the John Locke tutoring.” results. Education Vouchers Foundation, traveled from Asheville to Many of the programs highlighted pro- “What we’re interested in is whether Wilmington to release the findings of What vided educational support, but a number of they have basic skills, not if they can Maine has financed thousands of Works: Education Solutions for High-Risk Stu- them also provide physical and emotional pass the test,” said Barbara Lawrence, students to attend private school since dents. support. director of assessment for the Utah Of- 1873. The state pays tuition for 35 per- School systems have repeatedly touted fice of Education. cent of all students enrolled in Maine’s The Schools the success of community programs and The state has already provided ac- private schools. The tuition program al- the difference they can make in childrens’ commodations for special education stu- lows parents without a traditional pub- Twenty-one schools across the state lives. dents and those who are learning En- lic school to choose a school from a list of were chosen as success stories. These schools “Many of the schools we talked with glish. The accommodations for students approved private and public schools. In represent the idea that regardless of in- said community outreach was imperative who are Limited English Proficiency the fall of 1999, 5,614 students from 55 come, and in many in- to their school’s suc- include providing the math portion in communities attended private schools stances, regardless of race, cess,” Holland said. Spanish. Students are also able to use a through the program, while 30,412 at- children will excel, given the Leadership was the The Alliance iden- bilingual dictionary or vocabulary list. tended nearby public schools. right chances. key to success. A prin- tified business and While many educators think test- Data from Maine’s Department of Essentially, schools community efforts to ing should be reduced, graduation tests Education suggest that the tuition pro- were chosen that had a high cipal had to know what bridge the divide be- are nothing new. gram costs about $6,000 per student, or percentage of needy stu- the school needed and tween students. The Christian Science Monitor re- 20 percent less than Maine’s average dents, greater that 60 per- Programs like cently ran the excerpts from an eighth- per-pupil expenditure. cent, and scored well on how to lead the staff… Wilton Connor Acad- grade graduation exam in Saline County, Although tuition reimbursement is end-of-grade tests, showing emy, created and orga- Kan. in 1895. Think North Carolina’s generally available only in communities steady and remarkable im- nized by Wilton testing’s rough?—Read this. without public schools, research sug- provement. Connor Packaging in gests that the availability of the voucher With close to 71 percent of students Charlotte, were highlighted because of their Grammar: has created greater competition among receiving free and reduced lunch, Tipton devotion to see all children succeed. Estab- 1. Give nine rules for the use of capital schools. Parents who are in “sending Elementary in Mitchell County had an av- lished just a few years ago, the Academy letters. towns” greatly favor the tuition pro- erage of 95 percent of students at grade helps at-risk students excel in academics 2. Name the parts of speech and define gram. Eighty percent of voters in level in reading and math. This was the through after-school tutoring and a sum- those that have no modifications. Arrowsic, Maine rejected an attempt to highest number of students performing at mer program. 3. Define verse, stanza, and paragraph. build a public school in their commu- grade level of any of the 21 schools. Many other programs were also high- nity. The school would have eliminated But Tipton was not alone in success, lighted, including: Geography: the voucher program. As reported by most of the schools chosen had at least 80 • Senior Education Corps 1. What is climate? Upon what does Frank Heller in Cato Briefing Papers No. percent of students performing at or above •Communities in Schools climate depend? 66. grade level in reading and mathematics. • Student Mentoring Program, Gaston 2. Name and describe the following: The few schools that fell below this cutoff County Chamber of Commerce Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Japanese Curricula Cut had remarkable improvements that dem- • Homework Centers Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan, onstrated exceptional growth. • Duke-Durham Initiative Fernandez, Aspinwall, and Orinoco. Even though Japanese students score Of the schools highlighted on the tour, • A+ Plan 3. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than at the top of international tests on math two were charter schools — Maureen Joy in • North Carolina’s Promise the Pacific in the same latitude? and science, educators have concluded Durham, and PreEminent in Raleigh. Both • Career Pathways, Asheville Area Cham- that schools need to reduce the amount have shown steady and dramatic improve- ber of Commerce Arithmetic: Japanese students are taught. ments in academic performance. • Reinventing Education. 1. A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet The reason seems to be because sur- Other schools highlighted include: “These programs are to be congratu- long, and 3 feet wide. How many bush- veys show the students dislike the sub- • Brawley Middle (Halifax) lated for their role in meeting the needs of els of wheat will it hold? jects more and more each year and lack • Williamsburg Elementary(Rockingham) children and the community,” Holland said. 2. Find bank discount of $300 for 90 days the joy needed to do research. • First Ward Elementary (Mecklenburg) Indeed, the Alliance did speak specifi- (no grace) at 10 percent. In a policy that has worried many • Comfort Elementary (Jones) cally and relate to the crowd that children 3. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 parents, primary and junior high school • Beech Mountain (Avery) who fail in school often lead a life of crime, per acre, the distance around which is curricula are being cut by 30 percent • Waccamaw Elementary (Brunswick) and the chances of teen pregnancy rise sig- 640 rods? next spring, Saturday classes will end, • East Elementary (Kings Mountain) nificantly. and a vaguely defined “general studies” • J. T. Barber Elementary (Craven) “Although the importance of the fam- U.S. History: class is being added to encourage cre- Common to the successful schools were ily is not to be mistaken, it is imperative that 1. Relate the causes and results of the ativity and independent thinking. 10 characteristic traits. Although every the community steps in to help children Revolutionary War. Parents’ fears have been fed by ru- school may approach a problem differently, who have fallen behind in school and may 2. Who were the following: Morse, mors that the value of pi would now be there remained in many instances common not have the home support they so desper- Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, taught as “around 3” instead of 3.14. A practices among the 21 chosen schools. ately need,” Holland said. and Howe? weekly magazine ran the headline “In Leadership was key to success. A prin- What Works, Education Solutions for High- 3. Name events connected with the fol- 10 Years the Japanese Will All Be Idiots!” cipal had to know what the school needed Risk Students shows that schools can reduce lowing dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and But educators and officials say the and how to lead the staff and students in the the educational gap among different ethnic 1865. counterintuitive cutting of hours devoted right direction. In many instances, the prin- groups by stressing solid academic funda- to Japanese, math, sciences, and social cipals of these schools devote time and en- mentals, mobilizing the school and the sur- Anatomy: studies is necessary to change Japan’s ergy to reshaping the internal structure of rounding community to support struggling 1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and basic approach to education. As reported the school and aligning a common goal and students, and by spending education dol- CJ bile secreted? What is the use of each in by the Washington Post. mission with the staff. The principal must lars more effectively. digestion? be a visionary. For a copy of the report please contact 2. How does nutrition reach the circula- Other key elements including commu- the N.C. Education Alliance at (919) 832- nity and parental involvement, planning, 9756. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Education 9 School Innovation Spotlight Mountain View Elementary Succeeds Despite the Odds

By SHERRI JOYNER tools. Assistant Editor “We discuss strengths, weaknesses, and PHOTO MORGANTON, N.C. set personal goals,” DeHart said. rue leadership brought Mountain If a school plans to be successful, DeHart View Elementary success. The also points to the importance of pacing and Tschool produced amazing improve- repetition to ensure teachers aren’t teach- ments in only one year under the leadership ing to the middle of the class. Also, since of Principal Teresa DeHart. studies show that homework can be a nega- Reading proficiency increased from 54.2 tive factor for students living in poverty, percent in 1998-99 to 85.5 percent the fol- Mountain View now offers a “homework lowing year. room” for every student who wants to par- “Mountain View was literally at the ticipate, one hour each day. bottom of the elementary schools in this DeHart initiated a number of strate- system,” DeHart said. gies and programs to increase student per- In fact, most stakeholders discounted formance while noting that it is important involvement should not be diminished, in the right direction. State ABC scores for the abilities of the students, pointing to not to follow trends. Students at Mountain schools that strive to be successful must 2001 show an increase in student profi- their low socio-economic status coupled View participate in research-based reading have a strong leader. DeHart provides ciency for reading, math, and writing. While with their language barriers. Thirty percent and math programs, which consist of daily Mountain View with this. As a leader, she many schools struggle with the complica- of the students at Mountain View live in direct reading lessons, multiage reading envisions a plan and empowers her stu- tions and problems of the state writing test, public housing, an additional 20 percent groups, and Excel Math. dents, staff, and parents to act. only 2 children failed to pass the writing live in low-income housing, and 21 percent Perhaps the school’s most innovative “I am doing what I love and loving test at Mountain View — producing the of the students are Hispanic. initiative is KEEPBOOKS, a program devel- what I do,” DeHart said. “My desire is for second best writing score in the state. Mountain View is oped to increase reading others to see a strong work ethic coupled “The old adage of students rise to level one of the few elemen- proficiency among young with enthusiasm and determination.” of expectations has been our simple but tary schools in the state to “The old adage of stu- students. This parent-par- Mountain View has certainly outper- proven success,” DeHart said. “This worked be able to claim it has ticipation program places formed the expectations of many. In 2001, for us.” closed the achievement dents rise to level of 20 books in the homes of the school placed second statewide as an In the end, DeHart holds herself and gap. expectations has been preschool and kindergar- IRA Exemplary Reading School. The North other principals responsible for the success our simple but proven ten children. Carolina Department of Public Instruction of students. Reform for Success has also named Mountain View as one of “It’s time we stop trying to change the success.” The Community the Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools in children, and fix the schools that have failed When DeHart be- — Teresa DeHart the state. them! I firmly believe that all students can came principal she began DeHart also in- DeHart is certainly leading the school succeed—no excuses,” DeHart said. to change things from the creased community in- inside. volvement at the school by positioning her- “Internal reform is a must when the self to be where she was needed most. Be- needs of all students aren’t being met,” she cause many of Mountain View’s students said. live in public housing, she became a com- Internal reform meant changing many missioner with the Morganton Housing Au- things, including teachers. “Truthfully, there thority. has been a significant teacher turnover rate By working with MHA, she was able to here over the past two years. Generally, a supply funding for a summer library pro- change in leadership brings turnover,” gram, an after-school homework club staffed DeHart said. DeHart had to choose teachers by teachers, and an “English as a second who “believed in and accepted the stu- language” night school. dents.” She also visited local churches and ser- DeHart initiated change at the school vice organizations to search for volunteers, by taking a critical look at basic skills in- expanding the volunteer pool threefold in struction. She decided the children must be one year. taught to their fullest and opted not to “wa- A local church has adopted Mountain ter down” the curriculum. View and provides the school with any- “I do not believe poverty equates with thing it needs, such as clothing and school low educational achievement. The diver- supplies. “Just one call and they respond,” sity here at Mountain View is not seen as an DeHart said. Advertisement insurmountable challenge, but an advan- Mountain View has also found support tage,” DeHart said. through the Big Brother/Big Sister M&M As principal, she plays an important program, Freedom High Schools students, role in the success of all the students. How- and the local Chamber of Commerce. ever, DeHart goes much further than most principals. She meets with each student to Leadership help him set individual goals—an activity she considers to be one of her most valuable While the importance of community

C A R O L I N A Weekly Report JOURNAL for Executives Carolina Journal Weekly Report for Executives is your antidote to wa- tered down media coverage of state politics and policy. North Carolina has hundreds of newspapers. But from those hundreds of papers, only a handful of reporters are assigned to Raleigh. And how many of them do you think write from a free-market frame of mind?

In Carolina Journal Weekly Report, you get unfiltered weekly cover- age of state government from experienced reporters who have actu- ally read the Federalist Papers. Our reporters attend committee meet- ings and interview lawmakers face-to-face, so you get the stories first- hand. To subscribe, email [email protected] or call (919) 828-3876. October 2001 C A R O L I N A 10 Higher Education JOURNAL Bats in the Belltower Speakers at UNC-Chapel Hill ‘Teach-Ins’ ‘Distinguished’ terrorist Compare U.S. with Nazis and Terrorists On the very day of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pen- tagon on Sept. 11 The New York Times Events sponsored by the attacks on the World Trade Center and Devil” mascot. He said that Christmas put published a glowing article, “Life the Pentagon to the attack on Pearl Harbor. black families in debt, and that Duke’s mas- With the Weathermen: No Regrets ‘Progressive Faculty Network’ “The de facto executive branch and the cot was “spiritually insensitive” and had for a Love of Explosives.” The compliant press are putting the historical connotations of European aristocracy and article’s purpose was to announce blame U.S. for attacks spotlight right now on December 7, 1941, the “blue-eyed devils” of white racists. the publication of Fugitive Days, writ- and Pearl Harbor,” he said. “I think we need Gatewood was also slated to speak at ten by Bill Ayers, a homegrown ter- to aim that spotlight at February 27 in 1933 the next teach-in. rorist of the 1970s who “participated By JON SANDERS and the Reichstag fire.” (In 1933, Nazis un- Slavick used the teach-in to present a in the bombings of New York City Assistant Editor der the direction of Chancellor Adolf Hitler slide-show of her artwork, entitled “Places police headquarters in 1970, of the RALEIGH reportedly torched the Reichstag to create the United States Has Bombed.” According Capitol building in 1971, the Penta- n response to the terrorist attacks on a panic, blamed the Communists, con- to the DTH, “the artwork depicted devas- gon in 1972.” New York and Washington, members vinced Weimar Republic President Paul von tation and destruction that was a result of The article, by Dinitia Smith, Iof the “Progressive Faculty Network” Hindenburg to suspend constitutional lib- the United States bombing places such as couches Ayers and his anticapitalist, at UNC-Chapel Hill sponsored a series of erties, won a parliamentary plurality and Sudan and Afghanistan.” hippie terrorism in terms bordering “teach-ins” to give an alternative view of thereby passed the “Enabling Law” giving “I want to instill fear back into us,” on veneration. The “ebullient, ingra- the attacks. Entitled the “Understanding” Hitler dictatorial power.) Slavick said, “but not fear of the peripheral tiating” and “charismatic” Ayers series, the teach-ins are also sponsored by Lutz also disputed the Pearl Harbor world. We should be afraid of ourselves.” committed “daring acts” (the bomb- the university’s departments of political parallel, saying it should be “February 1947, ings) involved in “social activism.” science and geography, the University Cen- when a new war was declared,” by which “Resonance” with Marxism At this point readers may be ter for International Studies, and the Caro- she meant the Cold War (which of course thinking, OK, so the timing of the lina Seminar on Bridging the Divide: Aca- was never formally declared a war). She Lubiano last spoke at UNC-CH in a article is quite an awful coincidence demics, Activists, and the Struggle for So- compared Henry Kissinger with Osama bin conference in April, “Black Queer Studies and this Ayers fellow certainly cial Justice. Laden, and suggested that we “send the in- in the Millennium,” in which she gave the doesn’t seem worthy of the Times’ Building on Chancellor James Moeser’s ternational police for [bin Laden] and pick closing remarks. She has previously writ- respect, but why is he being dis- call in his “state of the university” address up Henry Kissinger and Augusto Pinochet ten that “I don’t care about, wouldn’t talk cussed in the “Bats in the Belltower” that “we must be willing to take a stand on on the way home.” with, and am not interested in making com- section? The clue, gentle readers, lies the critical issues of the day,” the groups Masri, an Iraq sympathizer with much mon cause with them”—meaning “politi- in this quotation from the article: have presented a portrait of America after to say provided the topic isn’t Kuwait or cal conservatives (or the Right).” She has Mr. Ayers, who in 1970 was said to the attacks as a nation clearly deserving the Kurds, said that “anyone who looks differ- also stated that it is impossible “to draw have summed up the Weathermen phi- violence inflicted on it. Not surprising, the ent from your typical white man” was be- whites into” multiculturalism, that “white losophy as: “Kill all the rich people. Break teach-ins made national news, as such news ing attacked in “the xenophobic sentiment males are right not to feel good about up their cars and apartments. Bring the agencies as Fox News and CNN discussed that has taken hold of this country.” [multiculturalism].” To her, revolution home, kill your parents, that’s some of the speakers’ comments. Kurzman suggested the attacks owe to multiculturalism is not “about the liberal where it’s really at,” is today a distin- The teach-ins followed closely on the a conspiracy between American “milita- toleration of difference, but about the con- guished professor of education at the heels of another event in Chapel Hill that rists” and the terrorists themselves, to fur- testation of differences.” University of Illinois at Chicago. made national headlines. The Town of ther the militarists’ interests, which lie “in Lubiano has also written that “my criti- It seems Ayers has been lovingly Chapel Hill forced a restaurant owner to re- the exaggeration of threats, armed re- cal thinking finds resonance in and with embraced in the folds of academe’s move a banner from his store proclaiming sponses, and so on. In fact, I would argue Marxism as well as feminist theory, black huge, neoMarxist, class-envious, an- “God Bless America, Woe to Our Enemies” that there is a tacit collusion among the mili- radicalism, queer theory, various discourses ticapitalist arms. Yesterday’s bomb- because several town council members tarists of all sides.” about post-structuralism, and the often ten- throwing (literally), scruffy anarchist complained about the language being of- The crowd, estimated at about 700, re- sion-filled spaces around and within each is today’s distinguished professor of fensive. Some commentators speculated sponded favorably to the speakers’ mes- of those rubrics.” education. (Each word resounds over whether Chapel Hill was seeking to sages, nodding, applauding, even laughing Her remarks were well in keeping with with irony. Try it: Distinguished. Pro- become the “new Berkeley.” in agreement. A letter-writer in The Daily those sentiments. The first circumstance fessor. Of education.) Makes one won- There were plenty of comparisons Tar Heel reported that one attendee was that she mentions that “work[s] against der if the next education jeremiad made to Nazis and other totalitarian re- moved to shout “Bulldoze the Pentagon!” peace” in the United States is “the circula- might be entitled Why Johnny Can’t gimes at the University of North Carolina’s Audio clips of the first “teach-in” are tion of state-supported terror in the form Pull the Pin. “teach-in” held Sept. 21, but the focus of the available at http://www.unc.edu/~oswell, the of white supremacist vigilante terror— Here’s more on our distin- comparisons wasn’t Osama bin Laden or website of Michelle Oswell, a doctoral stu- lynchings—that continued until the middle guished subject, from the article: terrorists in general, but the United States dent in Renaissance musicology at UNC- of the 20th century.” She denounced the ac- • “I don’t regret setting bombs,” of America. CH who attended the event. tions of the United States in response to the he said in the lead sentence. “I feel The speakers at the forum, “Under- attacks, saying “this is U.S. warmongering we didn’t do enough.” standing the Attack on America: An Alter- Durham’s Gatewood Speaks as terror.” To her, peace “requires interna- • His girlfriend and two others nate View,” included William Blum, author tionalist consciousness” and “dismantling were killed in a Greenwich Village of Killing Hope: U.S. and CIA Intervention On Oct. 1, the second teach-in, “What the unquestioned commonsense of capital- townhouse while making bombs. since World War II and Rogue State: A Guide is War? What is Peace?” was held. Invited ism,” among other things. • His wife, fellow Weatherman to the World’s Only Superpower; Stan Goff, speakers this time included Curtis Kirsch spoke briefly about the neces- Bernardine Dohrn, was put on the author of Hideous Dream: A Soldier’s Mem- Gatewood, president of the Durham chap- sity “for progressives and liberals especially FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List and said oir of the U.S. Invasion of Haiti; Rania Masri, ter of the NAACP; David Gilmartin, pro- to start imagining viable alternatives to the after the Manson family murders in an Arab-American activist and author of fessor of South Asian history and peace ac- war on terrorism.” 1969: “Dig it! Manson killed those Iraq Under Siege; Catherine Lutz, UNC-CH tivist at North Carolina State University; “I agree with many here that a sus- pigs, then they ate dinner in the same anthropology professor and author of Wahneema Lubiano, professor of literature tained peace movement is essential as room with them, then they shoved a Homefront: A Military City and the American and African American Studies at Duke Uni- well,” Kirsch said. fork into a victim’s stomach.” Twentieth Century, Rashmi Varma, UNC-CH versity; Elin O’Hara Slavick; professor of art The teach-in broke up into several small • He writes, “Everything was English professor; Sarah Shields, a UNC- at UNC-CH; and Scott Kirsch, professor of workshops: “U.S. Foreign Policy,” “Civil ideal the day I bombed the Penta- CH history professor; and Charles geography at UNC-CH. Rights in Time of War,” “Action Through gon.” (Although the damage was ex- Kurzman, a UNC-CH sociology professor. According to the DTH, “the audience Non-Violence,” “How to Organize Actions tensive, no one was killed or injured.) Blum, whose homepage compares the responded most enthusiastically to” Against War,” “The Role of Armed Resis- • He criticized former Nebraska Nazi holocaust with “the American holo- Gatewood. He said he was “certainly op- tance,” “Community, Networking, and Democrat Sen. Bob Kerrey, who re- caust,” told the audience that if he were posed to any massive, violent attacks that Outreach,” “Visual Strategies for Peace cently admitted to having led a raid president of the United States, “I would first could possibly kill thousands, if not mil- During War,” and “Arguments for Peace.” in Vietnam in which women and apologize to all the widows and orphans, lions, of innocent people.” On Oct. 4, the Campus Y, the Division children were killed, for having the tortured and the impoverished, and all Gatewood was recently disavowed by of Student Affairs, and Sangam (a South “committed an act of terrorism.” As the millions of other victims of American NAACP President Kweisi Mfume for his Asian awareness group) brought Arun for himself, “I didn’t kill innocent imperialism.” remarks following the Sept. 11 attacks. Ghandi to speak. Ghandi, the grandson of people.” (One wants to point out that Blum also asked if President Bush Gatewood urged that blacks should not Mahatma Gandhi, reiterated his call for a that’s only because he and his fel- planned to attack the United States for har- fight for their country, because they would nonviolent response to the attacks on New lows were incompetent terrorists.) boring terrorists and murderers, including only return to America to “be discriminated York and Washington that he had made • “So, would Mr. Ayers do it all “the anti-Castro Cubans in Miami.” against by people whose businesses were earlier in an online essay. “We must ac- again, he is asked? ‘I don’t want to Goff, who recently wrote, as a member headquartered in the World Trade Center. knowledge our role in helping to create discount the possibility,’ he said.” of the International Committee to Defend This is not the time to sacrifice our fathers, monsters in the world, find ways to con- Distinguished. Slobodan Milosevic, that the Hague War sons, and brothers to a country that has not tain these monsters without hurting more Professor. Crimes Tribunal was “about covering up protected our rights.” innocent people and then redefine our role Of education. the war crimes of the North American In 1995 Gatewood proposed that blacks in the world,” he had written. Ghandi was Treaty Organization and the US Govern- boycott Santa Claus, and in 1998 he called also invited to speak at North Carolina State ment,” said that it was wrong to compare on Duke University to change its “Blue University the next day. CJ C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Higher Education 11 ‘State of the University’ Address Ignores Teaching Moeser’s Vision Lacks Vision

Moeser: UNC-CH Needs More commend Chancellor James Moeser education reclaim the words “charac- for giving his “state of the univer- ter” and “values.” He spoke of “we,” Money, Politically Vocal Faculty Isity” address. I hope that he will presumably meaning the left-leaning give one every year. academic community, as opposed to an He expressed general themes of “vi- undefined “extreme right.” While in- By JON SANDERS put the child on less food.” (The analogy of sion and courage” and “leading the way voking the political spectrum in the Assistant Editor the university as a hungry child was no for America’s great public universities.” context of free speech, he ignored the RALEIGH doubt especially resounding during the I commend him for the grandeur of his consensus of opinion outside the acad- he University of North Carolina at Depression when it was more common- generalities. I was disappointed, how- emy, ranging from liberals like Nat Chapel Hill needs more money from place for children to go hungry.) ever, with some of his particulars. Hentoff to conservatives like David Ttaxpayers and donors and more is- Moeser made the case for increasing the For example, while he deplored the Horowitz, that the threat to free speech sues advocacy from faculty and adminis- university’s funding through all the re- threat of the state’s budget problems to on our campuses comes not from the tration members, Chancellor James Moeser search being made by faculty and how that the university, he only touched on the right but from the academic left itself. said in September in his first “state of the “research is making its way directly to the need for tuition increases. And he advo- Again, after the grand generalities, he university” speech to the Chapel Hill cam- North Carolina economy,” citing the cre- cated taking higher tuition from some spoke only politically correct platitudes pus. Moeser brought the concept from his ation of spin-off companies that hire em- students to aid others. He spoke only in for a left-leaning academic community. days as head of the University of Nebraska ployees and pay taxes. “Our goal is to cre- business-as-usual terms for He didn’t speak with vision at Lincoln. ate our own venture capital fund and incu- more state money and more or courage about free speech With emphasis on funding and fund- bator space to further stimulate this kind cross-subsidies. He didn’t in the context of academia’s raising, Moeser talked about “our long- of activity,” Moeser said. For those reasons, speak with vision or courage political correctness. term vision for Carolina,” which he defined Moeser urged legislators to keep away from about market-based tuition In summary, I com- as “to do what Carolina has always done UNC-CH’s overhead receipts from federal and budget reform. mend the chancellor, but best: to lead” and later specified as “lead- grants, which he called “our seed corn.” And in his closing re- urge him next year to apply ing the way for America’s great public uni- Moeser also talked about UNC-CH’s marks, he spoke grandly of his grand generalities to versities.” “master plan” for the campus’s future ex- “moral leadership” and some particulars other than Moeser never specified where exactly pansion. He also carped about the Town of “moral courage.” He urged Arch T. Allen politically correct plati- the university would be leading, but a word Chapel Hill’s latest stipulations, which he the university to hold “con- tudes. Perhaps he will ex- search through his speech by the Pope Cen- said “appear to shift the costs dispropor- temporary culture up to the plain how higher ter for Higher Education Policy uncovered tionately to the university, its students, and critical light in the context of freedom,” education’s contemporary culture, the main destinations. For example, he used ultimately the state.” and he invoked the university’s motto, which preached the deconstructionist the word “research” 23 times, “fund” (in- The chancellor then turned his focus on “lux, libertas,” light and liberty. He doctrine of indeterminacy of meaning cluding “funding” and “fund-raising”) 20 UNC-CH as an international university, a spoke of free speech without fear of cen- when it was trendy and is now pos- times, “class” or “classroom” once, and topic he had previously hinted at when he sorship. But his examples of “great is- sessed by a postmodernist, “teach” or “teaching” not at all. Nine times discussed the global ramifications of reduc- sues” for open discussion included only multicultural relativism, can reclaim he talked about “great university” or a simi- tions in the university’s budget. “Threats the politically correct litany of commit- and give meaning to the words “char- lar variant (such as “best public university” of seven percent cuts, even if unrealized, ment to “diversity,” ending capital pun- acter” and “values.” CJ and “great international university”). depict great financial instability and send ishment, and opposing discrimination In a section at the beginning of the shock waves that are felt not only here at based on “sexual orientation.” He spoke A former member of the board of trustees speech containing his only reference to the home, but around the world as we seek to not a word about critically examining and former vice chancellor for development classroom, Moeser stated that “the joy of recruit the best and brightest faculty, staff, higher education’s own “contemporary and university relations at UNC-Chapel learning is overtly evident in all we do.” and students,” he said. culture” of multiculturalism and its ac- Hill, Arch T. Allen has written several ar- From there he discussed the many funding After quoting UNC-CH Law School companying acceptance of relativism ticles and book reviews about higher edu- needs of the university and warned against Dean Gene Nichol that UNC-CH “wants to and nihilism. Yet he urged that higher cation. “cuts — real and proposed” even as “the be a public university; we embrace the word state’s revenue picture [has] worsened con- ‘public’,” Moeser concluded his speech by siderably.” saying it was the university’s “moral re- Moeser compared the present situation sponsibility” to “take a stand on the critical with the university during the Great De- issues of the day.” Moeser stated that “we N.C. Central Head Addresses pression, where even then “declining rev- must be tolerant of the opinions expressed enue was not a sufficient reason to raid our by others” and shortly afterward wondered intellectual [sic] resources.” He cited the if it were time “we reclaimed the words Enrollment, Tuition Increases example of Frank Porter Graham’s leader- ‘character’ and ‘values’ from the extreme ship during that time, specifically Graham’s right.” By JON SANDERS Total enrollment, Ammons said, was 5,750, justification for increasing university fund- In “act[ing] on our convictions,” Assistant Editor 800 of which are freshmen. There were 60 ing on the basis of “Because a child survived Moeser said, UNC-CH will “be the ‘light RALEIGH more freshmen enrolling this year than last, on two meals a day is not sound reason to on the hill’ for America and the world.” CJ ike his peer in neighboring Chapel he announced. Hill, Chancellor James H. Ammons In addressing the tuition increases, L Jr. of North Carolina Central Univer- Ammons said that they were “something sity delivered his first “state of the univer- that nobody enjoys doing,” but that they N.C. Universities React to Terrorism sity” address last month. were necessary “in order for us to continue Ammons took the post of chancellor of improving the institution.” By JON SANDERS Hill, an “arts memorial” was erected to re- the Durham institution a few months ear- Overall, Ammons said, the tuition “in- Assistant Editor ceive artistic feedback from everyone as one lier, succeeding Julius Chambers. Ammons creases will mean an additional $806,510” RALEIGH way to cope with the reality of the attacks. came to N.C. Central from Florida A&M in revenue for N.C. Central. Apart from s they did throughout every facet Several universities also put together University, where he served as provost. His money, Ammons addressed other concerns of American life, the attacks on forums to discuss various facets of the at- address reflected his vision for the univer- in his speech. He said he was urging the A New York and Washington re- tacks and how the United States should re- sity. Board of Governors to allow N.C. Central sounded through the halls of academe. spond. Duke University initiated a series Ammons’ address shared some themes to engage in campus beautification pro- Events on the campuses of North Carolina of public forums to address several issues in common with the “state of the univer- grams and slated renovations to dormito- colleges and universities mirrored those at related to the attacks. North Carolina State sity” address given by Chancellor James ries and classrooms. campuses nationally. Students and faculty University put together a panel discussion Moeser of the University of North Carolina Ammons also set forth his top priori- members gathered to pray, to mourn for the featuring six expert faculty members to dis- at Chapel Hill. Ammons discussed the ties for his chancellorship. Among them are: victims, to reaffirm American values, to cuss “Terrorism: Options for America.” university’s need for the recent tuition in- • building an environment conducive condemn the terrorists responsible, to dis- UNC-CH hosted a panel of its own faculty crease and increased state appropriations. to learning, cuss the ramifications of the attacks on on “Understand the Attack on America.” Ammons also was thankful that N.C. Cen- • restoring a sense of pride to the American foreign policy and options for a Some panels led to public outcry, such tral had been spared budget cuts by the school, and response, to call for justice and retribution, as the “teach-ins” at UNC-CH and the fo- General Assembly, despite a decline in en- • working to develop a global outlook to talk about ways they can help in the res- rum held at UNC-Wilmington, “The U.S. rollment at the university over the past few in students. cue effort, and in some instances, to blame Addresses a New and Formidable Enemy.” years. Declaring that “NCCU is the first pub- the attacks on America herself. At the latter forum, Lisa Pollard, as assis- “The state budget appropriations com- lic liberal arts institution in the country,” From Davidson College to East Caro- tant professor of history at UNCW, said that mittee passed the state budget and it holds Ammons called on expanding the lina University and points east and west “We must ask who are the terrorists, and the university harmless,” Ammons told a university’s mission without detracting and in between, the initial response on the what do we have to do to make our pres- crowd of about 1,500. “Had they not, we from the liberal-arts atmosphere that brings state’s campuses involved prayer services, ence less abrasive.” would have lost $800,000 from the base students to campus. candlelight vigils, addresses from chancel- “At least 4,500 children die in Iraq ev- budget.” One way of doing that may be the sug- lors and other faculty, and even “open-mic” ery week due to American influence,” Pol- Ammons also told the crowd that the gestion Ammons made in his speech that times for students to discuss their feelings. lard said. “What is it we can do, after bring- enrollment decline had been reversed over the university form partnerships with large Many of these events were spontaneous. At ing Mr. bin Laden to trial, to be less of a the past year, and that NCCU had admit- corporations and use N.C. Central students the University of North Carolina at Chapel terrorist?” CJ ted 530 more students this year than last. as interns. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 12 Higher Education JOURNAL Course of the Month Campus Prank Leads to Calls Another English literature/TV/movie/ for a Homosexual Student Center

art/music/sex-obsessing class By JON SANDERS and Student Body President Justin Young, Assistant Editor who said he represented all the students too This month’s winner is an English girl’s recollections of love, hate, re- RALEIGH afraid to show up. literature class, so right away readers fa- venge, rural Southern poverty, beatings, ast month someone used the Cam- • The police escort left before the march miliar with CM’s previous selections of incest, and women whose hard eyes pus Calendar section of The Daily Tar even began, having assessed the situation English courses should expect a course betrayed their broken dreams and lives. L Heel, the student newspaper of the and determined there was no threat to the with excursions outside what the unini- It also writhes and screams in pain, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 15. The marchers, sans escort, were accosted tiated consider “literature.” (Hint: nowa- need, and outrage.” to place a fake announcement of a gay pride with, in the words of one participant, “in- days everything is considered a text. En- From the same source you can also rally later in the week. The announcement sulted and patronized looks” from some glish classes aren’t just for readers any- learn the following about The Penguin listed the phone number of another student people, folks who refused to stay on the more!) Book of Lesbian Short Stories: as a contact person for anyone interested sidewalk as the marchers approached, and This class/course/chance to obsess “There is little to quarrel with about in the rally. Obviously a prank on the un- an alleged drive-by shooting from a toy over homosexuality/lesbianism/fruit the selected authors, who include suspecting student listed as the contact per- squirt gun. for English credit (not to mention, over- names new and old that can’t be ig- son, the announcement set into motion a • The entire episode led the editors of use the slash/virgule/bar/separatrix) is nored when lesbian and writer are used bizarre chain of events. the DTH to bemoan the “hostile environ- offered at the University of North Caro- in the same sentence—Stein, Hall, • Lesbian, gay, bisexual and ment for gay students on campus” created lina at Chapel Hill. Woolf, Rule, and (Dorothy) Allison, for transgender (LGBT) activists on campus by the ad, which was “[d]eep down… not instance. Surefire commercial sellers decided to hold the event as advertised just a stupid prank but a hateful and igno- English 022: Literature and Cul- such as Pat Califia, Anais Nin, and even though it initiated as a prank. Repre- rant action.” The editors further bemoaned tural Diversity Jeannette (Sexing the Cherry) Winterson sentatives told the DTH that the fact that it the “unfortunate reality… that this group Sexuality/Theory/Culture also appear. But one wonders about was used as an insult to the hapless “con- of students had to enlist the aid of campus Queer/Lives/Literature Margaret Atwood’s ‘Cold-blooded’; tact” was “just a further example of the police because they felt threatened on their editor Reynolds says it’s about ‘politics underlying homophobia” on campus. own campus.” This class will investigate what it means and alienation,’ but there’s little of the • They also requested police escort for • The week’s events therefore signified to be/have/inhabit/make/inherit/pass on a lesbian in its moth people from another the rally, out of the fear that “someone was “direct support of the demand for a LGBT “culture.” Our analysis will focus on a sam- planet.” looking to get a group of queer students at resource center” on campus, the editors pling of public and private stories, books, au- A reader provides a gushing review the same place at the same time to do some- wrote. They suggested that if the campus tobiographies, television shows, photogra- on amazon.com for Oranges Aren’t the thing.” already had such a center, it might have phy, paintings, music, and plays created by Only Fruit. The review, entitled “Be- • The march feature` d a grand total of prevented the prank, but until there is one, gay men and lesbians, 15 students, including students from Queer “every student at UNC should consider the among other sexual mi- Network for Change, Black Student Move- consequences of this action and make a con- norities, in the United ment, the Carolina Union Activities Board, scious effort not to laugh.” CJ States (and to some ex- tent the United King- dom) in the late twenti- International Students Scared into Leaving eth-century and early- twenty-first century. What are the relation- Muslim Student at Arizona State ships between sexuality and cultural production/ Fakes ‘Hate Crimes’ on Himself reproduction? We will start out with The Pen- guin Book of Gay Short By JON SANDERS fear of being assaulted like they thought Stories, then move on to Assistant Editor Nasim had been. books such as Jeanette RALEIGH Nasim’s hoax is one of a number of re- Winterson’s Oranges he political climate on college cam- cent hoaxes. At the University of Iowa’s Aren’t the Only Fruit, puses after the terrorist attacks on College of Dentistry, a series of racist threats Dorothy Allison’s Two T New York and Washington has led in the spring of 2000 were linked to a black or Three Things I to at least one new twist to a recent, strange dental student, Tarsha Michelle Claiborne. Know For Sure, and way of drawing attention to a political Claiborne is alleged to have sent out a se- The Penguin Book of cause: staging a hate crime. ries of racist e-mail messages, leaving a Lesbian Short Stories. Ahmad Saad Nasim, a junior at Arizona bowl of spaghetti symbolizing “dead black That description should give read- yond Fruit Diversity,” is written by State University, told a sympathetic cam- man’s brains” outside a dental student’s ers the idea/impression/gist of the someone who identifies him/her/itself pus community of his being attacked by door, and threatening to bomb the Dental course/etc. Those interested in more only as “A reader from Chapel Hill, two racist thugs for his being Muslim after Science Building. (When the hoax was could look into the books being used in North Carolina United States”—and CM the Sept. 11 attacks. Nasim said that he was learned, a reporter asked Iowa’s vice presi- the class/and so forth. can’t help but wonder whether perhaps attacked from behind Sept. 13 and that his dent for university relations, Ann M. For example, here’s an excerpt from the review is written by the English pro- assailants beat him, threw eggs at him and Rhodes, if she were surprised that a black the description given by amazon.com for fessor behind this course. The review called him racial epithets because he was student was behind them. Rhodes’ answer The Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories: certainly sounds as if it’s written by an Muslim. He said his assailants chanted caused another racial controversy; she said “It casts aside the notions of so much English instructor: “Die, Muslim, die!” while they beat him. she “figured it was going to be a white guy pre-1980s writing that presupposed a “How do we access rapture? What That attack never happened, however. between 25 and 55, because they’re the root gay ghetto where men suffered more at comprises a revelation? Take every Nasim was forced to admit the hoax when of most evil.”) each other’s hands than from straight book you’ve ever read advertised as a he was discovered apparently trying to fake Earlier that year, a female student at the oppressors’ persecution, an unalterable ‘coming of age story’ or as a ‘tale of another hate crime on himself. An ASU cus- University of Massachusetts admitted to chasm between gays and the rest of the sexual awakening’ and recycle ‘em. … todian found Nasim lying inside a locked lying about being attacked by a man armed world, and the suffocating oppression of This, Winterson’s first book, is a tri- bathroom stall in the university library, with a knife following an antirape rally on a double, half-secret life… More expect- umph in the memoir genre specifically where he had tied himself up, wrote “die” campus. The previous December, the ably present are Noel Coward, Christo- because it refuses to be a memoir. Rather on his forehead and chest, and tied a plas- woman had cut herself with a knife, thrown pher Isherwood, Larry Kramer (in a than rehash and rephrase the standard tic grocery bag around his head. it under her car, and the presented herself stunning tour de force of Jewish first-person epiphany, Winterson Before the hoax was discovered, Nasim at the rally as having just been sexually as- ethnicity, ‘Mrs. Tefillin’), Paul Bailey in- dwells in the details of exchange, and had garnered a great deal of sympathy for saulted. dulging his meditations on semen or the vagaries of revelation, constantly himself from well-meaning students, so So-called hate crimes have also been ‘spunk,’ and A. M. Homes, who is in fact twisting your narrative imagination much that he wrote a letter to the student staged at two North Carolina campuses in a woman able to write with astonishing with her delicate ironies and analogies. newspaper to thank the students for their the past few years. In 1997, black activists authenticity from the point of view of Of particular interest is her descriptions kindness. were found to be the culprits behind the teenage boys.” of Pentecostal culture, and the conse- “Many of you e-mailed to show your lynching of a black baby doll at Duke Uni- The bookseller’s website also pro- quences of didactic belief.” support, gave online get well cards and versity. At Guilford College the next year, a vides a description of Two or Three Things Nevertheless, CM dismisses the idea many kind messages that made me burst white student, Molly Martin, claimed she I Know For Sure, from which the follow- that the professor wrote the review. The in to tears,” Nasim said in the letter. “My was attacked and had “nigger lover” ing is taken: style is too different/dissimilar/dis- physical injuries will take time to wither scrawled on her chest because of her sup- “Adapted from a performance tinct/incongruous/heterogenous (a away. But you Sun Devils have certainly port, as the Student Senate president, of the piece, Allison’s little memoir sifts word that probably doesn’t set well taken care of the emotional pains I had.” creation of a full-time director of African- through old family photos that capture with either writer)—that is to say, the Also before the hoax was learned, 48 inter- American affairs on campus. Police later a childhood filled with a ‘white trash’ review contains nary a slash. CJ national students decided to interrupt their learned that the attack was self-inflicted, education and leave the ASU campus for and Martin left Guilford. CJ C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Higher Education 13 N.C. State’s College of Design Gets Design Firm to Develop Its Web Site

By JON SANDERS on having full professors teaching its Assistant Editor classes, so that its faculty carry full teach- RALEIGH ing loads. Malecha said the college regu- he College of Design at North Caro- larly engages professionals to assist in in- lina State University has chosen a struction as well as other forms of contact Tprofessional firm to design its web with students, to provide them with role site. Burney Design, which submitted a bid models and also professional contacts. Cartoon of about $30,000, was awarded the contract. Although an outside firm will be re- More than two dozen firms bid on the sponsible for developing the site, students project, according to Technician, the student will be involved, Malecha said. He also said newspaper at N.C. State. The paper also the college uses students for designing the said the bids ranged from $20,000 to college’s annual reports and information $297,000. CD’s for middle-school students. In light of Web design is one of the aspects of de- his earlier comments about student sign taught by the college. In fact, the first workloads, Malecha said that these projects three designs of the college’s web site were are ones that students can work on during done by College of Design students and the summer. faculty. Malecha also said that the college is Those designs, however, only “partially expected to be at an “advanced edge” of satisfied” the college’s needs for its web site, output, and the web site should reflect that said Dean Marvin Malecha, which is why expectation, especially in the face of the re- the college decided to give a professional cent increases in tuition. Those tuition in- firm the chance for the site’s overhaul. The creases have a much greater effect on out- Magazine’s College Rankings current design for the site is four years old. of-state students (and future out-of-state Malecha said the site, www.design.ncsu.edu, students), so tools of recruitment need to is an important recruiting tool for the col- be “sharper” now, Malecha said. About 17 Come Under Fire, Ridicule lege. percent of the college’s undergraduate stu- Malecha said there were several rea- dents are out-of-state or international stu- By JON SANDERS of alumni who donate — which depends sons for the college going outside for de- dents, Malecha said, as are a higher percent- Assistant Editor in large part on alumni wealth and how sign help. He said students in the design age of the college’s graduate students. RALEIGH many pesky sophomores man phone banks school carry the heaviest courseloads on Burney Design is headed by a College he latest installment of the in exchange for pizza and T-shirts”). campus, to the extent that they are coun- of Design alumnus, David Burney, who also “America’s Best Colleges” rankings She and Thompson also reiterated the seled not to engage in team sports, frater- has taught part-time at the college. Burney’s T by U.S. News & World Report was charge Thompson made last year in the nities, or other extracurricular activities. bid of $30,000 was well below what received with the usual fanfare, but a dis- Monthly — that the rankings were devel- Also, Malecha said the college prides itself Malecha said was a $150,000 project. CJ cordant drumbeat against it has grown oped using “the only believable methodol- steadily louder. ogy… that confirmed the prejudices of the There have long been rumblings that meritocracy: The schools that the most pres- the rankings were misleading and that the tigious journalists and their friends had methodology employed by USN&WR was gone to would have to come out on top.” faulty and also tweaked from year to year Evidence of the rankings’ fall from to ensure each year’s issue would feature a grace comes from the relatively muted ap- new Number One (which preciation they are re- helps to sell magazines, ceiving from institutions the criticism holds). placing highly in them An open challenge to “No one in their right — although it’s likely the rankings came in 1996 mind would either they’re still used in those from Stanford University donate to or attend a institutions’ promo- President Gerhard Casper, tional material. In North who wrote privately to loser school.” Carolina, for instance, USN&WR editor James the rankings’ reception Fallows in 1996 about the was described by The “utterly misleading” rankings, “particu- News and Observer as a “frosty embrace.” larly their specious formulas and spurious In his recent “state of the university precision” (the letter is now available online address,” University of North Carolina at at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/ Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser men- president/speeches/961206gcfallow.html). tioned the USN&WR rankings. “If you Casper also encouraged schools to post must, read what the magazine says about statistics about themselves on their us,” Moeser said, “but let us not for a sec- websites, which could then be linked on the ond be diverted by these arbitrary and ar- Internet, as a way to combat the rankings, tificial ratings from the substance of our and he may have inspired the national stu- vision for excellence.” Advertisement dent movement against the USN&WR Moeser’s comments this year are in rankings (the “Forget U.S. News Coali- stark contrast to his earlier use of USN&WR tion”), started in 1996 by Stanford senior rankings as rah-rah fodder in his “State of Nick Thompson. the University” addresses to the University This year, Amy Graham, former direc- of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1997 and 1999. tor of data research for USN&WR, cowrote Meanwhile, a professor from Duke with Nicholas Thompson an article in this University has given the rankings a fulsome September’s The Washington Monthly blast- rhubarb. Stuart Rojstaczer, an associate pro- ing the rankings for paying “scant attention fessor of earth and meteorological sciences, to measures of learning or good educational spoofs the rankings on his website practices” and instead focuses on “a www.rankyourcollege.com. school’s wealth, reputation, and the Rojstaczer’s site, which says it provides achievement of the high-school students it college rankings “because you want us to admits.” do it,” offers multiple ranking options us- Just two years prior, Graham had writ- ing methodology “so complicated that it ten with Robert J. Morse a defense of defies explanation,” although it attempts an USN&WR’s rankings, saying that they be- explanation using an analogy to particle lieved “it is possible to objectively compare physics: “a college, like a subatomic par- schools on one key attribute: academic ex- ticle, could be two or more places at once. cellence.” Now she charges that the maga- In other words, individual colleges could zine doesn’t try hard enough to measure have multiple rankings!” That aspect is im- learning or even student satisfaction, and portant because “No one in their right mind instead opts for “one vastly less reliable would either donate to or attend a loser measure of satisfaction — the percentage school.” CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 14 Local Government JOURNAL

Town and Country Reckless Vehicle Assessments It has been a trying time for the Study Shows Counties Observe No Standard, Keep Information From the Public United States in light of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11. The interview with Pearl Burris-Floyd, Gaston County By ERIK ROOT counties. “No- commissioner, was conducted on the Assistant Editor body is arguing first Saturday after the terrorist at- RALEIGH how he [TEC] as- tack, and our discussion naturally ccording to a new study released sesses,” Tom turned to that event. Her comments by AAA Carolinas, vehicle assess- Crosby, vice presi- are preserved for you to read on A ment taxes in North Carolina vary dent of communi- page 16. dramatically. “The quoted assessment of a cations at AAA In light of the tragedy, gone are vehicle’s market value in North Carolina Carolinas, said, many issues that divide us. Newspa- may vary by as much as 50 percent for the “It’s the way that pers across the state have reported same vehicle,” the report says. the individual Source: AAA Carolinas how people in every locality, in ev- But the problems do not end there. A counties get their ery county, in every city are coming more nefarious taxation problem is at hand numbers” and derive their assessments. tion appears to be very difficult. David E. together in ways not heard since 1941. with the various levies on vehicles. AAA Carolinas would like to see a set Parsons, CEO of AAA Carolinas, said, “Tax- The front page of the Cleveland According to the report, “Motorists standard of values. They want the state of payers have a right to know how assess- Post pictured not only American flags challenging an actual vehicle assessment North Carolina to set those standards. ments are calculated.” being waved, but public school stu- are often denied public access to informa- “Georgia should be used as a model. AAA Carolinas believes that assess- -- dents showing their patriotism. The tion used in determining vehicle values... They use one value, and counties can adjust ment information ought to be readily avail- article freely mentioned God, and Additionally, appeals procedures differ that figure down if they wish. They can only able and easy to find in automobile owners’ the back page of the same newspa- county by county and are adjust the number down, county of residence. “We believe that ev- per sported several pictures of people usually heard by local of- not up. But there should eryone should have access to the informa- praying at a Chick-Fil-A in Garner. ficials, who do not gener- Taxpayers have a right be one value,” said Jaquie tion and that they should be able to know In these private and public acts, ally inform taxpayers that Hughett, a public rela- the appeals process,” Hughett said. Ap- gone are the critics that proclaim such further appeals can also to know how assess- tions manager for AAA peals processes vary from county to county. actions are a violation of the right to be made to the state Prop- ments are calculated. Carolinas. Some counties require people to make ap- believe in nothing. And indeed, we erty Tax Commission.” The information should However, there is peals in person, some require third-party saw this played out in Washington, If this sounds like an- another problem AAA assessments, and some require appeals in D.C., when members of Congress other government cash be public and consis- Carolinas faced in its re- writing. spontaneously broke out in “God cow and boondoggle to tent across the state. search. When AAA work- So why do counties assess a tax on cars? Bless America.” However, what hap- swindle citizens out of ers called TEC Data for Assessments are but one prong of a two pened Sept. 11 is certainly more than more money, you might the information they give part process. After the assessments are de- a tragedy. be correct. counties, they were told that as a private termined, tax rates are applied, and those Charles Kesler, a professor of Counties are supposed to derive their company they do not have to release such rates vary widely, if not more, than the government at Claremont-McKenna assessments from TEC Data Systems. TEC, information. They were told to call the coun- assessments. “Not every state has one as College, wrote that describing this located in Raleigh, figures the assessment ties. However, when they called the county lucrative as ours,” Crosby said. “It is a way event as a tragedy is inadequate. “The for each county for each vehicle. Most coun- tax offices for something that should be for local governments to raise more rev- consequences of these attacks are ties use a “standard value,” which is roughly public information, they were told that the enue.” Many municipalities also impose a tragic, of course, in the broad con- a flat value for a vehicle. Every county information was “copyrighted” and could property tax on motor vehicles in addition temporary sense of the term, but that begins from a flat assessment for a particu- not be released. So the public basically does to the county levy. sense is so broad as to be morally lar vehicle. However, some counties round not know how assessments are determined. One former county official, who did neutral. If the World Trade Center that figure up or down by up to 5 percent. “TEC Data said the information would not wish to be identified, and who worked towers had collapsed due to an earth- John Farthing, president of TEC, said be available at the county tax offices, and in the tax department agreed: “Counties quake we would be calling that event that the public cannot access information the tax offices we contacted told us that the have to get money from somewhere, if you tragic, too. Granted, it’s hard to tear on his business because it is private, but that information is copyrighted and they cannot don’t collect it from vehicles, you’ll have to oneself away from the terrible hu- taxpayers could view the material counties release it,” Hughett said. get it from [somewhere else].” Indeed, ac- man toll, but to take a proper moral use to decipher values in the various tax Farthing said tax offices should show cording to this person, vehicle taxes go and political view of these attacks we offices. He said data from TEC are more any taxpayer the books that his company directly into the general fund. must focus not merely on their con- conservative than data from such sources sends the counties. However, getting the This person adds, however, that tax sequences but on the intentions be- as the Kelly Blue Book. Assessed values counties to send the taxpayer such informa- variance might not be a bad thing. Like with hind the actions. These were wicked among counties should not vary as much as real-estate, acts; savage, cruel, and evil. AAA Carolina’s reported, he said. different as- “America’s response to these sessments re- wicked attacks must be righteous Investigation by CJ flect different indignation. It is mainly up to Presi- conditions. A dent Bush to express that indigna- Carolina Journal decided to do a little of Five Highest Taxes Due car near the tion in noble and searing words, and its own investigating and randomly called ocean under- to join with Congress in striking with four counties to see whether they would goes far more a terrible, swift sword against the give us roughly the same values for a car. wear than one nation’s enemies. Thousands of They did not. owned in the Americans have already fallen in The two counties that were able to give piedmont. today’s sneak attacks. Hundreds us assessed values for a car were off by CJ now risk their lives trying to save the almost $2,000. Officials in one county said trapped and injured. Our enemies they figured assessments from the Kelly underestimate American courage, Blue Book, not from TEC. Officials in two forgetting that American democracy other counties could not give us a value; has ever been a fighting faith.” one of them wanted the vehicle identifica- But do these events translate into tion number of the car in question before a rediscovery of that ancient faith of they could run a check on the assessment, 1776? Will we continue fighting for and another said they could not give us a that faith when the hour is nye and if value, but would give us a formula, which the casualties climb in a protracted amounted to the vehicle purchase price war? Security and protection is but multiplied by .3067, multiplied again by one of the duties of government, but 100, and then adding $30. good government is more than a mere In all fairness, the county that needed protector, else we would be happy the VIN did report back the correct value, with Leviathan. This is no less true according to TEC. However, that county for those of us affected by our gov- was one of the counties that rounds the ernments in cities and counties. A standard value upward. respect for property rights, an hon- Clearly, counties are having a difficult est governing body, and a small, ef- time disseminating proper information to ficient government in general may the public and standards for deciphering yet be rediscovered out of these the values of vehicles differ dramatically events. Time will tell if our patriotic from county to county. In other words, exuberance translates into something there appears to be no set standard. far deeper and lasting. However, AAA Carolinas is not blam- — Erik Root ing TEC Data for the problems, but rather the arbitrary standards employed by the C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Local Government 15

Judge Ignores Constitutional Precedent Urban Sprawl for Dummies Annexation in Wilmington; y drum-beating the term “urban since 1950. That works out to about 55 Ford Dealers Around the State sprawl,” policy-makers and activ- million new homes. They have to be Bists who favor government solu- built somewhere. tions to perceived problems have been Perhaps “New Urbanist” develop- By ERIK ROOT able to take much of the public focus off ments like Cherry Hill Village in Assistant Editor some of their own most persistent urban Michigan’s Canton Township are the WILMINGTON failures. The term used to describe the so- way to go. Developers — without either he Good Neighbors of New Hanover lution to “urban sprawl” places a nega- coercion or subsidies from government County sponsored an event in Sep- tive label upon all those who notice the — were able to build high-density hous- Ttember that featured many current sleight of hand. The only people who ing that minimizes the need to use au- and aspiring political leaders in the com- would be against “smart growth” must tomobiles because of mixed-use zoning munity. About 150 people attended the be, well, dummies. So maybe it’s time for that allows both residents and commer- event despite the World Trade Center and a lesson entitled, “Urban Sprawl for cial properties to be built side by side. Pentagon crashes in New York and Wash- case going to the appellate court. “I am Dummies.” The point policymakers should un- ington D.C. just one day earlier. more of an appellate lawyer,” Nunnally Market-oriented policy-makers and derstand about what they refer to as The Good Neighbors invited many of said. The case will have no real resolution proponents are wrong to say that ugly “sprawl” is that it’s not wrong for indi- the officials and candidates to the forum to until a higher court decides the matter. housing developments spreading across viduals, families, and businesses to speak about forced annexation and other Another issue that was discussed was the countryside aren’t a prob- choose the most viable op- local issues. whether the city and county should con- lem. But the real challenge has tions open to them. When- The event was also held to raise money solidate. always been deterioration of ever an alarmist shows a pic- for a legal battle with the city. From the While no candidate or current office- the quality of life in our cities, ture of ugly housing devel- looks of the thermometer placard displayed holder offered any comprehensive plan for and a refusal to acknowledge opments “encroaching” on the stage, Good Neighbors will have consolidation, New Hanover County Com- its causes in policy. upon pristine farmland, it more than $10,000 in its coffers. But the missioner and Wilmington mayoral candi- Public school systems are might be appropriate to legal battle is just one front that concerns date Bill Caster said he thought the issue willing to fail generations of show him a picture of a typi- many of New Hanover’s citizens as well as should be studied. Such a study should minority youth rather than ad- cal inner-city neighborhood the county’s political leadership. include citizens and politicians, he said. mit that market-oriented re- and ask which he would pre- Wilmington Mayor Pro-Tem Katherine Only through broad input will consolida- forms such as school choice Samuel Walker fer, if his living arrange- Moore said the people tion be accomplished, he might work. City govern- ments were at issue. In fact, should not form their said. ments are allowed to deliver ask him where he lives now. opinions by reading the Some of the attend- services incompetently decade after de- Policymakers must look at the factors Star-News, the city’s local “Don’t rely on getting ees were skeptical of con- cade rather than adopt more efficient, that cause families to leave cities. It’s newspaper and whose your opinions about solidation. One local resi- private sector alternatives. Lawless, dan- time to focus on such things as making editorial direction has the issues by reading dent said he would sup- gerous city environments are only now schools not just tolerable, but great. been solidly in favor of port it if it could be dem- being changed, slowly, against deter- There are a number of ways to do this, those who wish to deprive the Star-News”, Wilm- onstrated that consolida- mined resistance, through older, more whether through charter-school expan- citizens of their property ington Mayor Pro-Tem tion meant “smaller, traditional law enforcement methods — sion or some kind of school choice pro- rights. Property rights more-efficient govern- methods government planners discarded gram that gives parents a tax credit for and the right to not be Katherine Moore ment.” as anachronistic decades ago. Think tuition at public or private schools. taxed without being rep- Others are concerned about it: U.S. cities are being deluged with City officials also could do other resented is at the heart of freedom, Moore that even with consolidation they will find proposals aimed at reversing 40 years of things to fix schools, improve the qual- said. She was the only local officeholder no tax relief or that their taxes will continue failure. How would you like it if your ity of city services, and lighten the tax rewarded with a standing ovation for her to climb. political opponents could credibly cite 40 load on citizens. They could contract out comments. That is why a coalition of business lead- years of living testimony against your to private firms garbage pickup, water Many of the participants believe that ers, residents, and political officeholders is policies and positions? and sewer services — even rodent con- the only balanced reporting can be found needed to study the issue—to find out where You would be extremely grateful to trol — so service providers will go out on radio station WAAV 980 AM. cuts can be made and how to best imple- anyone who came up with a way to di- of business if they fail to show up on On this night, if one were to read the ment such an effort, Caster said. vert attention from these failures. In the time to fix a problem. They could post a local paper, Good Neighbors should have concept of “urban sprawl,” those favor- friendly, neighborhood patrolman on been morose and defeated, but the group Auto Dealers Give Public the Shaft ing government solutions have found a foot to walk the precinct. They could was not. While the paper relished the dis- way to: a) refocus attention away from avoid traffic problems in the city and missal of Good Neighbors’ lawsuit by Dis- House members last week approved a the real problems; b) avoid having to ad- avert “sprawling” developments out- trict Judge Terrence Boyle, the group’s law- bill, by a vote of 87-8, that would outlaw mit they were wrong about many things; side it by easing tough zoning require- yers had expected the case to be fought at Ford Motor Company’s Blue Oval customer and c) not just keep their coercive gov- ments so stores can be built close the appellate level, no matter what hap- service program after heavy lobbying by ernment powers, but actually expand enough for people to walk or ride a bike pened in the lower court. the N.C. Automobile Dealer’s Association, them. there. which said the program was unfair to local According to Albany Law School In short, the solution to “urban Where’s the Newspaper? dealers. professor Patricia Salkin, the concept of sprawl” lies in fixing the problems that “Incentive programs are a mechanism urban sprawl inspired more than 1,000 cause people and businesses to leave cit- That fact, however, never made it into between the manufacturer and the dealer,” legislative bills in 1999 alone, and 20 per- ies in the first place. But people must be the newspaper. And indeed, the newspa- said Robert Glaser, executive vice president cent of them passed. The idea has em- allowed to come up with their own so- per failed to challenge statements by of the NCADA. “In many cases the incen- powered city governments and state leg- lutions. No one-size-fits-all solution Wilmington City Attorney Tom Pollard that tive is so material that it amounts to eco- islatures to impose a host of growth con- policymakers try to impose has worked the decision upheld state law when in fact it nomic extortion. The dealer has to partici- trol policies that limit private, individual, or is likely to work, even if they do think is a question of federal constitutional rights. pate in the incentive program if they like it and community choices in favor of vast, it’s “smart.” CJ The newspaper omitted and appeared or not.” restrictive government directives. not to question Pollard over his misstate- Ford dealers said they like the pro- But the same people who gave us the ment that the decision upholds forced an- gram. Numerous Ford dealers testified in problems aren’t likely to come up with Samuel Walker is a communications spe- nexation without the consent of those an- committee that the program benefitted their the solutions. After all, we’ve added 120 cialist at the Mackinac Center for Public nexed, when places like River Bend cannot employees and customers. million people to America’s population Policy in Michigan. be annexed in such a fashion. “There are a lot of good benefits with James Eldridge was upbeat when he the Blue Oval program,” said Vernon Smith, addressed the audience. “This case has al- owner of Morehead City Ford in Morehead gether in ways that I couldn’t imagine. state. People selling a product that adult ways been an appellate level case,” Eldridge City. They’d come in on weekends.” consumers must have will no longer be said. No matter if the group would have “Blue Oval in itself has been very good Dave Horne, a lawyer who represents eligible to receive financial incentives for won at the district court level, the city would for us, and overall it’s been very good for Ford at the General Assembly, said the bill doing a good job.” have appealed. As it stands now, it is the the customers, which is what it’s all about. would harm consumers by prohibiting car In addition to outlawing Ford’s Blue Good Neighbors that is appealing to the 4th I did have some concerns about the fact that makers from instituting initiatives aimed Oval program, the bill would prohibit manu- Circuit Court of Appeals. they were allowing other manufacturers to at customer satisfaction. facturers from forcing dealers to change all Mary Margaret Nunnally strode to the have basically the same program and out- “It’s a terrible bill for consumers be- their signs at once should the manufacturer podium with one of her 11 large notebooks lawing it for us. I have some very strong cause it eliminates entirely the option for employ a new logo. It also would give the on the case and echoed Eldridge’s com- feelings about that, but I will do whatever voluntary programs that will reward deal- NCADA automatic standing in court to sue ments. Nunnally said Good Neighbors does the law says.” ers for making their customers happy,” automakers. That would make the group not understand how Boyles can base his Smith and other dealers said the pro- Horne said. the only professional organization in the opinion on a 100-year-old case that has been gram made their employees more sensitive “Customer satisfaction programs are state granted the ability to sue almost at whittled down over the years. to satisfying the customer. “My people liked outlawed by the General Assembly, prob- will. The bill now goes back to the Senate for Nunnally is very happy to have the it,” Smith said. “It brought the team to- ably for the first time in the history of our concurrence. CJ October 2001 C A R O L I N A 16 Local Government JOURNAL

Local Innovation Bulletin Board A Discussion with Gaston County Tax Cuts in New York Commissioner Pearl Burris-Floyd

he Manhattan Institute released form of its own income tax structure. By ERIK ROOT to or if they are talking, nobody is listening. a new study showing that tax But when fiscal push came to shove Assistant Editor So part of what I am trying to do is provide Tcuts implemented in New York with the economic slowdown of 1990, GASTON COUNTY that listening ear and learn and come out City over the past four years have cre- the city started raising taxes again—en- CJ: Tell us about your background. and say I have all the answers. The reality is ated about 80,000 private sector jobs. It acting, in quick succession, two sur- no one has all the answers. says additional tax cuts are important to charges that added more than 28 per- Floyd: I grew up in Dallas, North Carolina I have never had the opportunity to the city’s continuing economic progress, cent to personal income tax bills, and a and I’m a native North Carolinian. I am a serve in a political office. So this is very and, conversely, that increasing tax rates major property tax increase. product of the public school system. I did new. The best way to mess up quickly is to would cost the city tens of thousands of A 1991 study by then-City Comp- my undergraduate work at the University become an instant know-it-all. You set your- jobs. troller Elizabeth of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and my pro- self up for failure that way. This has been an The enactment of lo- Holtzman predicted fessional training in cytology at the UNC humbling experience. cal tax cuts on a record that more than 100,000 School of Medicine. I am a specialist in the scale has been one of the jobs would be lost as a field of cytology, which is a field dealing CJ: What are the issues you are facing in the cornerstones of New result of the increases. with cancer screening and cancer detec- county at this time? What are the most pressing York City’s fiscal recov- Actually, employment tion. It is a field that I have worked for 21 issues? ery over the past seven dropped by more than years. So my whole career has been in years. A major rationale 300,000 before the laboratory medicine. Floyd: Well, that would have to be the for these tax cuts, as economy hit bottom in I have always been extremely active in budget. We faced a $20 million deficit. I stressed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and 1993. community activities: church, schools, came in right at budget time in May. Bud- other city officials, was to encourage A review of New York City tax board member of the children’s museum, gets are really difficult, and we had to un- growth in New York’s economy. This policy and economic conditions over and also for the Gaston County Health fortunately raise taxes. We tried to protect study, written by Edmund J. McMahon, the past three decades suggested this Department. jobs, but we did cut vacant jobs so no one in a senior fellow at the institute, indicates was no accident. A clear pattern Gaston lost a job. that tax cuts accomplished that purpose. emerged: Tax increases coincided with CJ: You are now a county commissioner. What Gaston has experienced a loss of jobs in Specifically, the study found that: job losses, and tax cuts coincided with interested you in the position? the private sector in the textile ¥ The personal income tax, sales tax job gains. This was especially true when industry. We have lost a tremen- and property tax reductions enacted by the value of state income tax cuts was Floyd: A county commissioner dous number of jobs in that area. the city in the last four years have gener- factored into the mix. from the Dallas township stepped We lost those jobs as a result of ated 80,000 new private sector jobs, or For example, as illustrated below in down due to illness and a group competition from outside the about one-fourth of the city's total em- Figure 1, private sector job growth in of citizens had gone out to search United States. So in addition to ployment growth since 1997. the city has generally surged following for someone. My name kept com- jobs, one of the challenges is eco- ¥ More than 6,500 new jobs will be cuts in the combined state and city in- ing up unbeknownst to me. I had nomic development. We are try- generated by tax cuts included in the come tax rate, which now stands at its no idea people thought I had a ing to attract new companies to city’s fiscal 2002 budget that are still lowest point in 35 years. political perspective and that they add those jobs back into the awaiting the state legislature’s approval. The results were determined using would support me in that type of Pearl Burris-Floyd county and get people to work. • Nearly 15,000 new jobs could be NYC-STAMP, a New York City version role. It was very daunting be- We have made some strides in added to New York’s employment base of the State Tax Analysis Modeling Pro- cause Gaston has never had an African- that. But it is a tough position to be in by eliminating the remainder of the in- gram first developed by the Beacon Hill American, much less a female African- because there’s competition from every- come tax surcharge first adopted a de- Institute at Suffolk University in Bos- American, commissioner. where. cade ago. ton. NYC-STAMP estimates the impact All my life I have been a conservative. • Restoration of the 12.5 percent in- on employment of changes in four cat- I was a registered Democrat until February CJ: What is it that private companies are looking come tax surcharge, repealed in 1998, egories—income tax, sales tax, property of this year after being urged by my older for? would result in the destruction of about tax, and general corporation tax. brother, who had been a registered Repub- 25,000 jobs. Restoring both of the Giuliani said about the report: lican since he first registered. He always Floyd: Low taxes, countywide water and Dinkins-era surcharges would cost the “Today’s study illustrates an important told me “you know you’re a Republican.” sewer, access to main thoroughfares so that city nearly 37,000 jobs. chapter in the story of our city. Tax re- He was my motivation and the seat had to they can be readily seen, an educated work- ductions have helped more than 80,000 be filled by a Republican. force. And we are working on all those Tax Cuts Saved the City New Yorkers find work in newly cre- Of course there were questions as to things. Gaston Community College is a ated jobs. why I changed my party affiliation and help and is a top-ranked college. The tax reductions represent a strik- Tax reductions have helped even whether I was just masquerading as a Re- We also opened a new technology high- ing turnabout. For most of the post– more New Yorkers put food on their publican. My response to that was it de- school last year. Those students that come World War II era, New York City taxes dinner tables, take their children to pends on how you look at your affiliation. out of there are certified with a trade skill. headed in one direction—up—with the baseball games, and build better lives My affiliation was never based on being They can come out and get a job. That’s biggest hikes taking place in the 1960s for themselves and their families.” CJ active as a Democrat; it was more out of what employers are looking for—techni- and early ‘70s. Yet these tax increases not legacy. My parents were Democrats, so I cally advanced graduates that can come in only failed to prevent the city from go- registered as a Democrat. and understand the process that they have ing broke—they contributed to the mas- McMahon is a senior fellow for tax and I think what is more important is the to go through. sive loss of jobs and businesses that budgetary studies of the Center for Civic values that one is raised in. I was raised in We have the means to do it and have a brought the fiscal crisis to a head in 1975. Innovation at the Manhattan Institute. The a Christian home, my brother served in the strong public school system. So there are In the aftermath of the 1970s crisis, entire report may be viewed at the Manhat- armed forces, and my father is a veteran. some positive things going on. We have the Koch administration enacted a series tan Institute website. Please direct your We believe in working hard and all my land available and water as well. Those are of relatively modest, targeted reductions browsers to http://www.manhattan.org and siblings have a degree or certification. My things that are attractive to businesses. We in business taxes. Responding to federal click on “What New York has Learned from oldest brother is a CPA, and I am in labora- now have a $500 million business specializ- tax changes, the city also launched a re- Tax Cuts.” tory medicine. My other brothers are a ing in alternative energy that recently lo- nurse, administrator, and my youngest cated to Gaston. brother is a laboratorian. However, the new businesses coming We worked hard to make sure that into the area are not as wide-scale employ- whatever we did, we had the credentials to ment wise as the ones that left. They are do it and my parents wanted to make sure employing 70 to 100 people, while the old we had the opportunity to do it. But there textile industries employed hundreds. were no handouts. It was just working So we have to find a way to re-educate really hard to achieve the goals and objec- the workforce so those not at retirement tives that I think any good citizen would age can continue to make a living. These are want to achieve. So if that means I am a the issues we will have to deal with over the Republican, then I have always been a Re- next five years. publican. Many things, however, at this point in So that addressed that issue of switch- time, seem unimportant, considering what ing parties. The other point is how many has happened in our country in New York individuals didn’t have or know of some- and Washington D.C. Our security has been one who at one point was registered as a terribly disrupted. Because of that we see Democrat. patriotism come to the forefront, and that is Going out and talking to people and a good thing. finding out what they are interested in is a In recent years people haven’t talked big part of who I am. I may not have the about how proud they are to be an Ameri- absolute answer, but I think that people are can. But this has changed and I hope that frustrated because they have no one to talk this closeness continues. C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Local Government 17

From Cherokee to Currituck building. However, there are no hard and Ramsey remains steadfast against the reliable numbers demonstrating how much multiple-use zoning plan. they would pay, nor is there a plan in place Car Dealer’s Inflatable Gorilla for who gets stuck with the bill if the center Roxboro Garbage Privatization loses money. The Roxboro City Council is consider- Violates City’s Ban on Balloons Multiple Land-Use District ing privatizing garbage pickup service, ac- cording to The Courier Times of Roxboro. Buncombe County commissioners are City Manager Jim Freeman has conducted a By ERIK ROOT tions, the city attorney may pursue legal looking at a multiple-use district for all study comparing the current service with a Assistant Editor action. So, Hickory may file a lawsuit against unzoned portions of Buncombe County, privately operated service. Though the RALEIGH McMahan to have the gorilla removed. the Citizen-Times of Asheville reports. council is not making any promises, the Hickory car dealer is being ha- Larry Johnson, Hickory city attorney, It could set the stage for countywide numbers seem to have impressed them rassed by the city because he has said, “All I know is the gorilla keeps com- zoning. Chairman Nathan Ramsey and enough to take up the issue as a whole A erected a 30-foot inflatable gorilla ing back.” Commissioner David Young voted against council. It appears that privatization would outside his showroom, which, according to the proposal. save the city some money, but council mem- city officials, violates the city’s ban on bal- Wilmington’s Lust for Money Peggy Bennett, a Leicester resident with bers want to make sure they will be able to loons outside businesses. Citizens for Change, a guarantee the same level of service. The Charlotte Observer reported that Tax bills went out to group dedicated to land- Steve McMahan, manager of Far East the newly annexed resi- use freedom, vowed to Cary Politburo Takes Out Ads Nissan, located on U.S. 321 North, erected dents of Wilmington who “I had him out today fight the proposed new the gorilla. used to be residents only and I’m going to have law. “Until a majority of Despite objections from two city coun- In July the city warned McMahan that if of New Hanover County, him out every day from county residents say they cil representatives, Jess Ward and Marla he continued to display the gorilla, he would reports the Wilmington want zoning, we will op- Dorrell, the Town of Cary is holding fast to be fined. He has refused to pay any fines Star-News. here on out, except pose every attempt to a campaign it insists is not propaganda. and the bill is now up to $425.25. In the Bill Wetherill, one of when it’s raining. They implement zoning, no Cary has allotted $200,000 for a “public- wake of his defiance, the city says that it will the many new residents, matter what it’s called,” relations” campaign on the benefits of fine him $249.75 a day the gorilla is inflated wants to know what ad- got me mad.” Bennett said. growth control. in the lot. ditional services he’s get- Some county officials Mayor Glen Lang has accused Ward McMahan is not capitulating: “I had ting from the city for the huge increase in covet a form of taxation without represen- and Dorrell of seeking to help developers, him out today and I’m going to have him taxes. tation in the form of an extraterritorial juris- while ducking questions about his own co- out every day from here on out, except “I have asked the city manager to give diction (ETJ) like the one that the Town of ziness with two developers who were im- when it’s raining. They got me mad,” me a list,” Wetherill said. Davidson has forced on some nonvoters. If plicated in a campaign finance scandal dur- McMahan said. He said he has received Like most of those who have been cap- the ETJ is granted to Davidson by the state, ing his last election. One of those develop- calls from citizens supporting his position. tured by the city’s annexation push, the town will be able to regulate residents ers was found guilty. City officials, for their part, insist they Wetherill had water and sewer service, trash outside town limits and tell then what to do Nevertheless, one resident has brought are trying to reduce clutter and decrease pickup, police and fire protection. He won- with their land. a lawsuit against the city to halt the cam- traffic hazards that distract drivers. It ap- ders what it is the city is trying to give him Some people want more controlled zon- paign. Nelson Dollar filed suit accusing the pears the gorilla is not blocking line-of- that he did not already have. ing for “the economic survival of the city of using taxpayer money to sway elec- sight in traffic, but the ape is so captivating To make matters worse, the city made county.” But with people moving to the tions in favor of growth-control incumbents. that people want to look at it. The city wants his taxes retroactive to 1998. county, doesn’t that mean the economics of Most of the ads were to run just before the to protect people from their own inability to the county are doing well? election. CJ stop looking at a balloon. Some Sanity in Johnston County However, there have been no reported auto accidents caused by the balloon. The Johnston County Board of Com- McMahan argues that the balloon is missioners will keep the county’s hotel oc- neither a sign nor a balloon and that he cupancy tax at 3 percent even if the General erected it to occupy kids while their parents Assembly allows them to raise it, reports shop for cars. the Clayton News-Star. Some people in the county want the Other Businesses Complain county to raise the tax because they want to build a convention center at the public’s Other auto dealers have also com- expense. However, Commissioners Fred plained about the ban. Hickory officials Smith, James Langdon, and Allen Mims have told the dealers to remove small party said they would not support it. There is a balloons from the antennas of vehicles be- question whether the convention support- cause the balloons violate the ordinance. ers can demonstrate, and demonstrate pow- The ordinance has hurt other businesses erfully, an urgent need for such a center. too. One helium supplier complained that Donna Taylor, director of the Johnston the balloon ban has hurt his business. County Visitor’s Bureau, said the center is “We don’t want to upset the city, by any needed to attract tourism. But some of the means, but we want to generate revenue. commissioners wonder why a center in We were thinking about putting manne- Johnston County would attract people away Advertisement quins out front so people would think we from, say, Raleigh. Johnston is a rural com- have customers. I don’t know what the city munity, far away from airports, and does would think about that,” said Mike Dunn, a not have the amenities that Raleigh and manager at Mike Johnson’s Hickory Toyota. some other large cities do. For their part, city officials are proceed- Smithfield’s city council, on the other ing boldly. They have asked the city attor- hand, is supporting the government en- ney to investigate any dealer who could be deavor. Council members, along with Tay- violating the ordinance. If he finds viola- lor, think tourists should foot the bill for the

Center for Can local governments deliver good Local quality services without raising taxes? Innovation North Carolinians looking for the answer to that question need look no further than the Center for Local Innovation, New Ideas for Governing North Carolina’s Cities and Counties headed by Tom Fetzer. Its mission is to identify and promote efficient, effective solutions to problems in local government 200 W. Morgan St., Suite 200 using such tools as competition, new Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 technologies, and activity-based costing.

To obtain more information about CLI, Hon. Tom Fetzer and subscribe to Prism, its weekly e- Director, Center for Local Innovation Former Mayor of Raleigh letter, call Erik Root at 919-828-3876. October 2001 C A R O L I N A 18 Learning Curve JOURNAL

From the Liberty Library Book Review

• Regnery Publishing on Oct. 22 University for 21st Century: Will They Ever Learn? will release The Final Days, the late Barbara Olson’s (killed in the Penta- gon attack) book on the Clintons’ fi- nal days in the White House. Olson, By GEORGE C. LEEF in higher education and contends that as to appeal to all those groups) is a social good whose New York Times best-selling Contributing Editor we move into a “new economy” based on has become an article of faith. The author Hell to Pay laid bare the sordid po- information, higher education will become tries hard to justify it, but it’s all a waste of litical deals of Hillary Rodham James J. Duderstadt: A University for the 21st even more important. The trouble with this ink. One of his arguments is that because Clinton, turned her attention to the Century; University of Michigan Press, 2000, favorite argument is that it implicitly as- the world is becoming more “globalized,” Clintons' shocking excesses in their 358pp., $47.50. sumes that the market process cannot be Americans would be ill-served by their final days of office: the outrageous relied upon to bring about the optimal al- universities if they didn’t equip them with pardons to political cronies and pon picking up this book, I toyed location of resources—we need government a multicultural knowledge base. “Under- friends, the looting of the White with a wildly improbable idea. to ensure that more students attend ever- standing cultures other than our own has House, the executive orders that U What if the author, former presi- expanding colleges and universities. To become necessary, not only for personal en- were sheer abuses of presidential dent of a major state university, had expe- educationists, that is the way of raising the richment and good citizenship, but for our power, and the presidential library rienced an epiphany after leaving office and level of knowledge in society. It never oc- very survival as a nation,” he writes. that became a massive boondoggle had written a book challenging the shibbo- curs to them that individuals in a free soci- What a stupendous non sequitur! of vanity. More on this title online at leths of the higher education establishment? ety will make the optimal investments, edu- Americans who deal with individuals from www.regnery.com. Alas, no. This is about as far as one cational and otherwise, without any gov- other cultures (for all the talk of globaliza- could possibly get from a “conversion” ernment intrusion. tion, still a very small percentage of us), • Crown Publishing has re- book. Author James Duderstadt’s mission Higher education apologists like learn what we need to learn about them in leased Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: here is not to give us penetrating scrutiny Duderstadt would have us believe that we order to effect whatever dealings we desire. The Tragedy and Triumph of ASA Flight of American higher education, but to erect are prosperous because so many Americans American businessmen who want to trade 529 by Gary M. Pomerantz. In Au- defenses around even its most costly and have attended heavily subsidized univer- with businessmen from, say, Bolivia, might gust 1995, twenty-six passengers and inane practices. His defenses, however, are sities. I think the reverse of that proposi- find it advantageous to learn something a crew of three boarded a commuter as strong a tissue paper. tion is nearer the truth. We can afford to about Bolivian customs. If so, they will learn plane in Atlanta headed for Gulfport, Higher education in America has been have so many young people dozing what they need to. Miss. Shortly after takeoff they heard a phenomenal growth sector ever since the through so many esoteric and even laugh- The notion that people can’t get along an explosion and, looking out the end of World War II, thanks in large mea- able college courses because we are pros- unless everyone takes a raft of college windows on the left side, saw a sure to the success of university lobbyists perous. The vital knowledge that made that courses about other cultures is silly. Univer- mangled engine lodged against the in persuading government to supply ever- prosperity possible—the calculus and the sities have their place, but the only way to wing. From that moment, nine min- greater subsidies. Relying on the argument biochemistry and so on—would have been find out what that place is is to have them utes and 20 seconds elapsed until the that education is a “public good” requiring learned without massive government face the test of the marketplace. Instead of crippled plane crashed in a west huge injections of taxpayer money in order spending. It’s worth noting that the U.S. receiving government subsidies, they Georgia hayfield—nine minutes and to provide the knowledge and research that economy grew at a more rapid pace in the should compete for resources as other for- 20 seconds in which Pomerantz takes propels the economy, university presidents 19th century, when government involve- profit and nonprofit institutions do. readers deep into the hearts and and their allies managed to engineer a pro- ment in education was minimal, than it has Duderstadt’s model 21st century universi- minds of the people aboard, each of digious increase in spending on higher edu- since the onset of the “education” era. ties soak up a great deal of wealth that they whom prepared in his or her own cation. Before World War II, fewer than one Another of Duderstadt’s main concerns do not voluntarily earn. way for what might come. Ulti- American high school graduate in 10 went is to build a redoubt for the education I think that the better model is the uni- mately, 19 people survived both the on to enroll in a college or university; now establishment’s preoccupation with “diver- versity of the ancient Arabic world, where crash and its devastating aftermath, the number is about two out of three. To sity.” That having a “diverse” university students paid professors to impart their all of them profoundly affected by Duderstadt, as with all dutiful members of (by which educationists mean that the stu- knowledge to them. CJ what they saw and what they did to the education establishment, that growth is dent body, faculty, administration, and even help themselves and others. Infor- a pure public benefit. governing board must be chosen to include mation is available online at Duderstadt attributes our prosperity in members of all recognized social groups, George C. Leef is book review editor for www.randomhouse.com/crown/ large measure to the nation’s “investment” and that the curriculum must be designed Ideas On Liberty. catalog. Book Review • Best-selling humorist P. J. O’Rourke is out with a new volume of his musings. Inspired by Oliver Wendell Holmes’s classic The Auto- Re-examining Mrs. Lee, The “Lady of Arlington” crat of the Breakfast Table, O’Rourke’s The CEO of the Sofa follows the po- By ERIC ROOT She disagreed with her husband over colo- earth for the misery he has wrought in an litical humorist through a year on the Assistant Editor nization—the general did not believe in it unhappy country, and we know it would domestic front as he visits subjects RALEIGH because he thought the slaves were better not have befallen us without His permis- close to home. Ensconced on the do- John Perry, Lady of Arlington, Multnomah off in the U.S. than in Africa. Nevertheless, sion who overruleth all things. We must do mestic boardroom’s throne, he Publishers, 2001. 380 Pages. $19.99. Mrs. Lee engaged in illegal activity on be- our duty as best we can and believe that the bravely exposes everything from the half of the slaves throughout her life. Against inscrutable Providence who permitted our dirty secrets of the New Economy to ohn Perry minces no words in the state law, she taught some how to read. present situation may be preparing us for a the similar mysteries in the new opening sentence of his book on the Days before Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipa- more useful and higher destiny, which with- baby’s diapers. After years of foreign J wife of Robert E. Lee, Mary Custis Lee: tion Proclamation, General Lee executed out this lesson we might neither have re- travel, O’Rourke attempts to become “History has given Mary Custis Lee a bad the desire of his father-in-law’s will and tained or appreciated.” a domestic American. More revela- rap. I’m out to change that.” He believes freed the slaves. “They are entitled to their It is noteworthy that, somehow, Mrs. tions of O’Rourke’s one-liners can be that the historical scholarship on Mrs. Lee freedom and I wish to give it to them,” Lee was either unaware, or did not take into found on the world wide web at has been unfair. She has been characterized General Lee declared. The Lees were not account, the condemnation Lincoln heaped www.publishersgroupwest.com. as selfish, neurotic, and whiny. But the pic- slaveholders, then, when Lincoln issued upon Brown. It is also interesting that she ture Perry paints is far different from that the proclamation a few days later. It was did not include in her entry any mention of • Walker Publishing is out with misconception. As the great-granddaugh- Mrs. Lee’s contention that all slaves should Lincoln’s similar distance between himself The Business of America, a collection ter of Martha Washington, there is much be free some day. and the abolitionists. The abolitionists had of the popular columns of the same more to Mrs. Lee than meets the eye. Still, she blamed the North and espe- more in common with the South than the name from American Heritage maga- The central theme of this book is Mrs. cially abolitionists for the War. In a journal North because both believed the Founding zine, written by John S. Gordon. For Lee’s evolving Christian faith, and indeed entry she wrote: ought to be destroyed and a new one erected more than 10 years, Gordon’s stories that faith was necessary for it sustained her “The infamous attempt of John Brown in its place. It is too simplistic to place have celebrated the high points, and through the years of separation between & his accomplices to incite our negroes to Lincoln and the abolitionists together. occasional low points, in the history her and her husband. This does not mean murder and insurrection, though thro’ the Furthermore, Mrs. Lee speaks to the of business in America, from colonial that she was flawless: “Like her mother, mercy of God a signal failure, should have misery and unhappy condition of the coun- days to the present. The historian’s Mary was circumspect and sincerely pious, opened our eyes to the machinations of the try because of Lincoln’s deeds, but one accounts are wide-ranging: from de- but these traits did not keep her from occa- party of fanatical abolitionists, unprincipled wonders if she truly understood the mis- tails of the wampum market in 1666 sionally checking her position on the social & evil, who exalted this vile assassin into a ery and unhappiness of the slaves, much to the struggle over the silver mar- ladder and sometimes having a high opin- hero & martyr. less the Golden Rule with which in it for- ket in 1979, and stories about trail- ion of herself.” “Even after the election of Lincoln by bids the peculiar institution. blazers of industry in America, in- It is remarkable how close Mrs. Lee was this faction, peace might have been main- Those questions notwithstanding, cluding Samuel Slater and Oliver to the Founders and Abraham Lincoln be- tained if they had not predetermined to Perry’s book is a valuable work that needed Evans. Further information can be fore the war. She was “steadfastly opposed provoke the South to hostilities, or if their to see the light of day. The author has a found on the web at to the idea of slavery but accepted it in chosen President had possessed the moral knack for bringing to light people and www.laissezfairebooks.com. practice because she believed that without courage to resist evil influences that were places that hitherto have been either ig- education or property, freed slaves would brought to bear upon him. He has gone to nored or understated. In this book, he has be unable to make their way in the world.” render an account to the Judge of all the recovered a part of our history. CJ C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Learning Curve 19 Book Review Deaver Offers Insights From “My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan”

By NATHAN LITTNER memoirs of a friend about “A guy named ters offer a chronological feel and it does, for The book is engaging, straightforward Editorial Intern Ron” who also happened to be an extraor- the most part, follow a basic timeline pro- and hard to put down. Throughout Deaver RALEIGH dinary leader. gression, but Deaver does not restrict him- comes across as an honest source of indel- Though less thorough and factually in- self to any one era; fast forwards and flash- ible information; his work is a must read for Michael K. Deaver, A Different Drummer, My formative than a life story, the book is a backs are used liberally throughout. Reagan enthusiasts and inquirers. Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan, Harper unique and compelling account of Reagan Attempts to answer the public’s gen- Deaver’s is not the definitive explana- Collins Publishers, 2001, 228 pp., $25. behind the scenes. From their first encoun- eral or curious questions about the source of tion of Reagan’s private life and mind (in- ter in 1964 to his resignation in 1985 and Reagan’s success, his style of leadership, his deed it is doubtful that such a work is pos- hile it is comforting to know that their final meeting in 1997, Deaver presents disposition or his deep-seated faith and pa- sible) but rather a compelling insight into the great Ronald Reagan is still his audience with glimpses of his friend triotism season the chapters and give rise to a man who even his closest friends and as- W among us, it is equally unfortu- and former boss conferring with staff, long- stories of situations that best illustrate sociates concede is difficult to understand. nate to realize that he will never again speak ing to be at his ranch, living as the son of an Reagan’s mind and personality. For ex- Due time is devoted to Reagan’s wife, to us the way he once did. The debilitating alcoholic father, grappling with difficult ample, the statement, “Ronald Reagan is inseparable friend and strongest supporter, and cruel disease that now plagues a man circumstances, and exud- one of the shyest men I’ve Nancy, in equally personal and unique de- who was one of the nation’s greatest lead- ing unpretentious confi- ever known,” leads to a tail. Examples that divulge the intimacy of ers is a source of sorrow to all that have dence. Deaver’s work is a short story about a 1966 their relationship and their inextinguish- found inspiration in his life and words. While it is not a biog- California gubernatorial able love for one another are both touching Now it seems, it is Reagan’s loss of raphy, the book does re- compelling insight into campaign party where and imperative to the success of book. memory that has inspired others to remem- veal more about the pri- a man who even his Reagan spent the whole When studying the life and career of an ber him. Yet while many authors have vate Ronald Reagan than closest friends con- night talking to a retired historical figure as rare and impressive as rightly sought to commit his life and most works that have laborer “in a room full of Reagan, the personal insight that authors achievements to posterity, few have been taken him as their sub- cede is quite difficult to national leaders.” like Deaver provide is invaluable. Such able to capture a sense of Reagan’s private ject. The foreword, writ- understand. Speaking of Reagan’s works are foundational in that they offer a life and spirit. ten by Nancy Reagan, love of country, Deaver sense of character on which one can reflect Good biographers provide more than briefly characterizes writes that when it came when studying the more dry, textbook a detailed account of chronological events. those writers and biographers who have to “America and freedom and liberty— matters of policy and procedure. They are They cut through the dull facts to explore attempted to understand her husband: Reagan was a softy… his belief that America the best sources of personal knowledge the person behind the achievements. The “Most tend to either overcomplicate him, or was the greatest country on Earth never because the writer has not merely re- most revealing biographical works, there- they err on the other side, wrongly labeling once wavered even when those around him searched his subject, but more directly, fore, are often those written by authors who him as aloof, indifferent, or disengaged.” In refused to share in his idealism.” known him in and through experience. were actually involved in the life of their her opinion, “there are only a handful of In response to what he calls an inunda- In the final analysis, it is perhaps best to subject. people who could write about the private tion of requests, Deaver very briefly com- say that in A Different Drummer, the larger In A Different Drummer, My Thirty Years Ronald Reagan”; describing Deaver as pares the political skills of Reagan and than life Slayer of Soviet Imperialism is with Ronald Reagan, Michael Deaver someone who was constantly “at Ronnie’s Clinton. The section points out stark differ- described through a myriad of human and achieves this feat. Deaver has not, however, side” for more than two decades, Mrs. ences and at least one similarity, and as the commonplace situations and comes across attempted to write a biography in the Reagan implicitly qualifies Deaver as deci- subject quickly and fittingly switches back equally as impressive. Yet this is a feat that proper or even traditional sense of the term. sively within that sphere. to Reagan, the comparison ends with, “no- his subject and not Deaver himself must be His work is perhaps better described as a Reagan, in no set order, is the book’s body would have had the nerve to ask credited for: After all, it was the man who kind of characterography; the personal subject. The titles of each of the seven chap- Ronald Reagan, ‘Boxers of briefs?’.” made the legend possible. CJ Book Review “The Satanic Gases”: Evaporating the Global Warming Theory

By BONNER R. COHEN theory and compares the predictions of the burning of fossil fuels, will lead to a po- “In other words,” they write, “while Guest Reviewer changes in the earth’s climate with actual tentially dangerous warming of the planet. the United Nations was promoting the ARLINGTON, VA observations. The problem is, the authors point out, the paradigm that the models were ‘generally • Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling: Performing this task are two of the models have consistently overstated what realistic’ and using them as the basis for The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air About Glo- nation’s premiere experts on climate. Pat scant warming has taken place over the past sweeping policy recommendations that bal Warming; Cato Institute, 2000, 224pp. Michaels is professor of environmental sci- two decades, if indeed any has taken place. could greatly harm United States prosper- $19.95. ences at the University of Virginia and past Throughout the debate over global ity, the models were in fact making mas- president of the American Association of warming, no authority has been cited more sive errors that the IPCC was loathe to State Climatologists. Bob Balling is the di- often in the media as providing “more note.” here’s no question that global warm- rector of the Laboratory of Climatology at proof” of human-induced climate change The inaccuracy of the predictions by ing is a real phenomenon, that it is Arizona State University. than the United Nations’ Intergovernmen- GCMs is significant for what it tells us Toccurring,” EPA Administrator To begin with, human influences on the tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). about how much we should rely on them Christie Todd Whitman told the press in climate are anything but new. Ever since ag- Yet as Richard Lindzen, professor of in the future. Michaels and Balling point- February. “And while scientists can’t pre- riculture began to spread meteorology at MIT, re- edly ask: “[I]f a GCM calculates that the dict where the droughts will occur, where thousands of years ago, cently pointed out at a earth currently is several degrees warmer the flooding will occur precisely or when, humans have been Capitol Hill briefing, the than it actually is, what logical device al- we know these things will occur; the sci- mucking around with the The IPCC was created IPCC was created to as- lows it to make a forecast of future warm- ence is strong there.” earth and thus influenc- to assist negotiators of sist negotiators in the ing?” Those forecasts can spark fears that Whitman is certainly right in saying ing its climate. The peren- process of furthering the result in disastrous policies. we’re in store for more droughts and floods. nial long grass prairie of the Kyoto Protocal. It Kyoto Protocol. It was “More people die from weather-related They have always been with us and they east central North was not created to find not created to find out the causes in the winter than in the summer,” always will be. But whether they have the America, for example, truth about climate they note. “And per capita summer mor- remotest connection to global warming is was replaced with annual out the truth about cli- change. Its vested inter- tality is going down, thanks largely to air quite another matter. plantings of corn and soy- mate change. est in promoting the conditioning; from this perspective, pro- The former New Jersey governor is not beans. goals of the Kyoto Proto- posals to fight global warming in ways that alone in believing that the world faces an “Whereas the prairie col has led the IPCC to make electricity more expensive appear endless chain of climatological calamities— was a continuous vegetative cover,” the become more of a cheerleader for curtail- inefficient, to say the least.” Any rush to not just more droughts and floods, but more authors note, “the replacement crops are ing the use of fossil fuels than a source of judgment is fraught with danger, particu- hurricanes and tornadoes, not to mention seasonal, with bare ground exposed to the scientific objectivity. larly one based on dubious science and melting ice caps and the spread of tropical sun for half the year, resulting in dramati- In addition to publishing scary, non- shameless fearmongering. Bush’s recent diseases. Proponents of the theory of glo- cally different absorption of and heating by peer-reviewed “summaries” of the state of decision not to regulate emissions of car- bal warming have succeeded so masterfully the sun’s radiant energy.” Given how wide- climate change, which often bear little re- bon dioxide was a welcome step back from in spreading their message of impending spread agriculture is, it is revealing that semblance to the findings of its scientists, the folly into which the global warming doom that it has become standard fare in land use changes are scarcely considered by the IPCC has not leveled with the public on debate threatened to take us. But the fight the mainstream media and—unfortunately the computer models that serve as the ba- the limitations of its models. As the authors is far from over. Those wishing to be armed —in the halls of government. sis for the policies to address global warm- point out, no GCM has ever succeeded in for it should read The Satanic Gases. CJ This is why The Satanic Gases: Cleaning ing. And it is those models, known as Gen- creating a troposphere (the bottom 40,000 the Air About Global Warming by Patrick J. eral Circulation Models (GCMs), that have feet of the atmosphere) that behaves at all Michaels and Robert C. Balling is so timely. predicted that increased emissions of like the observed data of the last quarter of Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow at the The book examines the science behind the manmade carbon dioxide, mostly through the 20th century. Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. October 2001 C A R O L I N A 20 Opinion JOURNAL

know sponsor terrorism and, at the same time, do our best Ronald Reagan. And Reagan’s success, parenthetically, Editorials to locate and seize or destroy those individuals most re- would not have occurred without Jesse Helms. sponsible for attacking our interests. With the freezing of As Reagan said after he was elected president in 1980, financial assets and the (so far) extraordinary cohesion of a “there was a time in 1976 when many people were writing diverse conglomerate of countries in opposition to our off my candidacy, and Jesse Helms didn’t. The press was ANGRY NATION enemies Bush is on the right track and we should be proud. asking only one question: When would I quit the race? We would do well, as Michael Ledeen of the American “We didn’t. And thanks to Jesse, we won big (in North A new war will require focus, patience Enterprise Institute has suggested, to em- Carolina), big enough to come back and brace several Machiavellian principles in win it all in 1980.” Many of Reagan’s this battle. We must win decisively. We closest advisers said repeatedly that had ake no question about it, America is at war. And should not be particularly concerned All should be given a it not been for Helms, Tom Ellis, and the whatever one thinks of the election of George about the niceties of diplomacy and keep- clear ultimatum to de- now-defunct National Congressional W. Bush as president, we should be thankful he ing others pleased, allies or not — our Club, Reagan would have never run M sist their efforts to ex- is sitting in the Oval Office today. While his language can sole focus must be to win, regardless of again in 1980. at times be problematic, there is little question left about his how others feel. port terror and fascism ability to lead the nation in this time of great uncertainty To do this, we must strike hard and A Political Force and armed crisis. As Jacob Burckhardt wrote in the midst fast. The old adage that “it is better to be to the free world, or of another great national crisis in 1943, ”Unsuspected feared than loved” must be embraced face the conse- This incident showed Helms’s influ- forces awake in individuals and even heaven takes on a with fervor. Finally, in such an environ- quences. ence and political prowess in more ways different hue.” ment, circumstances are always chang- than one. Thus the Congressional Club, President Bush’s leadership since Sept. 11 thus far ing and even one so shrewd as Machiavelli a political action committee that was confirms this. And the reference to how “heaven takes on understood, as Ledeen observed, “the best you can hope originally a vehicle to retire Helms’s 1972 campaign elec- a different hue” is not accidental. Bush’s invocations of for is to have good luck half the time.” Skill, dedication, and tion debt, rose to the fore. While the Club closed its doors God and America’s spirituality have offered our nation luck will win this for us. in the early 1990s, from 1980 through 1988 it raised more comfort and hope. We need both in spades today. than $30 million for various causes and candidates, includ- Despite our power, our prosperity, and our towering The Aims of the War ing both Helms and Reagan. cultural influence, the United States is a uniquely vulner- The group was pivotal in electing both John East and able society precisely because of the nature of our politics Given the disposition of the Taliban and its refusal to Lauch Faircloth to the U.S. Senate in 1980 and 1992, re- and our culture. These are attributes we prefer not to turn over Osama bin Laden , we, should they continue their spectively. It was, much to the chagrin of many, instru- sacrifice. Nor should we. At the same time, we must — obstinacy, help the Afghans create a more stable and less mental in turning North Carolina into a two-party state by especially in the rubble of the World Trade Center and the dangerous regime. For good measure, we should also send using its influence and expertise to change the face of the hollowed-out walls of the south face of the Pentagon— a clear message to every terrorist state in the world that North Carolina Republican Party. For several years run- recognize that even great and powerful nations must cali- threatens American interests. Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, revo- ning, it was the biggest and arguably most effective ideo- brate their defensive and offensive military and diplomatic lutionary Iran, secular Syria and the brutal, slave-trading logically oriented political action committee in the coun- postures to properly manage threats old and new. theocracy of the Sudan — all should be given a clear try. As Sen. Bill Graham, D-Florida, chairman of the Senate’s ultimatum to desist their efforts to export terror and their While one may attribute this success to many factors, Select Committee on Intelligence, said on Sept. 17: “There own brand of Islamic fascism to the free world, or face the it was essentially driven by Helms’s philosophy, his politi- was a serious lack of coordination among federal agencies. consequences. Our enemies should be given no quarter. cal steadfastness and agility, and the tactical and strategic There were some people with suspect backgrounds whom Through it all, we must return to our faiths in whatever brilliance of Ellis and Carter Wrenn, the two men who the CIA has been following outside the U.S., who were able guise we practice them. We must be thankful for the handled the operations day to day and honed a politically to enter the U.S., which raises questions about our immi- leadership we have and that we live in America, loved and effective state and national organization. gration service. And once they were in the U.S., they were hated with intensity the world over. Aside from the mechanics of this success, though, the able to lose themselves in the crowd.” As we march and sometimes amble to those “better key to Helms’s effectiveness was in his political intensity This is the crux of the matter whether in peace or war. angels of our nature,” we should perhaps even have a and a pronounced willingness to blister opponents with How do we ensure the survival of our belief in the equal national day when church bells and calls to prayer ring focused and incessant attacks. This made him and the Club, rights of all, the freedom and openness we so treasure, and across the land and Americans of all faiths seek comfort in its time, the highly effective and respected forces they the necessity to protect our interests in a dangerous and together through song and prayer as we march to victory. became. complex world? There are no easy answers. “Bells in the country,” wrote Robert Nathan decades ago, Since the announcement of his retirement, much has President Bush’s address to a joint session of Congress “they sing the heart to rest when night is on the high road been written about Helms’s successes and failures, his per- on Sept. 20 was his, and one of the nation’s, finest hours. His and day is in the west.” ceived strengths and weaknesses. We don’t feel compelled firmness and plain-spoken eloquence called for courage, to repeat much of what has already been said, but the key patience, and vigilance so that we may successfully bury to Helms’s rise to respect and the heights of power resides our shadowy opponents in “history’s unmarked grave of in the spirit of comments written by Fred Barnes in the discarded lies.” It was, as James Warren of The Chicago HELMS RETIRES Weekly Standard on Aug. 11, 1997: “The point here is that Tribune observed, “a rhetorical tour de force.” So as we Helms has gained strange, new respect not as many con- recognize the sentiment for easy vengeance, we must also servatives have — by moving left. Helms has earned it the tame it and properly target our response in the search for Love or hate him, he could not be ignored hard way — by not moving at all.” true victory at home and abroad. That was and remains the political essence of Jesse Abroad, we have a war we must now win. And given Helms. the imprecise focus of what many are calling a “new kind ith the announcement of Sen. Jesse Helms’s re- of war” we will, in the president’s words, “require determi- tirement at the end of his current term, Ameri- A Foreign Policy Legacy nation and patience” because “there are no beaches to W can politics will lose one of its most colorful and storm, there are no islands to conquer, there are no battle influential senators in a generation. It is no exaggeration Of course, this is true of Helms whether one is dis- lines to be drawn.” Given the imprecise location of many of that no other politician has had the influence of Helms on cussing domestic policy or foreign affairs. There is doubt- our enemies, we should properly focus on nations that we our national politics since 1972 — with the exception of less no other single senator who has had the impact on our nation’s foreign policy in the past 30 years as Helms. From his steadfastness against Soviet tyranny and imperialism, to his understanding of hemispheric politics, and his con- tempt and disdain for the apparatchiks of the United Na- tions and its attendant foolishness, no senator has been more right on the issues that mattered. From absurdly unenforceable arms “control” treaties to the pseudo one-worldism of the proposed Law of the Sea Treaty two decades ago, or any other number of sym- bolic treaties on genocide, an International Human Rights treaty, or nuclear arms oriented treaties, Helms’ view has prevailed. And he has been proven right over and over again, from the barbarity of Fidel Castro to our victory in the Cold War. As the dominant political forces in America today seem to have combined in acceptance of strong national gov- ernment with little regard for constitutionalism, they also united in a suspect internationalism that smacks of em- pire. While we can and must take on some horrid enemies from time to time, we should not sacrifice our history or our national interests for transient purposes. Only when America and its way of life are in danger from abroad—as we are today —should we accept such international re- sponsibilities. This, too, was a mainstay of Helms’s man- tra. For the moment, with Helms retiring, the giants of our politics may be a thing of the past. Unlike Helms, there are no kingmakers in America anymore, and that is probably a good thing. But there are also few true leaders. C A R O L I N A October 2001 JOURNAL Opinion 21

result of the use of such cameras. It appears the state is more interested in helping mu- The first objection is that red-light cameras violate one’s nicipalities raise money than having municipalities prop- FUSS BUDGET “right to privacy.” While those holding this position are erly invoke criminal statutes. screaming the loudest, it is actually the least objectionable Which brings us to the next objection: private compa- War, recession, and political idiocy aspect of the policy. A licensed driver on a public road is nies being contracted to run the systems while also leasing there only by virtue of a state-sanctioned privilege. the hardware to the respective municipalities. While the new law stipulates that yellow- to red-light time-change n Friday, Sept. 21 the North Carolina General As- Constitutional Objections intervals should be consistent with those already mandated sembly finally passed a state budget. The second- by the Design Manual of the Signals and Geometrics Sec- Oto-last state in the union to do so, North Carolina The real problem here is twofold: The right of a citizen tion of the N.C. Department of Transportation, there re- has also experienced the longest general session in our to face his accuser; i.e., a police officer in court rather than mains every incentive for municipalities and contractors state’s history — with taxpayers rewarded for their patience a camera and whether private interests should profit at the to juggle the books to generate extra revenue and to inflate with massive tax hikes and budget-busting spending in- expense of taxpayers. the quantity of citations issued to suggest they are dealing creases. The lack of a direct charge lodged against a citizen by with the problem. With a tax increase approaching $700 million in an- another human being would seem to make the red-light But again, running a red light, with all the risks in- nual fiscal impact and more than $700 million in new law a direct violation of both the Sixth Amendment to the volved, should remain a criminal violation. And so long spending for fiscal year 2001-02—or a 5.2 percent increase U.S. Constitution and of Article I, Section 23 of the North as the police and the courts are doing their jobs, there seems over the current budget—the budget will damage the Carolina Constitution. Conveniently, however, the new law little reason to saddle law-abiding citizens with a camera state’s faltering economy. The new hikes, combined with in North Carolina reduces red-light running from a crimi- on busy street corners. The eye of government peers too property tax increases and other tax changes already ap- nal to a civil offense. Yet if a law is intended to deter acci- closely upon us as it is. If we engage in criminal activity proved this year, will push North Carolina’s average tax dents and save lives by punishing reckless behavior, it we should be pursued, caught, and charged. If not, we burden to more than 10.3 percent of personal income. That should remain a criminal offense. should be left alone without Big Brother on our backs. CJ makes North Carolina’s tax burden far higher than that of any state in the Southeast, higher than the tax burdens of states such as Massachusetts and California, and higher than the national average for the first time in state history. One must be skeptical of economic prognostication because economists often use static econometric models Confusion on Campus Free Speech for analysis. Even those who attempt to use what is re- ferred to as “legitimate dynamic scoring”—taking into con- sideration the dynamic effects of certain tax and budget ardon me the following tirade, please. “Patrio- for the first event announced another one, scheduled changes to determine changes in government revenue and tism,” wrote Dr. Johnson, “is the last refuge of a for October 1 in Chapel Hill, with listed sponsors in- private prosperity from policy changes—have no true way P scoundrel.” In modern-day political debate, the cluding the “UNC Political Science Dept.” and “UNC to measure future behavior. One needs a reliable crystal rules have shifted. Today, that refuge is “free speech.” Geography Dept.” This event promised, among other ball for that and, thankfully, our culture has not yet degen- We have heard a lot about freedom of speech as the important things, to inform students, professors, and erated into institutionalized mysticism. usual leftist suspects have cropped up to spew their other event attendees “how to organize actions Nonetheless, we can say with certainty that James F. venom against America. against war.” Smith, professor of finance at the Kenan-Flagler School of At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I am a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and am un- Business, UNC-Chapel Hill, is right on the money when a September 17 “teach-in” — where so-called “ex- der no illusions about its predominant politics. In- he observes that this state budget “is one of the all-time perts” compared the United States to Middle-Eastern deed, I found it all immensely entertaining when I stupidest things by a legislature anywhere. It’s a ridicu- terrorists and Nazi Germany — led to hundreds of was there in the 1980s, and would object strongly to lous budget… you don’t raise taxes in a recession or even protesting e-mails to Chancellor James any attempt to exclude the Spartacist in a dismal economic environment.” Moeser. League, the various communist fronts, the As the entire nation slips into war and recession si- Critics pointed out that one speaker, befuddled socialists, the wacko environ- multaneously, North Carolina appears to have been in a radical journalist William Blum, suggested mentalists, and others from setting up recession for some time now. Indeed, we now have the at the event that President Bush “apologize tables and having meetings on the campus. highest unemployment rate in the Southeast and experi- to all the widows and orphans, the tortured College can be a stressful enterprise, so enced the most rapid rise in joblessness in the past year. and the impoverished, and all the millions offering relief in the form of a yearlong cir- Our state unemployment rate rose nearly one-third, from of other victims of American imperialism.” cus of nutcases is an excellent way of im- 3.6 percent in July 2000 to 5.3 percent in July 2001. In the Another speaker was Raleigh activist proving the mental and physical health of face of these troubles, North Carolina is now the only state Stan Goff, a member of the International John Hood the student body. to have passed a large tax hike this year. Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic. But crossing the line into sponsorship With the tax burden to go up an average of $220 per And UNC sociology professor Charlie Kurzman should simply be disallowed. household, North Carolinians are faced now with sharp blamed “militarists” in the United States for the at- Taxpayers, not students or donors, pay most of income tax hikes, higher general sales taxes, and selective tack. the bill for the Department of Political Science, for sales taxes on health insurance, telephone calls, alcoholic example. So it has no legitimate business offering its beverages, automobiles, and satellite television service. The Free Speech Dodge “sponsorship” to fifth columnists during a time of This is, quite simply, unconscionable. war. Nor does the administration or any academic Yet the worthies on Jones Street also saw fit to hike What was the chancellor’s response? “I will de- program or department. fend vigorously the rights of members of our commu- There are minimal marginal costs associated with spending. on several nefarious measures including a 1,400 percent increase in selected corporate subsidies for Gov. nity to free expression and assembly,” Moeser predict- having an event in a classroom or auditorium, but Mike Easley to “recruit” business to North Carolina. ably said, as if Joseph McCarthy were lurking outside any political group wishing to do so should be re- Frankly, this budget is riddled with dollops of wasteful his door. quired to pay them. Moreover, university resources spending to pad the politicians’ paternalistic fantasies. Free speech isn’t the issue. It is the culture of ni- — such as press offices and web sites — should never Some of them must think of the people of North Caro- hilism, collectivism, and lunacy that taxpayers are be used to promote such events. lina as idiots. As an excuse for passing this fiscal monstros- forced to subsidize on our state university campuses. ity, Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, actually had the temerity I have talked to many outraged North Carolinians. Troubling Signs of Political Bias to say that this budget was necessary because “there is no In the wake of this embarrassing episode, which has better way to fight terrorism than through education.” led to widespread national ridicule of UNC-Chapel Chancellor Moeser already signaled a lack of un- The bizarre and costly actions of the Democratic ma- Hill, they don’t want to prevent professors or students derstanding of his responsibilities as leader of an jority in the North Carolina General Assembly aren’t likely from speaking or assembling. What they object to pas- agency of state government when, in a “State of the to be forgotten soon. sionately is the sponsorship of the events by the uni- University address” just before the September 11 at- versity itself and the use of tax dollars to subvert tacks, he suggested that UNC-CH recapture family American principles of individual liberty, free enter- values from the “right wing” and help to abolish capi- prise, and justice. tal punishment. RED EYE In the days before the September 17 event, art pro- These are important political issues, worthy of de- fessor Elin O’Hara Slavick and other organizers pro- bate on campus and elsewhere, but Moeser does not moted it as a university-sanctioned activity. So did enjoy the right to use taxpayer resources to champion Will street corners now feature spy cams? UNC-Chapel Hill’s public-relations office. them. An item in the University Gazette, which my Caro- Moreover, he and other UNC leaders should take eople who run red lights are a menace. This is also lina Journal colleagues read online on September 14, this opportunity to examine how campus culture has true of those who consistently fail to use turn indi- stated that “the teach-in is being sponsored by: Stu- become so ideologically deformed and irrelevant cators or routinely drive at excessive speeds. But dent Affairs, the Offices of the Vice-Chancellor and during the past four decades, and what steps they P Chancellor; the Progressive Faculty Network; [and] the can take to restore some semblance of rationality to turn signal and speeding violations do not generally occur in fixed locations as do red-light violations. University Center for International Studies,” among what should be a place of learning and of reasoned CJ And so the North Carolina General Assembly autho- others. and informed debate. rized several municipalities in North Carolina to install red- Moeser denied having sponsored the event in e- light cameras at intersections to take photographs of the mail exchanges with critical UNC-CH alumni, and the license plate numbers of those running red lights. Several news item on the university web site was later changed Hood is chairman and president of the John Locke Founda- objections have been raised regarding this policy, some of to exclude the statement of sponsorship by his office tion and author of Investor Politics, just out from the which arise from difficulties other states have encountered (but not by other arms of the university). Philadelphia-based Templeton Foundation Press in using such systems—most notably California, where on Subsequently, the same band of kooks responsible (www.TempletonPress.org). Sept. 4 a San Diego judge tossed out 300 tickets issued as a October 2001 C A R O L I N A 22 Opinion JOURNAL

Editorial Briefs

The Cost of Health-Insurance Socialism

Health care for the uninsured has become a major issue in many states, including North Caro- lina. Some misguided souls have proposed that we embrace a socialist, single-payer system as the an- swer, despite compelling evidence that the result would be an unmitigated disaster. Now there is a new study examining the likely economic impact of implementing such a system in a state. The subject of the study was Maryland, where policymakers are examining ways to achieve universal coverage. The options for discussion include expanding Medicaid (the federal-state health care program for low income families) or creating an insurance pool to cover the uninsured. However, some reform advocates would go much further and reshape the entire health care system. They suggest a multi-payer system requir- ing employers to either offer health insurance or pay into a government-created system for the unin- sured. Still others advocate a single-payer, govern- ment-financed system that would replace private health insurance and cover all residents of Mary- land. The Folly of Federal Fine-Tuning Applying its State Tax Analysis Modeling Pro- gram to Maryland, the Beacon Hill Institute found that all four approaches would incur major costs. By MICHAEL L. WALDEN So, if the Fed decides current economic growth is Their analysts examined how each method of imple- Contributing Editor higher than the magic rate, the Fed will try to slow the menting universal health care would affect em- RALEIGH economy by increasing interest rates and reducing money ployment, payroll, tax revenues and the capital t’s amazing how times change. When I started teach growth. Both actions increase the cost of lending and stock. Among the study’s major findings: ing economics more than 23 years ago, few people decrease consumer and business borrowing and spending. •A single-payer system would be the most Ioutside Washington, D.C. and academia knew what Conversely, if the Fed evaluates current economic expensive, resulting in the loss of 117,531 jobs and the Federal Reserve was, and they certainly didn’t know growth to be less than the magic rate, the Fed will stimulate a loss of $4.8 billion in wage income in 2002. who headed this institution. the economy by cutting interest rates and increasing money • The job loss would be equivalent to an in- Today, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Re- growth, thereby making it easier for consumers and busi- crease in Maryland's unemployment rate of 4.7 serve, has celebrity status. But even more important, the nesses to borrow and spend. percentage points. Federal Reserve (the Fed) is now looked to as a savior of the But can the Fed know this magic growth rate? Despite • By contrast, an expansion of Medicaid to economy whenever business activity takes a dip and jobs the vast data the Fed can collect and analyze, the Fed can, cover the uninsured would cost 30,618 jobs and a are threatened, as has been the case during the past year. and probably does, get the magic growth rate wrong. If so, loss of $1.2 billion in wage income — causing the But is this faith in the Fed misplaced? Can the Fed then Fed fine-tuning, rather than smoothing the economic equivalent of a 1.2 percentage-point increase in the really move the economy — that is, pump up the economy cycle, can actually add to economic stability. state unemployment rate. when it’s down and slow the economy when it’s too hot? Or, even if the Fed does correctly measure the magic • All four health care systems would require And even if the Fed could do this, does its actions make the growth rate, its aggressive actions to move the actual the state to raise additional tax revenues, say re- economy better, or could the Fed’s policies actually make growth rate to the magic rate may increase the ups and searchers, ranging from $565 million for the multi- the economy worse? Let’s see. downs in the economy. For example, aggressive actions by payer system to nearly $12 billion for the single- the Fed to stimulate the economy in 2001 may cause the payer system in 2002. To fund the single-payer Visible Hand of Fiscal, Monetary Policies economy to “overheat” in 2002. Thus, the Fed could be system the state would have to raise the average compelled to “calm” the economy in 2002 with interest rate effective personal income tax rate by 233 percent, Econ 101 teaches there are two major national, or hikes. So the Fed may very well follow a “speedup, slow- from the projected 2002 effective rate of 5.01 percent macro (in economics lingo), economic policies used to steer down, speedup, slowdown” policy of jerking the economy to 16.69 percent. the economy, fiscal policy and monetary policy. Fiscal constantly up and down. Source: David G. Tuerck, “Universal Health Care policy is operated jointly by the president and Congress Last, Fed fine-tuning policies can fail because private and the Maryland Economy: An Econometric Analysis and involves manipulating tax and spending components decision-makers may outsmart the Fed. There’s always an Using the Maryland State Tax Analysis Modeling Pro- of the federal budget. The standard recommendation is to incentive for the private sector to try to predict what the Fed gram,” September 2001, Beacon Hill Institute for Public reduce taxes and/or increase federal spending to speed up will do. The Fed’s policy actions really depend on the Policy Research, Suffolk University, 8 Ashburton Place, the economy, and to increase taxes and/or decrease federal element of surprise. To the extent private decision-makers Boston, Mass. 02108, (617) 573-8750. spending to slow down the economy. correctly anticipate Fed actions, impacts of these actions Monetary policy is run by the Federal Reserve. To are blunted and ineffective. boost the economy, the Fed cuts (short-term) interest rates Europe Relies on Private Airport Security and pumps more money into the economy. Conversely, to Should the Fine-Tuners Sit Down? dampen economic activity, the Fed increases interest rates U.S. experts have long studied and admired and slows money growth. These issues raise the question of whether the Fed’s how airport officials in Europe manage security, Fiscal policy has fallen out of favor due to the difficulty fine-tuning does more harm than good. If the Fed’s fine- but there hasn’t been the will or resources over here of attaining political consensus between a president and a tuning doesn’t work, what’s the alternative? to put European-style security measures into effect divided Congress. Even the tax cut passed this year is more The alternative is to allow the economy to self-correct until now. of a long- term reduction in taxes than a remedy to the slow without the use of fiscal or monetary policy. For instance, These security measures do not necessarily call economy of 2001. if the economy is in recession, underutilization of resources for a larger federal government role, however, since Fiscal policy can also take a long time to implement as will eventually lead to lower prices, and lower prices will in Europe individual airports rather than airlines politicians argue about the mix of tax and spending changes. prompt more spending and the hiring of additional re- bear more responsibility and often use contractors In fact, there are many historical examples of an sources. Likewise, when the economy is overheating, the to deliver security services. antirecessionary fiscal policy being enacted after the reces- resulting faster rise in prices will douse the economic According to the Washington Post, in most sion was actually over! flames. European countries, the government-owned air- This leaves the “heavy lifting” of government eco- And what would be the government’s role in this self- port is ultimately in charge of security, but it hires nomic policy to be done by the Federal Reserve. For ex- adjusting world? In a phrase, the government’s role would private firms to perform the actual security func- ample, although a modest tax cut was enacted in 2001, all be stability and predictability. Fiscal policy would focus on tions at the passenger level. eyes have been trained on the Fed’s monetary policy for the enacting a stable, simple tax system that raises revenues Airport security guards are looked upon — and rising tide to lift the economic ship. sufficient for the essential functions of government. Mon- regard themselves — as professionals in Europe The Fed’s actions to fine-tune the economy are based etary policy would work toward a steady, consistent growth and the level of job satisfaction is high. on the assumption that, at any point in time, there is one in the money supply that provides sufficient liquidity for As a result, turnover in Belgium, for example, is economic growth rate that will generate full employment the economy. 15 percent or less. Even the continent-wide average with no, or low, inflation. A growth rate less than this magic In this world, not knowing the head of the Federal of below 50 percent is dramatically lower than in rate will cause a rise in unemployment and a reduction in Reserve would be a good thing. CJ the United States — where turnover can range from income, and a growth rate higher than the magic rate will 150 percent per year to as high as 400 percent. CJ generate unsustainable increases in income and wealth resulting in rapidly increasing inflation - irrational exuber- Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Professor of Agricultural ance, to use Greenspan’s phrase. and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. October 2001 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Opinion 23

Easley Leads Raid on Taxpayers Democrats Raise Taxes While Carolinians Go to War

By RICHARD WAGNER Easley said during a special press conference he called the budget and spare taxpayers further suffering. Editor September 17 that a two-year budget based on a House tax At the top of the list sat the big, fat Global TransPark, RALEIGH package would be short by more than $480 million. North which after 11 years has devoured at least $42 million in he following test will measure your ability to rea Carolina would need even more money than before, Easley direct state and federal funds, plus other costly subsidies. son, and ultimately to determine your fitness for said, because the state won’t reap enough revenue during Everybody except those closely associated with the GTP Tpublic office in the state of North Carolina. a wartime economy. abandoned the project long ago. Please select one headline — and only one — in each Easley’s squeal for more money was based upon what group that obviously is incompatible with the other head- he called an overly optimistic economic forecast composed TransPark Will Never Fly lines: by budget writers. The forecast had projected a 4 percent increase in revenue in 2001 and a 4.9 percent increase in the Now, in the aftermath of the terrorist strikes in New (1) U.S. Braces for War second year of the budget. York City and Washington, D.C., aviation in this country (2) A Lasting Memory of Fiery Horror That forecast did not take into account the war’s im- lies in disarray. Everybody, except for pig-headed politi- (3) World Weeps with U.S. pact on the economy, the governor said cians, now must realize that pork like the (4) Timeline: Attack on America in a blatant attempt to stampede the GTP will never fly. (5) Won’t Sign “Unbalanced” Budget, Easley Says legislature. “The numbers now can only America can go to war. Axing the GTP would be just a start. get worse,” he said. “They can only be Scores of other questionable projects, in- (1) A Moment for Mourning more out of balance. All of the experts The economy can go cluding state grants for localities to up- (2) Sorrow and Solidarity and information we’re getting is that we to hell. Families can grade water and sewer projects, sucked (3) More Than 200 Still Missing at Pentagon should expect a flatter economy and no hundreds of millions of dollars out of (4) “Oh, God, We Pray for Peace” recovery in the fourth quarter.” eat cake. But politi- taxpayers’ pocketbooks. (5) Won’t Sign “Unbalanced” Budget, Easley Says cians must have their Indicative of officials’ approach to Easley’s Answer: Higher Taxes pork. budgeting was a $7 million request by (1) Airlines Warn of Bankruptcy Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight. (2) Volatile Stock Market Plummets What the state must have, Easley Basnight wanted state agencies to find (3) Terrorist Attacks Will Have Lasting Effects in North said, is a statewide half-cent sales tax increase, a half-cent room in the budget for the state to buy a fishing pier and Carolina local-option sales tax increase, a half-percentage-point in- 660-foot stretch of beachfront property near a restaurant he (4) Tough Months Ahead for Economy crease in the highest income tax bracket, and higher taxes owns in his home district on the Outer Banks, according to (5) Won’t Sign “Unbalanced” Budget, Easley Says on telephone calls, liquor, luxury cars, satellite television the News & Observer of Raleigh. and HMOs. Given the pervasiveness of outright greed in the state’s Now, give the test to your 7-year-old son or daughter. Evidently a “balanced” budget to Easley was one that budget, it’s inexcusable that the governor sank to the level Finished? Good. Now it’s time to add up your scores. would embrace all-out spending and unbridled taxation. of trying to cash in on a national crisis to further his party’s If you and your child marked everything BUT No. 5, then Underscoring that philosophy, Easley said he would veto agenda—at the expense of hard-working taxpayers. you have what it takes to be a high-ranking state official. any budget that does not include all of his tax increases. Such an insult came from the governor while North If you marked No. 5, then you are qualified to be a A few days later, on Sept. 21, Easley got his wish — a Carolinians gladly have been volunteering their hearts, reluctant — if not rebellious — taxpayer in North Carolina. budget approved by the House and Senate that raised their money and their services to their country and their The choices in this test were actual headlines that were more than $1 billion in higher taxes over two years. Every fellow countrymen. Many Carolinians have lost their jobs. published recently in local newspapers. Democrat voted for the tax increase. Every Republican but As the economy continues to sour, many more will become As difficult as any normal person might find it to one, Rep. Monroe Buchanan of Spruce Pine, voted against unemployed, and others will be forced to sacrifice their believe, Gov. Mike Easley actually said — immediately it. standard of living. Any day now our sons and daughters after our nation declared war — that a half-cent sales tax Never mind that the proposed budget was packed will be laying their lives on the line. increase being considered by the General Assembly was with pork-barrel projects, the governor and his cronies in America can go to war. The economy can go to hell. not enough. the Assembly refused to make any credible attempt to cut Families can eat cake. But politicians must have their pork.

Where Have All the Hyphenated Americans Gone?

By ANDREW CLINE who preach the doctrines of collective responsibility and characteristic as a basis for prejudging a person’s charac- Managing Editor collective guilt. Under these theories, all people of one ter or beliefs. RALEIGH group are responsible for the actions of all others within This is what one side of the American political spec- n the aftermath of last week’s terrorist attacks, Ameri that group. The theory sounds really nice to members of trum has been arguing for decades. Finally, the other side can leaders were quick to warn their countrymen not minority groups when applied to Americans of Northern seems to have suddenly discovered that maybe this is a Ito lay false blame. In the well-chosen words of one European descent within the context of debates over sla- good idea after all. editorialist, “Blaming Muslims for the attack of the World very reparations or affirmative action. But as soon as the During the Los Angeles riots, when black rioters were Trade Center and Pentagon is as stupid as blaming tide is turned, the argument suddenly loses its appeal. attacking Asians and Caucasians for no other reason than Lutherans for Hitler.” After an entire generation’s worth of this type of talk, that they happened to have the wrong skin color, some Alas, America has its share of stupid people, and the it’s amazing that so few Americans reacted to the tragedy commentators defended the rioters by arguing that the past week has seen some horrible acts of intimidation and by blaming all Arab people or all Muslims. racial violence was the result of understandable pent-up even violence against dark-skinned, black-haired Ameri- After all, if all white Americans should be made to pay anger that needed to be unleashed and, though it was let cans. Reading about those boneheaded for the sins of other white Americans loose in a wrong way, we shouldn’t be too quick to con- bullyings I was surprised at how rare who committed racist acts, then why demn. they were, considering that for at least Now that it’s not ben- can’t all Arabs be held responsible? The the past 35 years the American answer, of course, is because the theory Where Are the Commentators? cognoscenti have been telling us, in ef- eficial to argue that itself is nonsense. fect, that we should judge people by the race or ethnicity should So, where are those commentators now that a few ig- color of their skin and assume that all be a factor in how we Where Is Louis Farrakhan? norant white Americans are taking out their anger on Ar- people of a certain color and background abs and Sikhs? have similar experiences and ways of view others, the argu- Suddenly we no longer hear Louis To America’s credit, her citizens have by and large lived thinking. ment has vanished. Farrakhan shouting that all white people up to their ideals in the wake of this terrible tragedy. De- In my lifetime, many politicians, ce- are the devil, we hear him condemning spite a generation’s worth of preaching from cultural elites lebrities and editorialists have emitted a the terrorists who view all Americans as that “race matters,” Americans have responded to an at- constant, nearly unified chorus on the subject of race in the devil. We don’t hear minority leaders urging us to con- tack by men of one particular ethnicity and religion by say- which they have demanded that we treat people differ- sider race as a factor; we hear all leaders urging us to see ing “race doesn’t matter, individual responsibility does.” ently based on their skin color. each other as Americans and not as members of ethnic or If only radicals who claim to adhere to Islam, such as the We are not “Americans,” they have said repeatedly, racial subdivisions. leaders of the Taliban, which currently holds eight West- we are “African-Americans,” “Asian-Americans,” Arab- Now that it’s not economically and politically benefi- erners prisoner for the “crime” of preaching Christianity, Americans” and so on. Each person within a particular cial to argue that race or ethnicity should be a factor in were so tolerant. CJ ethnicity or racial classification is to be treated as a repre- how we judge others, the argument has quietly vanished sentative of that group. There is no longer one American and been replaced with its own counterargument, that its community, there is an “African-American community,” is meaningless and we should all strive to be as colorblind Cline, who until recently served as the managing editor of CJ, is an “Arab-American community,” a “Jewish-American as possible. now editorial page editor for the Manchester Union Leader in community,” etc. Of course it’s impossible not to notice the shade of New Hampshire. We wish Drew the best of luck in his new en- This ideology has been taken even further by those someone’s skin. But it is possible not to use that physical deavour. October 2001 C A R O L I N A 24 Parting Shot JOURNAL

Patriotism Soars Symbols of patriotism and support for the United States are flourishing. On Sept. 22, captured the image with his helmet-mounted camera. The team included jumpers from Locke Foundation Vice President Don Carrington and 15 other skydivers built USA Chile, Denmark, Hungary, and North Carolina. The Federal Aviation Administration over the Carolina Sky Sports parachute center in Louisburg. Carrington, who designed prohibited skydiving and other general aviation activities for several days following the jump, is in black and red as part of the letter A. Free fall photographer Peter Matos the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Most general aviation activities are now allowed. October 2001 C A R O L I N JOURNA