• Longer Summer • Chancellors’ Pay: Upsets Educators C A R O L I N A No Private Donations Seeing Red on Cameras Fahrenheit 9/11

Volume 11, Number 8 A Monthly Journal of News, August 2004 Analysis, and Opinion from JOURNAL the John Locke Foundation www.CarolinaJournal.com www.JohnLocke.org Navy’s Outlying Landing Field Encounters Rough Sailing

Land taken from owners, Who’s encroaching rather than environment, on whom in Onslow? may be biggest problem Military or private parties?

By BOB FLISS By BOB FLISS Contributing Editor Contributing Editor RALEIGH RALEIGH hanks to a court order, Washington he property-rights battle between and Beaufort counties are hanging the U.S. Navy and Washington T tough in their fight against a U.S. T County residents at least has the Navy landing field — although to read one virtue of being straightforward — from some of the published reports, one might elected officials to local farmers, few people get the impression that the area was inhab- in Washington County want Navy jets fly- ited only by tundra swans, rather than farm- ing in and out of their community. ers trying to save their land and livelihoods. Ninety miles south in Onslow County, The fate of the landing field — and the a much more complicated scenario is brew- communities that consider it the worst of all ing over the expansion needs of the U.S. possible neighbors — may be tied up in the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune. Al- federal court system for many months. For though a “joint land use study” (JLUS) has now, an injunction bars the Navy from “di- U.S. Department of Defense photo been on the table for about two years, recent rectly or indirectly” taking any further steps A squadron of F/A-18 Hornets flies toward Oceana Naval Air Station at Virginia Beach, Va. events show that it will be difficult to ac- to develop the field, including land acquisi- commodate both the Corps’ need for round- tion, site preparation, and construction. Much the same scenario may play out Field, but the Navy has deemed it unsuit- the-clock training and residents’ need for a The judge’s comments suggest that the with the landing field, Page said. He said able for further development because it’s little peace and quiet. Navy didn’t do its homework before an- local activists are doing an excellent job too close to residential areas. Camp Lejeune covers about 151,000 nouncing in September 2003 that it was disseminating information about their acres, out of nearly 500,000 acres in all of pursuing development of a field where car- plight to anyone who will listen. Fiscally Property rights, birds as hazards Onslow County. Most of the land was ac- rier pilots could practice landings far from conservative groups such as CSE make an quired by the federal government during the congestion surrounding the Oceana, immediate connection because of the prop- The landing-field controversy could be World War II. The last great expansion of Va. and Cherry Point air stations. erty rights aspects of the case. And for the described as being fought on two fronts. the base took place in the early 1990s, when activists on the Left, there’s always the wel- First is the environmental front, which about 42,000 acres was added to create the Quiet death of field possible fare of about 20,000 tundra swans and 44,000 essentially involves saving the Navy’s F/ Greater Sandy Run Firing Area, a complex snow geese to consider. A-18 jets and the birds at the Pungo Unit of of ranges used for training on the M1A1 Allen Page, state executive director of In this election year, reporting from the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Abrams tank and other combat vehicles. Citizens for a Sound Economy, said he both the mainstream and conservative press from each other. Ron Merritt, a retired U.S. Local property owners have maintained would not be surprised if the landing field continually harps on how polarized the Air Force major who headed numerous that the military promised at the time that died a quiet death in the court system. He nation has become, with the Iraq War pro- investigations involving collisions between this would be its last demand for land. Since noted that the Navy has already generated viding the principal wedge. aircraft and birds, describes the swans, then, Onslow has struggled with the ques- a lot of bad press for itself that would only Yet there are still rare cases where the geese, and other large waterfowl that in- tion of whether development is encroach- get worse if owners are forced off their land. Right and Left can build temporary coali- habit the refuge as “flying bowling balls” ing on the military or the military is en- Page compared the situation with the tions around an issue, usually for com- and a real hazard. An impact with a 15- to croaching on development. stream buffer regulations that were pushed pletely different reasons. The Navy’s plan 20-pound waterfowl can force a pilot to Connie Cole, a Beaufort County activist by North Carolina a few years ago. Legal to buy up farmland in the Washington and reach for the ejection handle. The bird ref- who has been monitoring both the Wash- review of these rules exposed a host of Beaufort counties provides a good example. uge is only five miles from the proposed ington County and Camp Lejeune situa- presumably unintended consequences — The Department of the Navy wants to landing field, so Merritt concludes that it’s tions, said she thinks that the military is for example, the owner of a flooded-out create an Outlying Landing Field to serve wishful thinking to assume that the sky is likely to take a broad view of its preroga- house would, in many cases, have been F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters based at big enough for both supersonic fighters and tives. By way of support, she cited a presen- forbidden by law to rebuild if the house was Oceana Naval Air Station and Cherry Point dense flocks of waterfowl. tation at the 2003 joint environmental con- within a stream buffer. Ultimately, the law Marine Air Station. The proposed location, Second is the property rights front, ference between the Department of Defense placed too many restrictions on private known as “Site C” in Navy documents, which involves about 100 landowners, and Environmental Protection Agency. owners’ use of their land, aside from paying would cover 23,000 acres of Washington mainly family farmers, and about one-fourth This particular presentation involved taxes on it. While Page thinks it’s possible County, and 7,000 acres of Beaufort County. of the arable land in Washington County. training at the Camp Pendleton, Calif. Ma- that the stream-buffer issue may resurface The Navy wants to begin construction as Washington County activists maintain that rine base. According to conference tran- some day, for now it’s been quietly with- early as April 2005 to have the landing field drawn, saving embarrassment to the bu- open by the summer of 2007. Oceana al- reaucrats who promoted it. ready has an alternate landing site, Fentress Continued as “County Would,” Page 3 Continued as “Civilian,” Page 3

North Carolinians’ Political Philosophy The John Locke Foundation NONPROFIT ORG. Contents 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 U.S. POSTAGE Moderate 39% Raleigh, NC 27601 PAID Conservative 39% RALEIGH NC PERMIT NO. 1766 Liberal 20% Calendar 2 Not Sure 2% State Government 3 Education 6 Higher Education 10 Local Government 14 Books & the Arts 18 Opinion 20

% of N.C. Respondents in Oct. 2002 JLF Poll Parting Shot 24 C A R O L I N A Contents JOURNAL ON THE COVER HIGHER EDUCATION THE LEARNING CURVE • The battle over property rights, rather • Some supporters of the University of • A review of the film “Fahrenheit 9/11” than the environment, might prove to be North Carolina think the college should rely by John Plecnik says the film represents the the biggest challenge facing the Navy’s Out- more on private contributions, less on state worst of politics and the best of propa- lying Landing Field. Meanwhile, in Onslow resources, to pay chancellors, like many ganda. Page 18 Richard Wagner County, residents around Camp Lejeune other colleges do. Page 10 Editor contend with constant military exercises. Page 1 • The House and Senate agree for North • Reviews of the books World on Fire: How Paul Chesser, Michael Lowrey Carolina to take on more debt to pay for Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Eth- Donna Martinez NORTH CAROLINA projects at several universities, including a nic Hatred and Global Instability by Amy Associate Editors $60 million cardiovascular center at ECU Chua, and Hayek’s Challenge: An Intellectual • An administrator for a taxpayer-sup- and a $180 million cancer research center Biography of F.A. Hayek by Bruce Caldwell. ported association characterized Rep. John at UNC-CH. Page 11 Page 19 Karen Palasek, Jon Sanders Rhodes, who has asked State Auditor Ralph Assistant Editors Campbell to investigate a state-funded eco- • The executive committee of the Faculty OPINION nomic development agency, as a “true Senate of North Carolina State University • An editorial on the deals and dealings nutcase” whose only allies “are the very has joined the chorus in calling for an open done by North Carolina officials that take Chad Adams, Andrew Cline, Roy Cordato, Charles Davenport, religious right folks.” Page 4 chancellor search. Page 12 more power away from taxpayers and give Ian Drake, Tom Fetzer, Bob Fliss, more authority to the political class. Nat Fullwood, John Gizzi, • An automobile auction business, owned • George Leef debunks the theory that col- Page 20 David Hartgen, Summer Hood, by a convicted felon, will expand its Vir- leges need socialist proselytizing to coun- Lindalyn Kakadelis, George Leef, ginia-based wholesale operation into North teract ‘corporate bias.’ Page 13 • Editorials on Gov. Mike Easley’s handling Kathleen Linder, Kathryn Parker, Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley said at a Curri- of the North Carolina economy, and on ju- Marc Rotterman, R.E. Smith Jr., tuck County groundbreaking ceremony LOCAL GOVERNMENT dicial election reform. Page 21 Jack Sommer, John Staddon, June 25. Page 5 George Stephens, Jeff Taylor, • A lawsuit against High Point’s red-light • George Leef explores North Carolina’s Michael Walden, Karen Welsh Contributing Editors EDUCATION camera program may provide some over- low rating for its small claims court system. due clarification about what actually con- Mike Walden explains that relying on • Summer break just got longer for students stitutes a “fine.” Page 14 Canada for prescription drugs might not be Jenna Ashley, Paul Messino, and teachers, thanks to a new law passed as attractive as Americans think that it Brian McGraw by the General Assembly. Many school • The fallout continues from the U.S. De- would be. Page 22 Editorial Interns boards across the state aren’t happy about partment of Housing and Urban Develop- it, though. Page 6 ment’s audit into the activities of the Durham Housing Authority. Page 16 • Marc Rotterman bids farewell to Presi- • The name reflects its home county, but dent Ronald Reagan. Page 23 there could be no better description for the CJ INTERVIEW outstanding charter school, Union Acad- PARTING SHOT John Hood emy. Page 7 • An interview with Ted Balaker of the Rea- Publisher son Public Policy Institute, on the feasibil- • CJ parody: John Edwards, after his ticket’s • Zero tolerance disciplinary policies have ity of light-rail transit in North Carolina. loss to President Bush in November, returns Don Carrington sometimes become a legal minefield for Page 17 to his first litigious love. Page 24 Associate Publisher school officials in North Carolina. Page 8

Published by Calendar The John Locke Foundation 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 Raleigh, N.C. 27601 (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 Locke Foundation to Host Luncheon on Education Reform www.JohnLocke.org

he John Locke Foundation will host Election Preview Bruce Babcock, Ferrell Blount, a luncheon on education reform John Carrington, Hap Chalmers, Sept. 15 in Raleigh, featuring Jeanne On Oct. 4 in Raleigh, the John Locke Sandra Fearrington, Jim Fulghum, T William Graham, John Hood, Allen. Foundation will present a luncheon panel Kevin Kennelly, Lee Kindberg, Allen is one of the nation’s most influ- discussion about this year’s political races Robert Luddy, William Maready, ential education experts. As president of and prognostications for November. Par- J. Arthur Pope, Assad Meymandi, the Center for Education Reform, an orga- ticipants will analyze local, state, and na- Tula Robbins, David Stover, nization she founded in 1993, Allen is con- tional elections. Jess Ward, Andy Wells, sulted regularly by lawmakers and national John Fund, political reporter for The Art Zeidman leaders in efforts to improve America’s Wall Street Journal, will highlight the presi- Board of Directors schools. dential race, in addition to several key races An advocate of bringing the power of for Congress. Joining him in his look at ordinary people to bear on policy decisions national trends will be Kellyanne Conway, Carolina Journal is a monthly jour- — believing that reform best begins in the president of the polling company, Inc. nal of news, analysis, and commentary on neighborhoods and communities of In addition, John Locke Foundation state and local government and public policy America — she is the author of The School President John Hood will evaluate North issues in North Carolina. Reform Handbook: How to Improve Your Carolina’s Council of State and legislative Schools. races. Other surprise guests will participate ©2004 by The John Locke Foundation Allen also serves as an advisor to sev- in the event as well. Inc. All opinions expressed in bylined ar- eral national and community-based orga- ticles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of nizations. Shaftesbury Society Carolina Journal or the staff and board of Allen’s two decades of education expe- the Locke Foundation. rience and expertise places her at the fore- Jeanne Allen Each Monday at noon, the John Locke front of the drive to bring substantive change Foundation plays host to the Shaftesbury Material published in Carolina Jour- to education. She is a frequent commenta- U.S. Department of Education in senior Society, a group of civic-minded individu- nal may be reprinted provided the Locke tor in print and broadcast media, appearing posts. She founded the Center for Educa- als who meet over lunch to discuss the Foundation receives prior notice and ap- on “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” tion Reform to fill the void that existed in issues of the day. The meetings are con- propriate credit is given. Submissions and “The Today Show” “NewsHour with Jim the nation for sound leadership on educa- ducted at the Locke offices in downtown letters to the editor are welcome and should Lehrer,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.” tion reform. Raleigh at 200 W. Morgan St., Suite 200. be directed to the editor. Her commentaries have been published See also “Agitator for Choice Leaves Parking is available in nearby lots and decks. Readers of Carolina Journal who wish in more than 200 periodicals, including The Her Mark,” a profile of The Center for Edu- to receive daily and weekly updates from CJ Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, The cation Reform and founder Jeanne Allen on “Carolina Journal Radio” editors and reporters on issues of interest to Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Investor’s the occasion of CER’s 10th anniversary, by North Carolinians should call 919-828- Business Daily, The Dallas Morning News, Jeff Archer, Education Week, Nov. 12, 2003. The staff of Carolina Journal co-produces 3876 and request a free subscription to and Newsday. The program will begin at noon at the a weekly news magazine, “Carolina Jour- Carolina Journal Weekly Report, deliv- Leading family magazines such as Good McKimmon Center at North Carolina State nal Radio,” which appears in syndication ered each weekend by e-mail, or visit Housekeeping, Parents, and Reader’s Digest University. on 18 radio stations across North Carolina. CarolinaJournal.com on the World Wide frequently rely on Allen’s expertise on par- Cost for the luncheon is $10. For more You can visit CarolinaJournal.com to locate Web. Those interested in education, higher education, or local government should also ent and education issues. information or to preregister, call (919)828- an affiliate in your area. Also, subscriptions ask to receive new weekly e-letters covering Allen received a bachelors degree in 3876, send an e-mail message to events@ to a monthly CD containing selected epi- these issues. political science from Dickinson College JohnLocke.org, or visit the Locke Founda- sodes of the program are available by call- and went to work on Capitol Hill and the tion website at www.johnlocke.org. ing (919) 828-3876. CJ C A R O L I N A August 2004 JOURNAL North Carolina 3 County Would Lose Property Tax Revenue If Field Is Built

Continued From Page 1 that the Navy may face a tough fight in the courts. the landing field would gobble up about 75 In a nutshell, the counties and the envi- family farms and 200 agricultural jobs. ronmental groups have already done a fairly Meanwhile, the noise from about 32,000 convincing job in arguing that the Navy did training flights a year would degrade the shoddy homework — as mandated by the quality of life and real estate values for 1970 National Environmental Protection Act nearly everyone else. The loss of about — when it began pushing for developing $100,000 in annual property tax revenue Site C as a landing field. would cripple public services in an already The court will rule at a later date about poor community. whether the Navy completed an adequate environmental review. Opponents spread their message But for now, Boyle wrote that the plain- tiffs “provided significant evidence that the Thanks to the Internet and affordable Navy may have failed to take a hard look at video production, landing field opponents the environmental effects of its decision.” have been able to mount an effective public One example Boyle cited was that the information campaign. Navy evidently disregarded information North Carolinians Opposed to the Out- from a mathematical model used to predict lying Landing Field posts its latest news at bird hazards to aircraft. This data predicted www.ablemarlecommunity.net. Also, it that the landing field would be under a began distributing in July a 28-minute docu- Department of Defense photo “severe” bird-strike advisory for half the mentary film about the landing field, nar- year. However, “the Navy continues to Crewmembers aboard the USS Kitty Hawk make pre-flight checks on an F/A-18 Super Hornet. rated by famed North Carolina author Clyde maintain that the impact on waterfowl Edgerton. would be mitigable and minor,” Boyle Significantly, the initial focus of the counties have shown plenty of tenacity in ington and Beaufort counties, and by the wrote. film is on the loss of farmland and the getting endorsements from a wide range of National Audubon Society, N.C. Wildlife Boyle also noted that the Navy has displacement of residents. It then touches interest groups, many of whom would Federation, and Defenders of Wildlife. The failed, even in a time of severe anxiety over on how the landing field, especially jet noise scarcely acknowledge each other’s exist- plaintiffs sought to keep the Navy from national security, to present any evidence and the loss of productive agricultural land, ence under other circumstances. taking further action on planning and build- that the public interest would be harmed by will stymie revitalization efforts in one of NO-OLF lists about 100 supporters in ing the airfield. failure to construct the landing field. North Carolina’s poorest counties. its literature. These include a predominance Boyle wrote that in granting an injunc- The judge’s conclusions are prelimi- Only at the end of the film is the water- of environmental organizations such as the tion, a judge must balance the possibility of nary, based on facts presented in court, and fowl problem discussed, and then mainly Audubon Society and the N.C. Sierra Club, irreparable harm to either side, the likeli- avoid any generalizations. Even so, he all to highlight safety threats to humans. One along with a leavening of mainstream farm hood of the plaintiff’s being successful in but says the Navy did shoddy preparation of the highlights of the film is farmer Giles groups such as the N.C. Farm Bureau and making its case, and the public interest. and disregarded environmental laws. Stallings describing the crash of a Navy N.C. Grange, and even a handful of conser- In this case, the scales tipped clearly on Perhaps understandably, many Wash- Harrier jump jet near his tobacco barns on vative bastions such as the National Rifle the side of the two counties and their envi- ington County activists paint the Navy’s Sept. 16, 1996. The pilot ejected safely and Association and Citizens for a Sound ronmentalist allies, on all three points, Boyle actions in a more sinister light. They think the only loss was a piece of expensive ma- Economy. wrote. their community was deliberately targeted chinery. However Stallings said that if the Not surprisingly, the plight of farmers, In this paragraph, Boyle showed that because it is poor, rural, and sparsely popu- wreckage had come down among his stor- some of whose families have occupied their his first concern was for the landowners: lated. Meanwhile, the Navy wants to avoid age tanks, there could have been a major land since Colonial times, has gotten less “If a preliminary injunction does not conflict with developers and homeowners explosion. attention in the national media than the issue, the Navy will begin acquiring land, in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, Documentary director Tex Fuller is welfare of the 100,000-some migratory birds which will result in irreparable harm to the home to Oceana and many other installa- clearly no Michael Moore. While his film is that inhabit the Pocosin refuge during parts approximately 100 landowners who reside tions. obviously trying to push Washington of the year. in and around the area… By way of proof, the NO-OLF Web site County’s position, it focuses on facts over Once the land is purchased, these own- features the text of an October 2000 letter rhetoric and emotion. Judge gets involved in dispute ers will be permanently displaced. Addi- from the U.S. Atlantic Fleet headquarters It also makes clear that, above all, the tionally, if a preliminary injunction does that explicitly says noise reduction is the community is fighting for its livelihood, the When Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence not issue, the environment could be irrepa- principal reason why the Navy wants to foundation of which is family farms. Al- W. Boyle, a Reagan appointee and one of rably harmed… through the increased noise study an outlying landing field. though the local bird population gets its North Carolina’s more conservative jurists, that would be produced by the Super Hor- Lawyers for Washington and Beaufort due, its needs are placed well below those granted the preliminary injunction against nets, the loss of essential nourishment for counties are continuing to pursue evidence of people. the Navy in mid-April, the New York Times’ the birds through the loss of neighboring that would support arguments that the Navy Still, an endorsement is an endorse- report focused strictly on the possible dan- farmland, and the increased danger of uti- didn’t consider alternative sites carefully ment, even if it comes from liberal environ- ger to migratory bird populations. lizing the various lakes and refuges by the enough before targeting the two counties. mental groups that don’t have a particu- But a close reading of Boyle’s order on birds through the threat of a collision with Boyle on June 30 denied a motion by the larly good track record on property rights the preliminary injunction shows that the the planes,” Boyle wrote. Navy’s attorneys that would have barred or embracing free-market approaches to judge also was fully aware of the property- Boyle’s comments on both the public- opponents from gathering further reports natural resource management. rights aspects of the case. interest aspects of the case, and the prob- and testimony about the site and its pos- Community leaders in the embattled The suit was filed in January by Wash- ability of success by the plaintiffs suggest sible hazards. CJ Civilian, Camp Lejeune Interests Clash in Eastern North Carolina

Continued From Page 1 county near the base would be denied sewer shooting until midnight or two in the morn- administer both tracts as land for public service. ing,” Campbell said. hunting and fishing. scripts, the speaker defined “encroachment” Any military firing range would by Campbell has been a leader among However, the Department of Defense as “any non-DoD action that has the poten- definition be a difficult neighbor. Onslow homeowners opposing the JLUS. will pay half the purchase price of both tial to impede military readiness.” Urban residents, especially of the unincorporated On the previous evening, Campbell tracts and will have easements to prevent growth was only one of several encroach- town of Verona, have complained about participated in a special meeting of the any development on them. ment factors identified, and by no means noise, dust, and vibration from the range, Onslow County Board of Commissioners The ultimate significance of the land the worst. Actually, the worst problems which is at some points is as close as 1,000 with base officials. Unusually, Campbell purchase may be less in their outdoor recre- were the presence of endangered species or meters to dwellings. was deputized to sit in for a commissioner ation value than in their ability to keep wetlands in training areas, which might, for One of these homeowners, John who could not attend. military and civilian activities from inter- example, restrict digging and off-road ma- Campbell, said that he woke up on July 15 The commissioners accepted the draft fering with each other. neuvering. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pre- to see bulldozers uprooting about an acre of JLUS with only a few changes. However, The purchase still needs final approval sentation concludes that the military faces a trees near the Verona home he has lived in the plan will still be subject to a public by the General Assembly and by DOD. difficult balancing act. since the 1970s. Since trees are supposed to hearing and a final vote by the commission- Residents of places such as Verona, This conclusion is almost certainly ap- help provide a noise buffer against the ers, so other changes may be in the works. Hubert, and Bear Creek, are in a minority in plies just as well to the North Carolina sounds of 25 mm cannon and 0.50 caliber- In a related development earlier in the that they experience few of the economic coastal plain. machine guns being fired on the range, week, about $2 million in state money was benefits of living in a military town. Among other details, the draft JLUS their removal can’t possibly help what appropriated to buy tracts of 500 and 250 Camp Lejeune is without a doubt the between Onslow and Camp Lejeune would Campbell described as an already bad situ- acres to serve as buffers between Camp economic mainspring of Onslow County, place development restrictions on parts of ation. Campbell said he called the base and Lejeune and surrounding residential areas. which has a population of about 150,000. the county adjoining the base, particularly was told that the trees were being removed The money will come from the Clean Water Home of several Marine expeditionary the unincorporated communities of Hubert as part of a drainage project. Management Trust Fund. The North Caro- force units, Camp Lejeune has about 43,000 and Bear Creek. Also, some parts of the “You can’t sleep at night with them lina Wildlife Resources Commission will active-duty military personnel. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 4 North Carolina JOURNAL

Around the State Says Rhodes is allied with the ‘very religious right’

• Three North Carolina areas State-Funded Lobbyist Calls Legislator a ‘Nutcase’ considering urban rail projects — Charlotte, the Triangle, and the Triad By PAUL CHESSER Rep. Rhodes has been a very vocal and — are all ill-suited for urban rail and Associate Editor outspoken critic of the cospeakership ar- will not experience enough conges- RALEIGH rangement and of both speakers since last tion relief, environmental benefits, n administrator for a taxpayer-sup- year.” economic growth, or improvements ported association characterized for the transit-dependent poor to Rep. John Rhodes, who has asked Rhodes’s allies justify the expense of the projects. A State Auditor Ralph Campbell to investi- All three areas would be better gate a state-funded economic development One of Rhodes’s allies in the House served building additional lane ca- agency, as a “true nutcase” whose only disregarded Norris’s statement about his pacity on roads and using other allies “are the very religious right folks.” limited alliances. mass-transit approaches, such as bus Meredith Norris, a former assistant in “He apparently is well-liked by all the rapid transit, according to a new House Speaker Jim Black’s legislative of- people who elected him, because he doesn’t report by the Reason Foundation, a fice, now is a registered lobbyist for the have any opposition [in this fall’s elections] think tank based in Los Angeles. North Carolina Partnership for Economic and they couldn’t gerrymander him out,” The study concludes that the low Development, an association for the state’s said Rep. Russell Capps, a Wake County population density of North Caro- seven regional economic development part- Republican who was once a leader in the lina cities and their high rate of auto nerships. She handles various other respon- county Christian Coalition. “I think [Norris’s use, which is above the national av- sibilities for the NCPED, although her de- remarks] are inappropriate and out of place. erage, make them particularly poor gree of authority over the organization is If taxpayers are paying her salary, I think locations for urban rail. not clear. it’s questionable that she would make those “North Carolina’s population Rep. John Rhodes, R-Mecklenburg kinds of comments. density is nowhere near what is ‘Nutcase’ with the ‘religious right’ “I think Rep. Rhodes has every right to needed to support rail projects of sury Department.” Watson told The Daily ask the auditor for an investigation if he this magnitude,” said Robert Poole, Norris made her “nutcase” comment in Advance that Campbell’s office reviewed thinks there’s something wrong.” project director and a transporta- an electronic mail exchange between her financial records for six years and decided Late on June 23, Norris e-mailed the tion advisor to the last four presi- and Rick Watson, president of North against an audit of the partnership. following statement to CJ: dential administrations. “Folks in Carolina’s Northeast Partnership, and “We have a clean bill of health,” Watson “My statements in the 6/15 e-mail were North Carolina don’t live or travel Cathy Scott, who consults for Watson. said. “It’s already been investigated.” made by me and me alone and do not like New Yorkers, nor do they want Rhodes, a Mecklenburg County Republi- Dennis Patterson, spokesman for represent the views of any others. I sin- to. It’s unrealistic to think residents can, had requested the investigation based Campbell, told CJ that the auditor’s office cerely regret the unkind sentiment that I of Charlotte will commute the way on reports about the Northeast Partnership does not comment on cases unless it re- expressed in this e-mail and have learned a people in Manhattan or Chicago do.” in Carolina Journal and in The Daily Advance leases an audit report. Any investigations very valuable lesson so that this will never To view the report, visit www.rppi. of Elizabeth City. Norris had responded to aren’t acknowledged, he said. happen again.” org on the Internet. An interview an inquiry by Scott asking whether she “We really don’t do clean bills of health,” with the report’s author, Ted Balaker, could “help us find someone that is an ally he said. “Even a clean audit isn’t a clean bill Norris’s work history is on Page 17. to Rep. Rhodes…?” of health.” Norris responded to Scott and Watson Rhodes had questioned the Northeast Norris has a contract with the NCPED •State lawmakers in Raleigh on June 15 that “Rep. Rhodes is a true Partnership’s funding by the state and alle- that pays her a $2,750-per-month salary debated bills during the recent ses- nutcase and I think that both of our speak- gations that Watson had sought personal and up to $400 monthly for medical insur- sion that would authorize up to $760 ers would wholeheartedly agree.” “The only financial stakes in companies and projects ance in exchange for performing adminis- million in new state debts — for land allies that I am aware that Rhodes has are that he tried to lure to his area. If true, such trative services. acquisition and for proposed Uni- the very religious right folks, and I just do actions would represent a conflict of inter- She is a registered lobbyist for the versity of North Carolina buildings not have an ‘in’ with those folks,” Norris est and a violation of his contract. NCPED and arranges meetings of the seven — without a public vote. A new said. Norris copied her response to House partnerships, which are held in various lo- report from the John Locke Founda- Cospeaker Richard Morgan, R-Moore, and Norris doesn’t speak for speakers cations around the state. Norris denied that tion examines trends in North Caro- to two staffers in Black’s office: Meredith she is an employee of the NCPED, but in- lina state debt since 1996 and con- Swindell and Julie Robinson. Black is a Asked June 22 by CJ how she arrived at quiries about the organization to the De- cludes that the principle of voter- Mecklenburg County Democrat. her assessment about Rhodes, Norris said, partment of Commerce and to two of the approved borrowing should be re- Watson, and his lawyer, Ernie Pearson “I really don’t have a comment on that.” regional partnerships — the Charlotte Re- spected, not evaded. of Raleigh, had tried to contact Rhodes and Asked about her information about gional Partnership and AdvantageWest — John Hood, president of the Ra- according to the e-mail exchange said, Rhodes’s “very religious right” alliances, were referred to Norris. leigh-based think tank, writes that “[Rhodes] will not call us back.” On June 18 she again declined comment. She did ac- North Carolina’s seven regional part- both voter-approved bonds and Watson forwarded Norris’s response to al- knowledge that she sent the e-mail. nerships pay membership fees to the other state debts incurred since 1996 most four-dozen other individuals, includ- Southgate Jones III, a Durham busi- NCPED. Altogether they receive more than have more than quadrupled the ing many of his own staff, other economic nessman who cochairs the NCPED, said $6 million in taxpayer dollars per year. state’s General Fund budget for debt development officials in the state, and other Norris is not authorized to speak on behalf On June 22 Norris answered a cell phone service, which will rise to nearly government officials. Watson added to of the association, although she has com- number belonging to “the Committee to $600 million in 2005-06. The debt Norris’s comments that Pearson “has spo- munication responsibilities as part of her Re-elect Jim Black.” She told CJ that she has played a significant role in gen- ken to Campbell and I have spoken to the contract. He said that was limited to repre- works for Black’s campaign as a volunteer erating the state budget deficits of people who did our review and they do not senting economic development interests and is not paid. the past three years. know of any request by Rhodes so on(c)e and facilitating discussion among its mem- “I happen to have that phone today,” The state budget for fiscal 2004- again Paul Chesser and the Daily Advance bers and outside agencies. she said, adding that Black usually keeps 05 already creates the risk of another have lied.” Norris also declined comment when the campaign cell phone in his possession. round of tax increases in 2005, Hood Pearson told CJ that “it’s not something asked whom she was representing when Norris was promoted to the position of said, because of the reliance on one- I can talk about” without authorization from she advised Scott and Watson. liaison for Black’s legislative office Jan. 1, time revenue sources such as tem- his client. Watson did not return telephone “Obviously that kind of rhetoric would 2002, and received a salary increase from porary tax increases, trust-fund and e-mail messages before publication not be representative of the NCPED,” Jones $32,012 to $59,500. withdrawals, or onetime budget sav- time. told CJ. “No one would condone that choice In 2002 she received a Legislative Staff ings. of language.” Jones said he would clarify Achievement Award from the National Authorizing new state debt Rhodes’s audit request with Norris the delineations of her commu- Conference of State Legislatures, “for out- would heighten the fiscal pressure nications role for NCPED. standing contributions to the legislative on North Carolina’s state budget, The Daily Advance reported about Assistants to the cospeakers said Norris process and the professional development particularly over the next few years Rhodes’s audit request in its June 10 edi- does not represent them, either. of leadership staff.” as bonds already approved will drive tion, a day after Rhodes said his legislative “I can assure you that Meredith Norris She left for a position with the Charlotte the debt-service budget to unprec- assistant hand-delivered his letter to does not speak for Speaker Morgan under Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 27, 2002. edented levels. Campbell’s office. He said he had the re- any circumstances,” said his chief of staff, But by March of 2003 she went to work on “Unless state revenues surge by quest re-delivered June 18 and a represen- Sabra Faires. She had no comment about a contractual basis for NCPED, which pays well over $1 billion in 2005-06, re- tative from the auditor’s office signed an Morgan’s feelings about Rhodes. her $33,000 annually, nearly half the pay curring expenses built into the House acknowledgment that the request was re- “Clearly [Norris’s] comment about Rep. she received when working for Black. budget will force lawmakers in 2005 ceived. Rhodes was an off-the-cuff, inappropriate She did not say, when asked, whether either to enact larger-than-ever bud- Asked about the e-mail exchange, remark between her, Mr. Watson and Ms. she had other work besides her NCPED get savings or, more likely, to im- Rhodes said, “My request speaks for itself.” Scott, which was not a direct quote from responsibilities. Southgate Jones III said her pose another round of state tax in- According to the Elizabeth City news- either speaker,” said Julie Robinson, Black’s contract does not prohibit outside work, creases such as the reimposition of paper, Watson said the Northeast Partner- spokeswoman. “Clearly she was not speak- nor does it require a minimum time re- half-a-billion dollars in sales and ship had “already been investigated this ing for Speaker Black. quirement for her NCPED work. income tax hikes,” Hood said. CJ year by the state auditor, the state Attorney “However, Rep. Rhodes and Speaker He did not know whether she had other General’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Trea- Black do not have a close relationship and employment. CJ C A R O L I N A August 2004 JOURNAL North Carolina 5

Company chose N.C. after extortion scheme in Virginia failed Easley Gives Incentives to Auto Auction Formerly Owned by a Felon

By DON CARRINGTON in addition, it is bringing in about 600 auto Associate Publisher dealers to the area, and that helps the hotels RALEIGH and restaurants.” n automobile auction will expand Johnson was apparently unaware that its Virginia-based auto-wholesale Currituck County has no hotels. Aoperation into North Carolina, Visitors to the area near the new TAA Gov. Mike Easley said at a Currituck County site are likely to stay overnight in nearby groundbreaking ceremony June 25. Chesapeake, Va. The company turned its The governor’s comments at the event attention to Currituck County after plans and in a press release are inconsistent with for the Suffolk site failed. other information uncovered by Carolina In January 2002 the Currituck County Journal. Board of Commissioners cleared the way The discrepancies include the reason for the project by rezoning the land from the company chose North Carolina, the in- agricultural to commercial, and also by fluence of financial incentives, and the num- amending the county development ordi- ber of jobs for North Carolinians. nance to allow wholesale auto facilities in a The groundbreaking ceremony for commercial zone. Tidewater Automobile Auction was con- ducted at the Currituck County airport, 15 Local opposition miles from the actual site. The event was Easley’s first official visit to the county, Since the rezoning, the project has gen- Currituck Public Information Officer Diane Gov. Mike Easley, seeking re-election this year, has released a flurry of job creation announcements erated significant local opposition. Oppo- Sawyer told The Daily Advance of Elizabeth since the beginning of 2004. In November he announced, with Commerce Secretary Jim Fain, that nents organized a group called Save Moyock City. North Carolina was deemed first in business climate by Site Selection magazine. Committee, Inc. The auction company has acquired a Concerns expressed on the group’s web 100-acre site on Highway 168 about five The police brought in the FBI because But the auction’s current facility is only site are that the project will cause an in- miles from the Virginia state line, where extortion of a public official is a federal 20 miles away, and the number of existing crease in criminal activity, pollute a nearby auction officials plan to build a 45,000- crime. Hockett received a five-month prison employees who will transfer is actually creek, and overburden local law enforce- square-foot building. sentence, three years of supervised release, unknown, said Dean Vasser, who told CJ ment and fire departments. and a $20,000 fine. that he was TAA’s general manager. Vasser The group also complained that the Company’s claims, extortion scheme Dickens is now the mayor of Suffolk. also said that the company is planning a job nature of the project is not in harmony with He preferred not to comment on details of fair later this year and that it will consider the adjoining residential uses, agricultural According to information on its website, the incident. employees from any state. uses, and a new middle school. the company claims it will bring up to 300 After the federal charges were filed, Another Easley spokeswoman, Sherri A lawsuit the group filed in Superior new jobs, making it the largest employer in Hockett turned over ownership of the com- Creech Johnson, told The News & Observer, Court to halt the project was unsuccessful. the county. pany to his wife, Kelli, and he became gen- “It is creating 250 jobs for local citizens, and An appeal was filed June 9. CJ The employees and operations are be- eral manager. He is listed as general man- ing relocated from the company’s existing ager on the company’s web site. location in Chesapeake, Va. One of seven major vehicle auctions in the mid-Atlantic Easley takes credit region, the company typically attracts about 600 dealers from several eastcoast states Easley’s press release cited Kelli Hockett who bid for up to 2,000 cars and trucks per as the company’s owner and president. week. Michael Hockett was at the ceremony, but “Our top-ranked business climate and played no visible role. Kelli Hockett joined low business tax burden are helping us Easley at the podium. attract new and expanding companies from The governor’s speechwriters also im- across the country. This plied that two incentive announcement is further programs were a factor For more than 12 years, Carolina Journal has provided its proof our targeted invest- in the decision. ments in education and The company owner… “According to Eas- thousands of readers each month with in-depth reporting, infrastructure are paying hired two men to ley, North Carolina is able informed analysis, and incisive commentary about the most off,” a press release from gather information on to attract business such pressing state and local issues in North Carolina. With a the governor’s office said. as the TAA because of Suffolk Councilman particular emphasis on state government, politics, the General The company, how- state incentives such as Assembly, education, and local government, Carolina Journal ever, pursued the North Dana Dickens in order the One North Carolina Carolina site only after a Fund and the Job Devel- has offered unique insights and ideas to the policy debate. 2001 extortion scheme to to sway his vote… opment Investment secure a site in Suffolk, Grant,” The Daily Advance Now Carolina Journal is taking its trademark blend of news, Va. had failed. reported. analysis, and commentary to the airwaves with a new program The company’s general manager, But TAA did not get incentives from — Carolina Journal Radio. Michael D. Hockett , is a convicted felon. In either of the programs. 2001 Hockett, who at the time was the “The company has been granted company’s owner, pleaded guilty in fed- $250,000 by the N.C. Department of Trans- A weekly, one-hour newsmagazine, Carolina Journal Radio eral court to one count of conspiracy to portation, from a discretionary fund for is hosted by John Hood, publisher of Carolina Journal, and obstruct and affect commerce and move- economic development, to make improve- features a diverse mix of guests and topics. Education reform, ment of articles or commodities by extor- ments to the access road to their facility. tax policy, the state legislature, affirmative action, air pollution, tion. Tidewater Auto Auction is also a type of According to news reports and court business eligible for Bill Lee Tax Credits,” freedom of the press and the courts — these are just a few of documents in April 2001, Hockett hired Easley Communications Director Cari Boyce the subjects that Carolina Journal Radio has tackled since two men to gather information on Suffolk said. the program began production in May. City Councilman Dana Dickens in order to sway his vote to approve rezoning of a 120- Incentives a pleasant ‘surprise’ Currently broadcast each weekend on 18 commercial radio acre site sought by the company. When the men failed to turn up any On June 29, The News & Observer of stations Ð from the mountains to the coast Ð Carolina Journal information that could be used to threaten Raleigh reported that Michael Hockett said Radio is a one-of-a-kind program that seeks to inform and Dickens, they hired an exotic dancer to go to he did not ask for incentives and was “sur- elevate the discussion of North Carolina most critical issues, his office, where the men would attempt to prised when the road improvement money and to do so in a fair, entertaining, and thought-provoking way. photograph Dickens and the dancer in a was offered.” compromising position. “Tidewater Auto Auction is bringing Dickens asked the dancer to leave be- 250 good-paying jobs to 250 hard-working fore any photos were taken, so the men took North Carolina families right here in pictures of the woman outside his office Currituck County,” Easley was quoted as door. When the men later approached saying by The Daily Advance. For more information or to find an affiliate of Carolina Journal Dickens with the photos they were arrested In his press release he said that the Radio in your community, visit www.CarolinaJournal.com. by the police and charged with attempted “company will initially need 250 people to bribery. fill a variety of positions.” August 2004 C A R O L I N A 6 North Carolina JOURNAL

National News In Brief It’s Summertime and the Living Is Queasy NEA suit stalled Bill that lengthens students’ break upsets North Carolina’s educators The National Education Asso- ciation has had no success con- By DONNA MARTINEZ vincing any state to join its legal Associate Editor battle with the federal government. RALEIGH NEA wants to sue the federal gov- hile North Carolina’s coastal ernment over the funding provi- tourism industry celebrates leg- sions of the No Child Left Behind W islation that extends the sum- education law. No state has been mer vacation season by preventing public willing to enlist, however, accord- schools from opening before Aug. 25 and ing to reports carried by the Asso- closing after June 10, school boards and ciated Press. advocates around the state are angry at NEA General Counsel Bob what they view as a quest for cash at the Chanin reportedly said that the expense of students. NEA is “prepared to do all the “It’s steamrolling right over logic,” said work,” and that NEA officials Roger Aiken, chairman of the Buncombe “have a solid legal theory” behind County Board of Education. “We shouldn’t the challenge. “I would have be letting tourism run schools.” Aiken’s thought they would be jumping at board is one of 82 of the state’s 115 school this,” Chanin said. districts that opposed House Bill 1464 by Despite widespread dissatis- filing resolutions or letters with the N.C. faction with the original provisions School Boards Association, which lobbied of the law, states have chosen to against it. Even more were opposed but seek amendments to reporting re- didn’t put their opinion in writing, accord- quirements, student categories, ing to Leanne Winner, the NCSBA’s direc- measurement techniques, and tor of governmental relations. some proficiency deadlines in- Once Gov. Mike Easley signs the bill stead. into law, it takes effect for the 2005-2006 school year. The law lengthens summer The beaches of Emerald Isle, N.C., beckon schoolchildren as well as adults in the summertime. Teach For America scores break for traditional schools by eliminating five teacher workdays, the non-instruction A privately organized pro- days teachers use for training, preparing critical tool in developing innovative teach- more than $89 million, according to legis- gram called Teach For America, lesson plans, assessing student needs, and ing methods needed to educate kids with lative fiscal analysts. Other state employ- based in New York City, is gaining meeting with parents. Now there will be 15, special needs, and for meeting the NCLB’s ees don’t receive increase in pay rate. John a track record for success in edu- not 20. The number of student instruction Adequate Yearly Progress goals for these Dornan, executive director of the Public cating students in poor school dis- days will remain at 180. Districts whose students. “Without those days, we’ll lose School Forum, is more than surprised at the tricts, The Washington Times reports. schools have been closed for weather or the time to focus on training and strategies salary inequity. “If there isn’t a discrimina- Mathematica Policy Institute’s emergencies for eight or more days in any on this,” he said. “I’ve been around a while tory lawsuit, I would be shocked,” he said. report “The Effects of Teach For four of the past 10 years will be eligible for and I go back to the time when teacher or- Carolina Journal attempted to get comment America On Students,” tracks the a waiver. More than 20 are expected to ganizations wanted more time and devel- from Dana Cope, executive director of the effect of 12,000 nontraditional qualify. Year-round schools are exempt. opment.” State Employees Association of North Caro- teachers in 21 school districts since McKethan said it’s clear teachers’ work lina, but he didn’t respond to requests. 1990. Teach For America is de- Only eight states control dates won’t decrease, and he predicts they will scribed as a Peace Corps-like ap- have to work after class when they’re tired Drawbacks to the decision proach to teacher training, and By enacting the law, North Carolina and less effective, or be replaced by a sub- seeks top-ranked college gradu- would become only the eighth state to deny stitute during the day. The father of two There are other financial impacts re- ates who do not have traditional local education agencies the freedom to handicapped kids, McKethan planned to lated to teachers’ use of vacation days. The teacher training. determine their start date, according to the testify to the General Assembly, but the time state could incur additional annual liabil- Critics of the TFA program Education Commission of the States, a limit for discussion of the bill prevented ity of $7 million to $11.8 million — the pay- include prominent education pro- clearinghouse for education data. The loss him from outlining his concerns. “This will able value of unused vacation days if teach- fessors such as Linda Darling- of local control is at the heart of Aiken’s frus- compromise the academic achievement of ers leave the system. Substitute teacher Hammond of Stanford University. tration. He thinks each district is different kids with disabilities,” he said of reducing costs are also likely to rise, at an annual Darling-Hammond describes the and the local school board best understands teacher workdays. additional cost of $5.4 million to $10.8 mil- qualifications of teacher-partici- its community’s needs. The law is symp- Having worked 36 years as a teacher, lion. The impact on retirement benefits is pants as “extremely subnormal,” tomatic of a troubling trend toward mak- principal, and human resources director, unclear. If fewer vacation days are used but results from student test scores ing decisions in Raleigh, he said. John Guard, a Chowan County Board of under the new calendar, more unused days are encouraging. Students taught You’ll get no argu- Education member, might be applied to retirement. Assembly by TFA teachers “make 10 percent ment from John Po-teat, thinks teachers will be actuaries determined the cost isn’t quanti- more progress in a year in math director of policy research “What’s especially hurt as well. NCLB man- fiable because there are so many variables. than is typically expected, while at the N.C. Public School dates that teachers be Aiken thinks the Assembly didn’t care- slightly exceeding the normal ex- Forum. “What’s espe- frustrating is that the highly qualified in the fully study the law’s impact before passing pectation in reading,” Mathe- cially frustrating is that one-size-fits-all ap- subjects they teach and it. Buncombe County Schools would have matica reports. the one-size-fits-all ap- proach generally workdays help make im- gladly participated in a review, he said. In- proach generally doesn’t provement possible, he stead, the coastal tourism agenda drove the Single-sex education work well,” he said. doesn’t work well.” said. Guard’s opposition discussion and got their way, he said. That There also hasn’t been — John Poteat to the changes could doesn’t surprise him. He’s convinced the A proposed change to Title IX enough discussion about have been awkward area west of Charlotte has less political clout law would allow single-sex classes the impact on student since Rep. Bill Culpep- and doesn’t receive enough attention. Re- in subjects other than gym or sex achievement, and that doesn’t make sense, per, who represents the county, was a pri- gardless, he is surprised the original House education. It could change the way he said, in light of strict accountability stan- mary sponsor of the House bill. But, Guard bill passed. “I never thought it would get classes are offered at some public dards in the No Child Left Behind Act, the understands Culpepper’s position and har- out of committee,” he said. high schools, and may mean more federal government’s 2002 education law. bors no hard feelings. Mayor Sherry Rollason of Kill Devil one-sex public schools are estab- Aiken is concerned about the effect on “I respect him. He also represents Dare, Hills thinks her town will see more tourists lished around the country. the 65 percent of high schools that use block which is highly dependent on tourism,” because of the calendar change. In the sum- Some educators argue that scheduling. The law will force students to Guard said. Still, he wondered how people mer, the Dare County town’s population boys and girls learn more readily return after the holiday break to take ex- would react if someone introduced a bill to surges from 6,500 to 40,000 or 50,000 per when separated from the opposite ams on material they haven’t studied for close school for a month in winter to sup- week. She says it is true that the number of sex, particularly in high school. To several weeks. Seniors who want to start port the ski season in western North Caro- vacationers dips once schools open. Dare establish a single-sex school, dis- college in the spring will have to postpone lina. “It may sound ludicrous but it’s the County schools once tried to counteract the tricts need only show that equal plans since they will not have completed same thing. They bring in millions, too,” he effect by postponing their start date until offerings are available on a co-ed high schools finals. He regrets the law will said. after Labor Day, she recalled, but it didn’t basis at a nearby school. All-girl work against these motivated students. Even though teachers will work five work because neighboring counties didn’t public schools were founded as It’s the negative impact on kids with fewer days, they will maintain their current join in. She sees the statewide mandate as a early as the 1800s, but the idea is disabilities that most bothers Dr. James salaries. The net result is a 2.33 percent pay good compromise for everyone. “I didn’t raising controversy today. McKethan, who retired this year as execu- raise for more than 95,000 teachers, assis- hear opposition or complaints,” she said of Reported by The Christian Sci- tive director for Exceptional Children’s Pro- tant principals, and instructional support conversations she had last October with ence Monitor. CJ grams for Cumberland County Schools. His staff paid from the teachers’ salary sched- mayors at a League of Municipalities meet- experience shows teacher workdays are a ule. The price tag of the lost productivity is ing. “They were pushing it,” she said. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Education 7

Ahem, State Board Really Means Business

f you do it one more time, I am going to…” These threatening words characterize a scenario I wit- I nessed many times in my child’s middle school. The teacher who uttered these words drove me nuts. She constantly threatened students, but she did not follow through. Her words were never linked with action, so her credibility was lost. The State Board of Education recently discussed and debated a policy against harassment, bullying, and discrimination that re- minded me of this teacher. How many policies or rules are needed before enforcement? Maybe one more? Headmaster Ken Templeton speaks at a ribbon cutting of a $2 million building at Union Academy. Let me be the first to say, I have no tolerance for treating The ‘three C’s’ at charter school others hurtfully. My parents and teachers taught me, and ex- pected me to be kind. Actions Commitment Succeeds at Union Academy otherwise led to consequences I Lindalyn learned to avoid. You know, Kakadelis the golden rule, or else. My By ESTELLE SYNDER volves them and their parents. peers and I were not given chance after chance to Contributing Editor Putting the “three C’s” in action to provide much- change our behavior. Words meant action! CONCORD needed middle-school space earned Union Academy na- Obviously the State Board of Education assumes he name reflects its home county, but there could be tional recognition in USA Weekend’s annual Make a Differ- systems around the state ignore the current laws, no better description for this outstanding charter ence Day issue. The school community, parents, students, policies, and regulations regarding these actions. Be- school in North Carolina’s fastest growing county and staff formed the Making a Difference Club and up- T sides federal and state laws regarding such acts, Meck- — Union. graded an empty warehouse into usable classrooms. They lenburg County has 41 references to policies discuss- The academy’s students come from every quadrant of hauled trash, built partitions, scrubbed bathrooms, cleaned ing harassment and discrimination. A Wake County the county and mirror the ethnic and economic diversity of and rebuilt surplus desks, and hung colorful posters to School System’s website search revealed 66 responses the county’s population. The academy is a demonstration remind themselves that they can reach their goals if they regarding harassment, bullying, and discrimination. lab for observers who might wonder whether students keep on working toward them. Do you think maybe it is time for enforcement? who have many differences can have much in common. Department of Public Instruction officials said Students are selected by lottery. Some seats are set aside for Building a campus they routinely receive reports of instances of harass- siblings and the children of the academy’s teachers and ment and bullying. So this policy mandates local other employees. During the past school year 525 students Under North Carolina charter schools regulations, boards to “develop and maintain policies and proce- from 351 families were enrolled. Union Academy is not allowed to get facilities money from dures to prevent, intervene, investigate, document, Uniting Union Academy is a set of core values that are the county budget. With their typical spirit, the school com- and report all acts of harassment, bullying, and dis- shared by every person connected with the school, from munity banded together to take up the challenge of creat- crimination.” support staff to grandparents to a view of education as a ing a permanent campus where there would be space for DPI wants to enforce more paperwork on all total life experience. At Union Academy everyone agrees K-12 classes, fields and resources for the full range of learn- systems. In a statewide policy no one school will be that real education involves the mind, the heart, and the ing opportunities the school intends to offer for every accused — you know, the shotgun method. Thinking feet. grade. This facility is the property of the Union Academy more policies and paperwork prevents these acts is In just four years the school has become an influential Foundation. The school’s board of directors has worked in naïve, to say the least. More words without action and respected part of the region. Relying on the power of conjunction with the board of directors of the foundation simply lead to credibility lost, just as in the case of the people to bring to reality an institution that could meet to establish a five-year strategy for both facility and fac- middle-school teacher. critical unmet needs, Union Academy willingly opted to ulty resource needs. Why don’t they enforce what is already written? use facilities that had been previously been declared too A gift of property from generous grandparents was the Well, then there would be no media attention or out of date for further use. With paint and scrub brushes impetus for an on-going development effort that involves political correctness. It was fascinating watching the and the concerted effort of volunteers who were willing to everyone. Gifts of every size are welcome and the fund board’s two-day debate regarding this policy. The do what they could, dreary old spaces were transformed raising includes the students themselves. On Fridays, a $1 first draft included 19 factors to look for regarding into welcoming environments made even more inviting donation to “Dress Down to Build Up” lets participating these acts. The list included: “an individual’s race, because of the character that comes with age. students trade the regular school uniforms for more ca- color, sex, religion, creed, ethnicity, political belief, This “classic” setting was the incubator for a program sual attire. age, national origin, linguistic and language differ- based on “The Three C’s — challenge, character and com- In May 2004 Union Academy dedicated the first build- ences, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, munity.” ing of its own. As funds allow, the building will be joined socioeconomic status, physical characteristics, mari- Challenge comes in the form of high expectations for by a gymnasium and other facilities. Each of them will rep- tal status or disability.” every student and an academic curriculum that has both resent a goal reached by a unity of purpose and a commit- While the general policy was not controversial, depth and breadth. Teachers honor the potential in each ment to excellence. the list created disagreement. The board instructed its child and refuse to allow the child to settle for less than the Ken Templeton, headmaster of Union Academy, has staff to present two policies for action the next day — joy of real achievement. much to be proud of at his young school. There is a wait- one including the list, the other without. Character is defined by a simple motto even the young- ing list for new students, first-year recognition as a School The next day a motion was made to adopt the est student can understand. “We do the right thing even of Distinction, and most recently both outstanding student policy without the list. Quickly, a substitute motion when no one is looking.” It is modeled by putting a pre- scores on the well-known Iowa Test, a nationally normed was made to adopt the policy with the list. It became mium on the behaviors that reveal character as well as the assessment that is typically administered in private schools. obvious State Superintendent Mike Ward wanted the mindset that births it. Students learn responsibility, what He acknowledges all of this with words of praise for politically correct list, while Chairman Howard Lee responsibility is, and how to live responsibly. They learn his faculty, the support of parents, and the dedication of chose the other. Both passionately advocated their the importance of adaptability and the attitude of confi- students, but says he is proudest of the fact that in such a point of view. A vote was finally taken and wisely a dence that makes it possible to adapt to the unexpected. short time Union Academy has become a valued part of majority of the board defeated the substitute motion. They learn about trust and how to be trustworthy. They the greater community. The record of involvement and The policy without the list prevailed. learn about initiative and how to make it a tool for their accomplishment of the school says more about the value There is no need for another policy, particularly success. They learn about perseverance and experience the of charter schools than powerful oratory or charts of sta- with all the added paperwork and staff development reward of refusing to give up when obstacles arise. They tistics. Their core distinctions including smaller school size mandated for local systems. However, I applaud the learn about kindness and how to fill each day with small — three classes per grade; a low student-teacher ratio of rational decision to remove the list. In fact, one com- acts of kindness toward friends and neighbors that will 20 to 1, a longer school year of 190 days; a longer school ment from Lee merits repeating. He said including the encourage them to exhibit more kindness themselves. day of seven hours; integrated and interdisciplinary accel- list encourages individuals to feel victimized. Amaz- Community is more than a concept as parents teach- erated curriculum; experienced, innovative faculty; basic ing, that was just what I was thinking. ers and students partner continually inside and outside curriculum featuring phonics; core subjects taught to mas- So while parents, citizens, and policy-makers con- the classroom and in the larger community beyond the tery structured learning environment; enrichment oppor- tinue to question academic standards of North Caro- campus. The spirit of community has given birth to and is tunities in the arts, sciences, and athletics; after-school pro- lina schools, never fear. Our schools will now be freed in turn strengthened by an unexpectedly strong commit- gram; community service and other opportunities for moral from all acts of harassment, bullying, and discrimina- ment to community service. Every month, every class, in- action; holistic portfolio of evaluation along with standard tion. This time they mean it! cluding the youngest in kindergarten, as well as teachers grading; learning outside the classroom; and involvement and administrators, take part in service projects that in- of parents and civic leaders. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 8 Education JOURNAL

NC News In Brief Zero Tolerance Raises the Stakes for All Private enrollment down Disciplinary policies can be a legal minefield for North Carolina school officials The News & Observer of Ra- leigh and the Charlotte Observer By KAREN PALASEK sages, according to report that private-school enroll- Assistant Editor reports. Most of the ment for the 2003-04 school year is RALEIGH students involved in down for the first time in 15 years. hen U.S. Secretary of Education the protest changed The reasons are still subject to Rod Paige was still superinten- their clothes when speculation. dent of schools in Houston, he asked by school of- Most of the drop, according to W was already an advocate of zero-tolerance ficials, but three reports, has come at the expense of policies in schools. In a 1999 interview with who refused were small private religious schools. The the MacNeil Lehrer organization, Paige given a one-day sus- 2 percent drop in private-school said, “When a student brings a weapon to pension. attendance statewide was blamed school, the student is out of there. We will The American primarily on the weak economy, expel the student. But we don’t expel them Family Association the N & O reported from its inter- to the street. We expel them to alternative Center for Law and view with the executive director of placement, an alternative school.” Policy represented the N.C. Christian School Associa- Under zero tolerance, circumstances the suspended stu- tion, Joe Haas. don’t much matter. A student carrying a dents, and the The drop in religious school Swiss Army knife who intends to use the school board has al- enrollment, Haas said, may have screwdriver on his car will be treated ex- tered its policy to occurred because families who actly the same as the student who intends make clear what is U.S. Department of Education photo choose religious education are less to use the knife as a weapon. “plainly offensive” Secretary of Education Rod Paige at Larimore Elementary School in metro affluent than those who choose Paul Vallas, former CEO of the Chicago and “disruptive,” St. Louis. private secular schools. public schools, described a policy that went the Winston-Salem The growth of home schools, one step further. “Let me point out that our Journal reports. A threatened lawsuit has led rect a student’s behavior, especially under the report said, could also be a zero-tolerance policy is a 24-hour-a-day to settlement negotiations instead, accom- zero tolerance, and more effort directed at factor in the change in private en- policy,” he said. “So, if you are arrested for panied by an apology from the school shielding kids from the most drastic conse- rollment. Figures for home school a serious offense on Sunday, you will face board. Michael DePrimo, senior litigator for quences of their actions. participation from 2003-04 will not expulsion on Monday.” the center, said, “The Supreme Court made Edwin Darden, senior staff lawyer with be available until late summer. These get-tough policies are popular clear long ago that students do not shed the national School Boards Association in In Charlotte, private enroll- with parents, to a point. The no nonsense their constitutional rights at the school- Alexandria, Va., told Education Week that ment has been “virtually flat” since approach seems to promise safer schools, house door.” He said that the case is one of students don’t need the same safeguards as 2002. The introduction of a new ones where learning can actually take place. “overreaction to peaceful student speech on a person facing criminal prosecution, and public-school choice plan two But some parents are rethinking the one- a controversial issue.” that ”[S]chool districts are by and large fair years ago, plus the possible move- size-fits-all approach to discipline. And places.” ment into home schools, makes school boards are feeling the pressure to ad- Increasing formality the situation extremely difficult to just. Schools on the defensive sort through, “like describing the In places such as Durham, where 57 Behavior in the classroom, including motion in a kaleidoscope,” accord- percent of males in the public schools are “disruptive” attire such as logo and “mes- Schools themselves may need to resort ing to the Charlotte Observer report. black, but 80 percent of suspended students sage” T-shirts, clothing in colors that sig- to legal counsel more frequently as zero-tol- are black males, school board candidates nify gang membership, or styles that obvi- erance rules up the ante for violations of all Leapin’ literacy describe the application of school policy as ously violate the dress code, all flout au- kinds. Parents are challenging the school’s “unacceptable.” According to the News & thority and invite a response. The dilemma right to impose expulsions and suspensions Literacy First has been a re- Observer of Raleigh, “More than 40 percent for school officials concerns how much dis- in some cases, and they are putting pres- sounding success in Guilford of the black males had been suspended in cretion is allowed in judging the severity sure on local school boards from two direc- County, according to a report in the first semester of last school year.” Can- of a violation, and under tions. the Greensboro News and Record. didates for school board in Durham are what circumstances the School districts can Guilford County Schools Su- largely in agreement on this issue. Candi- zero-tolerance response “The Supreme Court run afoul of parents if perintendent Terry Grier originally dates Steve Schewel, Minnie Forte, Steven kicks in. made clear long ago they discipline too vigor- set the program in motion in 25 Matherly, and Doug Wright joined Mayor On both sides of the ously, especially if the schools in the county. Since 2001, Bill Bell in questioning aspects of the school discipline issue, that students do not punishments seem un- most schools have made remark- Durham suspension policy. That policy pro- aggrieved parties have shed their constitu- fair. Most of Durham’s able progress. duced a 52 percent jump in suspensions raised the stakes. Issues school board candidates Sumner Elementary third- over previous school years. that were settled in the tional rights at the met at a forum in June grade reading scores on state tests past with a call home to schoolhouse door.” 2004 and agreed that the went from 61.2 percent at grade Reaction or overreaction? the parents, or between district’s suspension level in 2001, to nearly 75 percent teacher, principal, and student, are now policy was “unacceptable,” according to at grade level in 2003. At Fairview Recent events in Clay County with finding their way into police stations, law- reports in the N&O and Durham Herald- Elementary in High Point, 35 per- Principal Mickey Noe, and in Watauga with yers’ offices, and courtrooms as the first op- Sun. Suspensions are up 52 percent over last cent of fourth-graders were at Principal Gary Childers reflect some of the tion of choice. There is also a question about year in Durham, and some observers think grade level in reading when the hazards inherent in enforcing disciplinary whether families involved in a serious dis- the policy needs to be revamped. One revi- program began. By 2003, 69 per- policies. Noe is facing misdemeanor child- pute with a school, often over an individual sion would include early notifications so cent had achieved that goal. abuse charges connected with bruises to a educational plan, or who have kids facing that parents understand the problem well Before Literacy First was in- 10-year-old boy that are alleged to be the punishments such as long-term suspension, before it reaches the need for suspension. troduced, only three of the initial result of a paddling the student received — should be accompanied by a lawyer to Inconsistent enforcement has led to a 25 schools were making yearly with his mother’s permission — in school. meetings with school officials. legal morass for schools, parents and stu- gains similar to those they achieved Noe’s lawyer, Zeyland McKinney, said in a In the 1996 case of Nicholas Roberts, a dents. If the school does too little, or doesn’t afterward. statement to the Asheville Citizen-Times that former high school student in Buncombe act quickly enough, serious problems can Success is attributed to the fact he was surprised at the charges. Ordinarily, County, school officials refused to allow a ensue. that Literacy First engages more North Carolina educators are not liable for lawyer to accompany Roberts at his disci- One such case involves a 14-year-old than just the reading teachers, uses criminal charges unless they “could have plinary hearing. Roberts was charged with student at Goldsboro’s Rosewood High individual-specific information for foreseen that the punishment would cause sexual harassment. The hearing board re- School. Bob Meeker was a freshman on the feedback and adjustment, stresses permanent injury, or was given out of mal- fused Roberts’ request to have a lawyer school’s wrestling team in 2000, when he phonics as well as vocabulary, and ice.” present when they discussed the matter, reported that his teammates began hazing allows kids to move on indepen- In Watauga, the school board inter- and Roberts was suspended for the rest of him. The assaults involved beating and dently with the skills they have vened in a case that concerns high school the semester. The N.C. Court of Appeals other hazing practices, and took place, ac- learned. students who violated the school’s dress ruled that Roberts’ Sixth Amendment right cording to Meeker, at least 25 times. Accord- District teachers, many of code. Clothing with messages that are “of- to due process was violated, a ruling that ing to reports in the New York Daily News, whom were reported to be scepti- fensive to religion or gender” are prohib- was left intact by the state Supreme Court. Meeker finally brought a multi-tool to cal of the Literacy First approach, ited at Wautauga High. The students in The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the school to defend himself. When he was have embraced the program with question wore T-shirts with messages con- case, finally ending the process in Decem- caught with the implement, he was sus- enthusiasm. sidered antigay during an unofficial Day of ber 2003. pended from Rosewood and assigned to an Challenges will face Guilford Silence at the school. The Day was designed The Roberts decision adds a buffer for alternative school for students with a his- if it wants to maintain the program to promote awareness of “problems faced families against arbitrary or unilateral de- tory of criminal behavior. in the future. Teachers who leave by lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth cisions by a school. But it also makes disci- The Meekers eventually filed a federal or retire must be replaced with in schools.” Some of the offending T-shirts plinary action more formal, and by impli- lawsuit for $40 million in compensatory and well-trained successors. CJ cited Bible verses that take a stand against cation, more adversarial. There is less room homosexuality, some had handwritten mes- for parents to work with the school to cor- Continued as “Turf Battle,” Page 9 August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Education 9 Legal Challenges Grow as Schools Impose Discipline

Continued From Page 8 enforcement of the little rules would stem School Violence: NC Public Schools Incidents Per 1,000 Students 1997-2002 the tide of bigger problems. punitive damages, naming coach William Source: Edmundson, the principal, the superinten- NCDPI Strange lessons 8 7.71 dent, and the school district as culpable in the events at Rosewood. None of the haz- 7 6.63 As Andrew Coulson , senior education 6.34 6.24 ers was ever punished by the school, ac- 5.98 6.08 policy analyst at Michigan’s Mackinac Cen- cording to reports, and no criminal charges 6 ter noted in “Strange Lessons in School Dis- were filed against them. Instead, the fam- 5 cipline,” the current policy creates a situa- ily is treating the incidents as a violation of tion in which an organization [the school] civil rights, and the case has not yet been 4 whose employees are “sane on an indi- resolved. vidual level” collectively “loses its grip on 3 Another hazing incident, at an Avery reality and reason.” Coulson recounts a County high school basketball camp, did 2 nonsensical application of punishment to lead to charges and guilty pleas from the crimes in our schools, in which unautho- hazers. North Carolina law mandates ex- 1 rized ingestion of Motrin can lead to two pulsion for hazing. 0 weeks in a correctional school, but a racially In North Carolina, school expulsions motivated gang attack results in brief sus- 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 (rev.) were up about 50 percent between 2002-03. pensions for the perpetrators. And long-term suspensions — more than According to Coulson, this mismatch 10 days — make up an increasing percent- is the result of a “proclivity of government age of children removed from school. Ac- intervention according to the Department The American Bar Association Journal bureaucracies for uniform, blindly-enforced cording to the North Carolina Center for the of Public Instruction policy manual — had notes that zero tolerance was “intended to rules.” The alternative, judging incidents on Prevention of School Violence, middle risen from 6.08 per thousand to 8.3 per thou- apply only to serious criminal behavior in- a case by cases basis, makes the schools school through high school sophomores sand between 2001 and 2002. volving firearms or illegal drugs…” The vulnerable to charges of discrimination, he were the most-often suspended individu- After the Columbine, Colo. massacre, Civil Rights Project of Harvard University said. Thus it leads to a rubber-stamp ap- als, and black males were the largest com- zero tolerance wasn’t a hard sell. But many stated that “[Z]ero tolerance has become a proach. According to “Strange Lessons in ponent of that group. parents, including those in North Carolina philosophy that has permeated our schools; School Discipline,” “it’s hard to call such a schools, are beginning to see the down side it employs a brutally strict disciplinary policy discriminatory, but it’s also hard to Dangerous schools of a no-questions-asked policy. As Ashley model that embraces harsh punishment call it sane.” CJ High School senior Josh Jewell discovered over education.” The report also raised con- In situations that involve gang activity when he drove onto campus with his cerns about the high number of minority and violence on campus, parents are in- mother’s car and a plastic pistol among the students affected, a result that has been Reportable Incidents of creasingly demanding safer schools. The toys on back seat, “as with all things abso- noted by other sources as well. A 2000 ar- School Violence No Child Left Behind law, and North lute, [zero tolerance] can be unforgiving of ticle in the American Bar Association Journal • Possession of a controlled substance in Carolina’s own policy regarding “persis- the unintended.” The Wilmington World- also criticized zero tolerance, as “making violation of the law tently dangerous schools,” require that par- Now WECT report noted that Josh could zero sense.” ents be allowed to transfer their children to have been expelled. Instead, he was sus- Expulsion or long-term suspension can • Possession of a weapon excluding a nondangerous school if the one they cur- pended for the remainder of the semester, make or break an student’s entire school firearms and powerful explosives rently attend receives the persistently dan- and attended an alternative school in the career. Schools want and need a disciplin- • Assault on school personnel w/out serious gerous label. Each state defines “persis- area. Around the United States, similar sto- ary policy that will end disruptions and al- injury tently dangerous” for itself. ries confirm that there are students being low lessons to proceed. A 2004 survey by • Possession of alcoholoc beverage But some jurisdictions can run afoul of suspended or expelled for reasons that Public Agenda reveals that one-third of • Assault resulting in serious injury parents if they enforce too vigorously or the make no sense for safety. teachers had “seriously considered quit- • Bomb threat punishments seem unfair. The 17 items that North Carolina pub- ting” because of poor student behavior. The North Carolina State Board of Edu- lic schools consider violent crimes, subject But the disciplinary policy, as currently • Sexual assault not involving rape or cation Policy Manual states that if condi- to the most severe punishments, do not in- applied, seems uneven and incoherent. If a sexual offense tions exist during two consecutive school clude dress-code violations or other infrac- student takes lunch money from his peers, • Possession of a firearm or powerful years that “continually expose students to tions that have sometimes spurred student is it stealing, or “uncooperative behavior?” explosive injury from violent criminal offenses and suspensions. The answer will probably determine • Assault involving a weapon the school has five or more criminal offenses whether the student is suspended. • Sexual offense per thousand students in those years, it is Public rethinking? The Public Agenda survey, “Teaching • Robbery w/out a dangerous weapon persistently dangerous. Interrupted,” found that 93 percent of par- According to Education Week, a report The Youth Violence Project, undertaken ents and 89 percent of teachers support zero • Burning a school building compiled in September 2003 showed 44 by the University of Virginia School of Edu- tolerance. Still, 44 percent of teachers said • Taking indecent liberties with a minor states, including Washington, D.C., report- cation, gathered commentary on zero tol- that documentation requirements “go be- • Rape ing no persistently dangerous schools. erance, and reported incidents in which stu- yond common sense,” and “are mainly • Robbery with a dangerous weapon North Carolina was among them. dents were suspended for: having a one- used to protect the school,” and 52 percent • Kidnapping But statewide figures aren’t so rosy. The inch knife in a manicure kit, a toy gun in of teachers say “they can’t count on parents number of violent incidents per 1,000 stu- school, and for shooting a paper clip with a to support them” in disciplinary measures. • Death by other than natural causes dents — the 17 offenses that require police rubber band. Both parents and teachers said that better Source: NCDPI

CarolinaJournal.com is Your Daily Launching Pad to the Best North Carolina News, Analysis, & Opinion

Your Home on the Web for North Carolina Public Policy ¥ Reports and columns on the legislature, politics, culture, and local government from Carolina Journal editors and reporters. The John Locke Foundation’s brand new, completely redesigned home page is your best source of research, analysis, and information on the critical public ¥ Carolina Journal Publisher John Hood’s exclusive “Daily Journal.” policy issues facing North Carolina state and local governments. ¥ Timely links to important stories and editorials from the state’s major A fully searchable, comprehensive database of reports, studies, briefing newspapers, magazines, and other media organizations. papers, datasets, press releases, events notifications, and articles can provide an excellent starting place for those drafting legislation, researching policy ¥ Instant access to state & national columnists, wire reports, and the issues, preparing news stories, planning political or lobbying campaigns, or John Locke Foundation’s other public policy web sites. seeking information with which to be an informed voter and citizen. See what one Raleigh paper called “Matt Drudge with Class” August 2004 C A R O L I N A 10 Higher Education JOURNAL

Bats in the Belltower UNC Board Rejects Private Supplements Come protest the liberation!

Iraq is now a sovereign, demo- As Way to Buttress Chancellors’ Salaries cratic nation. The full import of this news for Iraqis is hard for Americans By SHANNON BLOSSER to fathom. One who might know Public University Leaders Whose Salaries Receive Private Supplements would be University of North Carolina Contributing Writer at Chapel Hill Assistant Professor (and CHAPEL HILL ver since North Carolina State Uni- Institution Leader Private Supplement Total Salary Iraqi expatriate) Dr. Maha Alattar. As versity Chancellor Marye Anne Fox U. of Texas System Mark G. Yudof $397,769 $468,000 reported June 30 by The News & Ob- announced she was leaving Raleigh Texas A&M U. Robert M. Gates 246,055 312,000 server columnist Rick Martinez, Alattar E and taking a similar position at the Univer- Texas A&M U. System A. Benton Cocanougher 231,000 300,000 received the following email from “a sity of California at San Diego, UNC offi- Louisiana State U. Mark A. Emmert 230,840 490,000 colleague named Basma Fakri”: cials have been discussing concerns over Texas Tech U. Jon Whitmore 215,000 280,000 “We’re all holding our breaths now, how the UNC system pays chancellors and U. of South Carolina Andrew A. Sorenson 205,000 420,000 but surely we will cry out loud with joy ways to address those concerns. U. of Texas at Austin Larry Faulkner 187,279 253,224 soon. The patience, tolerance and the price Fox left her $248,225 annual salary at U. of North Texas Norval F. Pohl 187,149 253,094 Iraqis are paying should prevail in the near N.C. State to take the UCSD chancellor po- Virginia Tech Charles W. Steger 151,911 300,000 bright future of our beloved Iraq. Just hang sition having an annual salary of $350,000. U. of Texas at Arlington Charles Sorber 150,355 216,300 in there and God may help us survive this Her pay at UCSD also represents an in- Mississippi State U. J. Charles Lee 150,000 350,000 difficult new birth. It’s the beginning of a crease of almost $70,000 over the previous U. of Virginia John T. Casteen III 142,971 289,814 new era. chancellor’s salary. According to the cost of Virginia Commonwealth U. Eugene P. Trani 126,911 275,000 living rates for San Diego and Raleigh in Georgia Tech G. Wayne Clough 121,158 368,412 For UNC-CH socialists, however, the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, it is sig- Georgia State U. Carl V. Patton 107,347 326,423 the changes in Iraq mean just one nificantly more expensive to live in San Di- Clemson U. James F. Barker 106,464 279,014 thing: time to protest! The following ego than it is in Raleigh. U. of Alabama-Birmingham Carol Z. Garrison 100,000 400,000 was sent out on their listserv : UNC officials and supporters pointed U. of Alabama-Tuscaloosa Robert E. Witt 100,000 400,000 to the gap between Fox’s pay at N.C. State U. of Alabama System Malcolm Portera 100,000 400,000 From: Chase Foster [email withheld] and her new salary at UCSD to argue that U. of Louisville James R. Ramsey 98,744 362,048 Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2004 12:01 PM the UNC system is not paying enough to Oregon State U. Edward J. Ray 90,000 295,000 To: Progressive Students and Faculty keep its chancellors in North Carolina. U. of Oregon Dave Frohnmayer 90,000 240,396 Subject: [progress] Power transfer tonight Some, mindful of the state’s budgeting dif- Old Dominion U. Roseann O. Runte 87,239 245,000 at Weaver St.! ficulties and citing how some public uni- Indiana U. System Adam W. Herbert 55,000 335,000 A commemoration ceremony honoring versities in the nation compensate their U. of Wisconsin at Madison John D. Wiley 55,000 303,000 the new Iraqi democracy will take place leaders, argued that UNC institutions rely Purdue U. System Martin C. Jischke 54,988 335,425 tonight at Weaver St. at 7pm in a surprise too much on the state to support chan- U. of Kansas Robert Hemenway 50,000 272,711 move, one day behind schedule. You’ll get cellor’s salaries and that UNC should in- U. of Southern Mississippi Shelby F. Thomas 50,000 200,000 to see power garishly transfer right before stead should use private donations to City U. of New York System Frances Horowitz 50,000 350,000 your eyes, and we can all trade stories supplement those salaries . U. of Utah J. Bernard Machen 50,000 321,000 about our favourite acts of American lib- In July such talk was tabled when mem- U. of Arkansas-Fayetteville John A. White 42,611 241,880 eration… [sic] bers of the UNC Board of Governors op- U. of Florida Charles E. Young 42,000 392,000 So, join your friends and family for posed a plan to allow the 16 UNC institu- Kansas State U. Jon Wefald 40,000 252,967 fun and food (did you notice? - that’s four tions to supplement the state salary for Louisiana State U. System William L. Jenkins 35,000 312,830 alliterated f’s!) and learn how you can help chancellors with funding from private do- West Virginia U. David C. Hardesty Jr. 30,000 250,308 Iraq stay democratic: by signing up for the nations. The practice was previously used U. of South Florida Judy Genshaft 25,000 325,000 armed forces yourself or supporting a pe- in the early 1990s, but was ended in 1997. tition that would require all families that Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education Among the institutions that wanted to make less than $25,000 a year to enlist at be allowed to use private donations to in- least one family member. crease chancellor salaries was N.C. State, as well in state salary and $187,279 in pri- leigh. which has begun the process of searching vate donations. Other benefits include Though the UNC board has ruled If rebirth and new hopes of burst- for Fox’s replacement. UNC-Chapel Hill $93,000 in deferred compensation and against private donations to help pay for ing forth with cries of joy are bad news, trustees members told The Herald-Sun of $5,313 in club memberships, all paid from chancellor salaries, it is willing to consider then what constitutes good news to the Durham that they would have been in fa- private sources. private sources to contribute funds toward Tarheel socialists? Well, according to vor of the proposal as well. A little closer to North Carolina, some deferred compensation or other benefits. this dispatch, it’s the “preaching” that Brad Wilson, chairman of the UNC state institutions in South Carolina and Vir- According to the Chronicle report, Fox can be done to “the newly converted” board, however, led the opposition to us- ginia also use private donations to offset received at least one perk through non-state who they hope will be influenced by ing private sources to increase chancellor some of the costs of chancellor salaries, ac- appropriation funds. Her car was pur- Michael Moore’s not-at-all discredited salaries. Wilson said allowing private do- cording to the Chronicle report. In Virginia, chased through the school’s foundation. Fahrenheit 9/11: nors to contribute money to chancellor sala- University of Virginia President John T. Along with private contributions to From: “Neesha Mirchandani” [address ries would be a conflict of interest. Casteen III receives $146,971 in state fund- chancellor salaries, UNC board members withheld] “Unlimited use of private funds creates ing toward his salary, while private sources also considered raising the salaries of sev- Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 15:12:56 -0400 an inherent conflict of interest,” Wilson told contribute about $142,971. The University eral UNC chancellors, including UNC-CH’s To: “Progressive Students and Faculty” The Herald-Sun. “It certainly creates the per- of Virginia is in the midst of a $3 billion cam- James Moeser. That proposal was before the Subject: [progress] F 9/11: Preaching to the ception of ‘who do you work for.’ Are you paign to become a private-public institu- board as members voted down private sal- Newly Converted working for a private foundation, or are you tion. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger ary supplements. I went to see F 9/11 yesterday and it working for the people of North Carolina?” receives $148,089 in state funding and Board members set in essence what is a fabulous film. There is a huge oppor- Nationally, however, several institution $151,911 in private funds to make up his amounts to a benchmark for chancellor sala- tunity to invite new members into the peace and system leaders receive portions of their salary. ries in North Carolina. The pay for chan- and justice movement at the screenings. It salaries from private donations, according In South Carolina, Andrew Sorensen’s cellors and other administrators within the may take a while for it to sink in, but I’m to The Chronicle of Higher Education. University of South Carolina salary is UNC system must be at least at the 25th sure that a large number of people will feel A recent salary report produced by the nearly evenly split between state and pri- percentile in their peer group, as defined they must take action after they see this Chronicle shows that nearly 40 institution vate sources, with $215,000 coming from the by their respective universities. film. The screening was sold out in Raleigh or system leaders receive portions of their state and $205,000 coming from private Five leaders and UNC President Molly and it got a huge ovation at the end. salaries from private donors. Several oth- donations. Clemson University’s James Broad would receive a significant pay raise ers receive other benefits, including de- Barker receives $172,550 in state funding, under the plan, if funds are available. Incidentally, Mirchandani wrote a ferred compensation and cars, from private while $106,464 comes from private sources. Moeser would receive an additional $48,767 poem marking the occasion of Memo- donations or foundations. Notably, one school has recently ended to take his salary to nearly $305,000. Broad’s rial Day, which she delivered in a pro- Several Texas higher-education leaders, ties with its private foundation that contrib- salary would be increased from $300,485 to test (natch) before the State Capitol. including those at the University of Texas uted funding to its chancellor’s salary. The nearly $360,000. In one part of the poem she com- and Texas A&M, receive a vast majority of University of Georgia severed ties to its At the beginning of the 2004 fiscal year, plains for: their salary from private donations, the foundation when it attempted to lower its the UNC system spent $3.32 million on the One ounce of peace Chronicle reported. Only the University of contribution to President Michael Adams’s salaries of its 16 chancellors and Broad. That Two ounces of justice Houston’s Jay Gouge receives all of his sal- salary. The school’s foundation was upset amount will increase during the 2005 fiscal For my family dying in Zimbabwe ary ($387,500) in state funding. that Adams had fired the school’s athletics year, regardless if the raises are imple- For my immigrant uncle enslaved to Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates director and former football coach Vince mented, because several new chancellors the Mount Olive Pickle Company receives $246,055 in private donations and Dooley. have been hired at rates higher than their They pickled his joy; they pickled his $65,945 in state funding. He also receives “All you have to do is look at the cur- predecessors. laughter $100,000 in deferred compensation from rent controversy at the University of Geor- Board members are expected to discuss They pickled his freedom long before private donations. University of Texas gia and say to yourself ‘Lesson Learned,’” the increased salaries when they meet in that. CJ President Larry Faulkner receives $65,945 Wilson told The News and Observer of Ra- September for their regular meeting. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Higher Education 11

Senate and House Agree on Debt Financing Scholars Take Heart: For Several Long-Sought University Projects The Best Is Still Here

By SHANNON BLOSSER gan and Senate leader Marc Basnight said in a statement Contributing Writer announcing the deal. t’s August, and university classes will begin soon. CHAPEL HILL Among the university projects included in the bond Meanwhile, both within and without the halls, ince the start of the 2004 short session, House and proposal is a $60 million cardiovascular center at East Caro- Ithose who love academe are voicing concerns over Senate leaders have debated a series of proposals lina and a long-sought, $180 million cancer center at UNC- the content of courses. It’s fluff, it’s biased, it should S that would increase the debt load for the state while Chapel Hill. To finance the UNC-CH cancer center, the state have been taught in high school, it shouldn’t be taught funding several projects within the University of North will borrow $110 million this fiscal year and $70 million at all, it certainly shouldn’t be taught by other stu- Carolina system the next. dents, the same stuff is on Most of the debate has centered on several projects that “This will give us a world-class treatment facility that public-access TV, it’s being UNC Board of Governor members and several House and will make the world-class research faculty and facilities taught only so the professor Senate leaders have attempted to get funded for the 2004- that we already have,” UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser can have a set of “research as- 2005 budget. Discussion on the projects, which at one point told The News and Observer of Raleigh. sistants” helping him with included money for a motor-sports test facility to be oper- his book, if it’s going to be ated by UNC-Charlotte, has mostly been centered on fund- Several projects had not been reviewed taught, how about grading ing options. That includes a balloon finance proposal that the students on what they’ve was touted by Democratic House Co- The UNC-CH and East Carolina learned, etc. It’s enough to Speaker Jim Black. The balloon financ- projects had been reviewed by the UNC make true scholars despair. ing plan, which would have required the The UNC-CH and East Board of Governors and approved by All is not lost, however. state to make interest-only payments and board members. Other university While it is true that the weeds pay the principal at the end of the loan Carolina projects had projects included in the proposal, how- are flourishing in the sprawl- term, was scrapped due to a lack of sup- been reviewed by the ever, had not received reviews by the ing gardens of academe, its Jon Sanders port in both the House and Senate. UNC Board of Gover- UNC board. Not reviewed were the $35 famous flowers have not By mid-July, however, it appeared million health promotion center at UNC- been completely choked out. that House and Senate leaders had nors, but other univer- Asheville, the $35 million genetics cen- They are still there if you look for them. reached a compromise that would bank- sity projects had not. ter at UNC-Charlotte, and the $28 mil- That necessarily entails looking for them, how- roll pet projects for several state institu- lion pharmacy school at Elizabeth City ever, which requires wanting to look for them. The tions by borrowing. State. dandelions are for those who, like the student colum- Several university projects are listed in a $463 million The proposal also includes money for planning and nist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, proposal that also includes funding for state parks and new designing of projects at Fayetteville State University, N.C. are “in search of the perfect ‘candy’ class to add to juvenile detention centers. Lengthy discussions over those A&T University, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Pembroke, West- [their] schedule[s].” They’re light, pretty, engaging to university projects contributed to the legislature’s delay in ern Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State Univer- small minds, and happily vanish with the first puff of passing the adjustment to the budget for fiscal 2005, which sity. In all, $50 million will be made available in the cur- wind. The hardy perennials, harder to find, offer ex- began July 1. rent fiscal year for those design efforts. periences far more sublime. To pay for the entire package, the state would borrow The UNC board must still approve the projects before Nevertheless, those good courses are still avail- $310 million during the current fiscal year and $153 mil- any money from the proposal is authorized to be spent. able. The professors who inspire and challenge, later lion during the 2005-06 fiscal year through bond sales. UNC Board Vice Chairman J. Craig Souza was neverthe- to be recalled as your touchstones and catalysts, are “The bill allows us to fund the projects that are needed less pleased. still there. The classes that test your endurance, your immediately, and also maximizes our ability to manage our “Just because it’s not on our ‘A’ list doesn’t mean we abilities, and your patience and in which you learn debt in the future,” House leaders Black and Richard Mor- don’t need the projects,” he told the N&O. CJ you have such things, those classes that teach you life skills and self-confidence as well as subject matter — they are still there. The kinds of courses one imagines for the ideal universities can be found among the oth- Barber-Scotia College’s Accreditation Revoked; ers populating ours. For example, “The Best of Carolina” is a nice bi- annual series published in The Carolina Review by con- School’s Goal of Regaining It Said To Be Difficult servative students at UNC-Chapel Hill. It is one way for the seekers to find the good courses, as it provides a list of courses recommended by students, along with By SHANNON BLOSSER An effort by Barber-Scotia to regain accreditation may the students’ comments about the courses. CR explains Contributing Writer be easier said than done, however. The process for schools the series’ purpose as “to provide our readers with a CHAPEL HILL that lost accreditation to reapply for it is difficult, accord- valuable resource to turn to as they go through the t’s been a troubling few months for officials at Bar- ing to Donna Wilkinson, associate executive director of the often frustrating process of choosing the best sched- ber-Scotia College. In February, President Sammie Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. ule among the numerous classes offered” and “to pro- IPotts announced his sudden resignation and gave no “It’s difficult to overcome the obstacles in terms of vide the campus with the most academically stimu- reason as for his departure. A few months later, school of- having enough enrollment to make any stride for reapply- lating, not easiest, courses, so students may obtain a ficials sent out letters to about 30 students who planned to ing for accreditation,” Wilkinson said. true ‘liberal arts’ education.” graduate to inform them that the school awarded them too “Many institutions that lose accreditation are finan- Granted, that is for only one university, but the many “life experiences” credits and that they would have cially instable. This is a common reason for an institution same could be done for any university and for every to take some courses in order to receive a losing accreditation. Those financially curriculum as students plot out their schedules. One diploma. instable institutions simply find it diffi- must learn, however, the markers of good professors. The school’s troubles, which also in- cult to overcome those obstacles and CR gives a hint with its acknowledgment that the clude financial concerns, have continued The loss of accredita- close. At that point, the question of re- courses it highlights are “the most academically stimu- with notification that the Southern Asso- tion means that Bar- applying for accreditation is moot.” lating, not easiest, courses.” ciation of Colleges and Schools had taken According to the AP, the college in If you’re a seeker, you can winnow out the best at back Barber-Scotia’s accreditation. This ber Scotia is no longer early July had also delayed employee your college the way CR did at UNC-CH, by talking came after the school was given a warn- eligible to receive fed- pay and owed the city of Concord more with other students. Often the names of the best pro- ing by the accrediting association in De- eral financial aid or than $75,000 in past utility bills, now due fessors will come to you by way of warning. Don’t sign cember. July 6. The college was subsequently able up for Dr. Strict’s class; he’s very demanding. It’s hard to “This is devastating for the college,” grants. to pay its utility bills. get an A in Dr. Exactness’s class; you should take Dr. Light- Board of Trustees Chair Ella Scarborough Barber-Scotia employees filed a ness instead. I heard Dr. Rumor is very picky and hard to told The Associated Press. complaint with the state Department of please. Oh, my friend had Dr. Load, and he was always Officials with the Southern Association of Colleges and Labor on June 14 regarding the pay issues, according to doing too much homework! Schools said Barber-Scotia’s accreditation was dropped the AP. Jim Taylor, wage and hour administrator for the By the same token, the names of some of the worst because the college had not provided accurate informa- Department of Labor, told the AP that the only legal way will usually come by way of recommendation. Take tion to the organization, the AP reported. to defer payment to employees is for all employees to agree Jeff’s course — sorry, Dr. Pal. He likes to be called by his The loss of accreditation means the school is no longer on a deferment date. first name. He’s so cool, it’s like he one of us! Dr. Drone is eligible to receive federal financial aid or grants. Accord- No faculty vote was taken when the move was an- kind of boring, but his assignments are really easy and be- ing to the AP, 90 percent of Barber-Scotia’s enrollment de- nounced by college officials. sides, he never changes his tests. Dr. Reel plays a movie pends on those programs to pay for tuition. Revenues from “Up until now the issue has been financing,” Concord every Friday! He says it helps with attendance, and besides, tuition comprise about 60 percent of the school’s $14 mil- Mayor Scott Padgett told the AP. “Now we’re talking about no one pays attention on Fridays anyway because we’re lion budget. credibility.” still hung over from Thursday night. “We are committed to correcting and righting condi- Barber-Scotia was founded in 1867 as a seminary school If you seek the best at your university rather than tions that brought this decision from (the Southern Asso- for daughters of former slaves and was commissioned by the best of your university’s “candy classes,” you will ciation of Colleges and Schools),” said new Barber-Scotia the Presbyterian Church as Scotia Seminary. It merged with find the work much harder. Not to mention, far more President Gloria Bromell-Timbu, who begins her tenure Barber Memorial College of Alabama in 1930 to form Bar- rewarding. One might even say, collegiate. CJ July 1. “This is baptism by fire.” ber-Scotia College. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 12 Higher Education JOURNAL

Course of the Month Faculty, Friends of N.C. State English Lit Bookworms Joined by Seek an Open Chancellor Search Couch Potatoes, Mattress Monkeys By JON SANDERS search firm in secret. Assistant Editor Other universities, including other RALEIGH UNC schools, have followed the open route y now regular CM readers are fa- Troubling those waters is the fact he executive committee of the Fac- in selecting chancellors. Appalachian State miliar with our fascination with that universities usually require all stu- ulty Senate of North Carolina State allowed public questioning of its three fi- Bthe ongoing bastardization of the dents to take at least one English class TUniversity has joined the chorus in nalists this spring. The names of East discipline of English literature. For the in order to graduate. It used to be that calling for an open chancellor search. Stu- Carolina’s finalists were leaked to the press, benefit of new readers, CM will allow this many colleges reserved their choicest dents, alumni, media organizations, and causing one to drop out. summary: English selections, surveys of great well-wishers have all sought an open search University of Tennessee chose a new The study and scholarship of litera- works of literature, for those college- process. system president after a highly visible, open ture has seen a generation of professors wide requirements. Now many stu- Officials with UNC and UNC President search. After scandals ousted the system’s arguing against the idea of great books dents attend college because they think Molly Broad have always argued that open- last two presidents within two years, UT and instead for the notion that all texts it’s something they must do, and they ness has the potential to harm those whose officials thought it was important to restore are equally worthy. In other words, they make up what Prof. Paul Trout called candidacy becomes known. Members of the public trust in the process, so they opted removed from the debate whether a text the “disengaged” students, seeking search committee at N.C. State have signed for openness. The committee selected Uni- was “great” enough to deserve scholas- only vocational training and bereft of confidentiality agreements to keep the pub- versity of Connecticut Provost John D. tic attention. In this manner of reading, intellectual curiosity. They find the lic from learning anything other than their Peterson after a large panel of alumni, fac- naturally, texts are not limited to books, great-works surveys boring and diffi- selection’s name. ulty, students, trustees, and staff sorted pamphlets, stories, works of literature — cult. So they especially benefit from the According to The News & Observer of through applicants’ resumes, and they they include any “story” that an author notion of equality of texts, because now Raleigh on July 2, faculty Chairman Den- broadcast over the Internet the interviews or authors wish to tell, including by film, the texts are much more approachable nis Daley sent a memo to the search com- with the six finalists. television, music, style of dress, home and the answers are pat. mittee and other faculty senators arguing “The more open the process was, the décor, choice of soft drink, ad nauseam. In such an environment, it’s wiser for an open process on the ground that better, as far as I was concerned,” Peterson Furthermore, deconstruction and to choose a topic interesting to students, openness would allow the campus commu- told The Chronicle of Higher Education. other schools of literary criticism then select among the myriad omni- nity to get to know the candidates and make Appalachian’s open process “went off emerged to question whether language present “texts” to fit the topic. Popular the process more legitimate. The faculty without a hitch” and “gave us a second look and by extension literature mean any- TV shows, therefore, become excellent Senate wants the search committees’ final- at the candidates and how they interacted thing at all. Whatever meaning may be choices upon which to base a literature ists to visit the campus for interviews. with each group,” search committee mem- inferred from the language, they taught, class. The same goes for sports, mov- In 1998, when departing Chancellor ber and former Faculty Senate Chairman is larded with politics, making it the ies, fads, the nation in general, etc., and Marye Anne Fox was chosen to lead N.C. Paul Gates told the N&O. Gates said reader’s responsibility to wring from the one subject of particular interest to col- State, the selection committee announced Appalachian’s open process pleased the texts all objectionable politics, according lege students: sex. the three finalists’ names just one day be- selection committee, instilled public confi- to today’s standards within the univer- A literature class “reading” sexu- fore announcing the selection of Fox. That dence in the selection, and resulted in a sity, and decry them. The author is side- ality provides the ultimate vehicle for was after the selection committee violated president whose view of openness is the lined in the creative process, and the interesting classroom discussion the state’s open-meetings law by hiring a more open, the better. CJ readers take over, letting their imagina- among normally somnolent college stu- tions run trite in uncovering and hoot- dents, exciting and unburdensome lec- ing at all the current bugaboos. tures for professors, more time for pub- Some texts, of course, will fare well lication and less room for review grip- in those analyses because they portray ing. So we come to this month’s selec- CAROLINA JOURNAL Publisher this process in action; i.e., the author tells tion, from Duke University: how he reads the text of, say, America, distilling and denouncing all its objec- LIT 90.02: LITERARY & CULTURAL John Hood Garners Praise tionable politics. Reading thereby be- STUDY: “LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BECOME: comes an act, done individually or in HISTORIES AND THEORIES ON SEXUAL IDEN- concert with the author, of protest and TITY FORMATIONS IN THE WEST” for His Most Recent Book: purging. Being captivated by or finding What is sexuality? What is sex? Why inspiration in so-called great works is do we think sex is magic and that our sexu- verboten, amounting to complicity with alities speak to some special little secret their offensive political undertones. about ourselves? How do we fashion our- At the same time, as their peers in selves as sexual beings? Why do we think other disciplines, literature professors of sex and sexuality as private and not pub- Investor Politics need tenure, and tenure decisions rely in lic? What are the links between the histori- no small part on a professor’s publica- cal constructions of sexuality and race, The New Force That Will Transform American Business, tions (the “publish or perish” quandary). sexual identities and racialized identities? Government, and Politics in the 21st Century Old, formerly “great” texts such as the What does a political movement organized works of Shakespeare, Chaucer, and around a minoritized sexual identity in the Milton have been written about for cen- U.S. look like? What conceptualizations of “John Hood has produced a timely and informative account of the most turies. It seems there is little to nothing sexual identity are installed at the center of significant demographic shift of this century — the rise of a shareholder “new” a literature professor can bring to the U.S. gay and lesbian movement? Why democracy in America.” — Jack Kemp illuminate these texts, unless one applies has the “right to marriage” become such a the extratextual analyses described focus in contemporary gay and lesbian poli- “Investor Politics is chock-full of interesting historical anecdotes, clever above. Meanwhile, there is a rapidly tics in the West? This course will live and evolving selection of pop-culture “texts” die on our ability to remain passionately policy analysis, and surprising musings.” — National Review to analyze, with the novelty of the “text” ignorant about what we think we know selection and the analysis tending to help about sex and sexuality. To be open to be- “John Hood offers many astute observations about the reasons govern- secure publication. Furthermore, it’s ing startled by the material we’re reading ment social programs are imperiled.” easier to “read” and respond to elements we need to start with the understanding — Greensboro News & Record within one’s own culture, helping to that we mostly don’t know what we’re talk- speed chances of publication along. ing about when we talk about sex and sexu- By the same token, it’s easier to en- ality. This course is less an introduction to “I highly recommend Investor Politics to any reader interested in under- gage students with their own culture. the fields of gay, lesbian, and queer studies standing how our government turned into an entitlement trough.” Exploring the literature of older cultures than it is an exploration of how humans — Kevin Hassett, AEI requires more preparation on the part of came to believe (and mostly continue to the professor — i.e., less time to publish. believe) themselves as properly “individu- It requires more on the part of the stu- alized” through sexual identity categories, “Hood has delivered a thoughtful and very engaging text that will help dents, too. Great books are challenging, that is, the “me” effect of sexual identity. move the debate from last century’s entitlement-dependent view of making them seem boring. Paradise Lost We will explore these questions and topics society to the country’s Jeffersonian roots of self-reliance” might be a masterpiece, but it won’t play through Freudian psychoanalytic theory, — Chris Edwards, Cato Institute in the VCR, unlike so many of today’s Foucauldian radical historiography, current texts. Bored students are more likely to science research projects on sexual orienta- receive lower grades and consequently tion, cultural criticism, novels, films, and less likely to give favorable reviews of court cases. Requirements include 3 quiz- Look for Investor Politics in bookstores or at www.TempletonPress.org. the professor. Unfavorable reviews also zes, 1 in-class presentation, and a final re- hurt one’s chances at receiving tenure. search paper. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Higher Education 13

Leftist professor’s published rant a real doozy Do Colleges Need Socialist Proselytizing to Counteract ‘Corporate Bias’?

By GEORGE LEEF Soros and Ted tives. There are lib- & Company (conservative and protection- Contributing Editor Turner); that they erals who think that ist). Few American corporations can be RALEIGH are the most power- academic discourse counted on to stand up for any economic n July 2 The Chronicle of Higher Edu- ful political players Issues in is being poisoned by or political principle. Their lobbyists and cation published a real doozy — a in America, through professors who in- associations are happy to coexist with Big Orant entitled “The Contradictions lobbying and PR, Higher sist on turning every Government. They may be philosophically of Cultural Conservatism in the Assault on campaign contribu- class into an exercise united in opposition to a Stalinist confisca- American Colleges” by Donald Lazere. In tions, foundations, in political activism. tion of all private property, but little else. it the Cal State-San Luis Obispo English pro- think tanks, owner- Education Professor Kenneth So where does Lazere find evidence for fessor attempts to justify the use of class- ship of media, and Lasson’s recent his notion that these frightful things called rooms for leftist proselytizing. influence on them book Trembling in the corporations exert such tremendous influ- What set Lazere off was the momen- by advertising; and Ivory Tower is a ence over colleges? He finds it in vague tum that has been building for the “Aca- that in all these liberal’s plea for a “commercial pressure” that has led to a fo- demic Bill of Rights.” Formulated by David realms, they strongly favor the conserva- return to campuses where professors con- cus on vocational education. Apparently, Horowitz as a means of reducing the leftist tive wings of both the Republican and centrate on teaching their subjects rather Lazere believes that the reason why we bias that students encounter in many col- Democratic parties.” Whew. than trying to act as “change agents.” There have lots of courses in business adminis- lege courses, ABOR seeks to eliminate the Now because of all that influence, ac- are also libertarians who find much to dis- tration, marketing, accounting, and so on, unnecessary emphasis of political and ideo- cording to Lazere, “all of the branches of agree with in the cultural conservative all promoting a “business-friendly” mes- logical belief that interfere with the teach- universities (are) devoted to serving corpo- agenda yet who also oppose the use of class- sage, is that college presidents have sold out ing of many subjects. Lazere is all hot and rations, the lucrative professions, and the rooms for the spreading of the professor’s to the denizens of the business world. bothered because he thinks that, contrary military through job training and research political beliefs. Lazere wants to dump all But this notion is light years from real- to Horowitz and many other observers of — which vastly outweigh the humanities his opponents in one bag for easy disposal. ity. For one thing, those” business-friendly” American higher education, most univer- — also indoctrinate students in pro-man- Lazere would also have us believe that courses are about as devoid of free-market sities are actually terribly conservative agement, antilabor, antigovernment (but when leftist professors use their classrooms philosophy as the moon is devoid of water. places that badly need whatever dashes of pro-military) ideology. Students’ despera- for political purposes, it’s just a small and More importantly, though, students aren’t “progressive” thought that professors in the tion to get and keep jobs in corporations and necessary counterweight to the overwhelm- clamoring for courses that they think will humanities and social sciences can inject. professions pressure them into compliance ing “corporate ideology” that dominates help them get a job because of the spread Therefore, efforts to depoliticize the cam- with corporate ideology so they tend to be colleges and universities. In what class, at of “corporate ideology” and colleges aren’t pus would actually increase the ideologi- impervious to any liberal deviations that his university or any other, for example, are offering such courses because college presi- cal tilt toward conservatism. they get in humanities courses.” students taught to be “anti-labor” or “anti- dents are so eager to please business mo- Lazere says that most students “as early There we have it. The old military-in- government”? Now, perhaps in some eco- guls. Colleges are simply giving students as high school, come to regard the only dustrial complex secretly controls higher nomics or political science courses, students what many of them want, and the reason purpose of schooling as vocational or pre- education in America. Those like Horowitz might learn that labor unions are not nearly why many students today want job-related professional training.” How he knows that and, well, me, who would like to see pro- as beneficial to workers as is generally courses is that our K-12 education system he does not disclose, but I suspect that he fessors get back to teaching rather than thought, or that a lot of government pro- leaves most young Americans with little may be correct. So what? Now we get to preaching really intend “to unleash the grams have very high but largely unseen intellectual curiosity. These “disengaged the heart of Lazere’s argument: “Conserva- most ignorant forces of the right in hound- costs (such as Social Security) and are ar- students,” as Professor Paul Trout calls tive culture warriors would have us regard ing liberal academics to death.” guably counterproductive. To the limited them, just want an easy degree that will, both vocational/preprofessional education Where do you begin with something extent that happens, it’s the sort of mind- they think, land them a nice job. and its prime mover, corporate employers, like that? Lazere wishes to have the reader expanding, preconception-challenging ex- I don’t care for the vocational training as politically neutral. The obvious facts, believe that the sole source of criticism perience Lazere lauds when he does it. drift in higher education any more than however, are that large corporations and against the leftist politicization of many And just what does Lazere mean by Lazere does, but we need to correctly iden- their wealthy CEOs and stockholders are courses and departments is “conservative “corporate ideology?” American corpora- tify the root of the problem. It isn’t his bete predominantly conservative (notwith- culture warriors.” But many who criticize tions run the gamut from Ben & Jerry’s Ice noire the corporate world; it’s our collaps- standing occasional exceptions like George classroom proselytizing are not conserva- Cream (green and liberal) to, say, Milliken ing system of government schooling. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 14 Local Government JOURNAL

Town and Country Traffic Cameras Make Plaintiff See Red

God OK in oath, court says Are North Carolina schools entitled to fines paid by state’s motorists?

The oath in court is to remain un- changed. By BOB FLISS pany, Peek Traffic Inc., to handle in- The N.C. Supreme Court handed Contributing Editor stallation, maintenance, and adminis- down a ruling July 5 nullifying an KERNERSVILLE tration. The contract between High attempt by District Court Judge ven where lawyers are involved, Point and Peek calls for the contractor James M. Honeycutt to use a more there comes a point where the to get $35 for its work out of every secular oath by removing references EEnglish language can’t be ticket, with the city getting the $15 to God. twisted and tortured anymore. difference, which would be put into a Davidson County Clerk of Court A lawsuit against High Point’s red- fund for traffic safety improvements. Brian Shipwash said the ruling was light camera program may provide Greensboro started its red-light a victory that returns the court to the some overdue clarification about what camera program at the same time, people, the Lexington Dispatch re- actually constitutes a “fine.” The legal also hiring Peek on basically the same ports. definition of a fine will have conse- terms. Charlotte uses Peek to run both “A lot of times you know what quences in the place where it counts its red-light camera and speed camera you believe is right,” he said. “But most — the public purse. programs. when you have the Supreme Court If the courts rule that so-called At the time, both cities made a backing you up, you feel justified.” “civil penalties” collected for red-light considerable public relations effort to Honeycutt initiated the effort in camera tickets are really ordinary fines, sugarcoat the debut of a new form of March by issuing a letter to court school districts around the state will robotic law enforcement that was clerks and officers arguing that the find themselves a little richer. Mean- guaranteed to be unpopular with mo- normal wording of the oath was in- while, municipalities may not be able torists. One of the selling points was sensitive to those who didn’t believe to deliver on promises that their red- that the cameras would be installed in God or the Christian Bible. light camera programs will operate at and maintained by a private contrac- Shipwash said court officers re- no cost to the taxpayer. tor at no cost to the public. fused to participate and Honeycutt Article IX, Section 7 of the Consti- If, however, the courts decide that began swearing people in himself. tution of North Carolina would seem red-light camera tickets are fines like to leave little room for interpretation. any other, localities might have to ei- Slow growth in Triad cities It states that “…the clear proceeds of ther give up their cameras or begin all penalties and forfeitures and of all paying the full cost of the program. Both the Greensboro-High Point fines collected in the several counties Hurley contends that there’s no and Winston-Salem metro areas have for any breach of the penal laws of the provision in the law for fine money to been among the regions nationwide State, shall belong to and remain in the pay third parties such as a robotic with the slowest growth in personal several counties, and shall be faith- camera contractor. Therefore, High income over the past five years, ac- fully appropriated and used exclu- Point, Greensboro, and other cities cording to an analysis of the largest sively for maintaining free public operating red-light cameras should 170 metro areas by American City schools.” be prepared to give the whole $50 Business Journals. from each citation to their county Greensboro-High Point had a A fine is not so fine? school districts. personal income growth rate of 13.7 As for meeting the expenses of the percent between 1997 and 2002, the But when is a fine a fine? After all, contractor — well, that would be the most recent year for which data was there are a wide variety of monetary city’s problem. If this scenario plays available, according to data analyzed penalties charged for various offenses out, it’s not difficult to imagine Peek by ACBJ, the parent company of the against public order. Is there some way and other camera contractors invok- Triangle Business Journal. for the state constitution to be circum- ing escape clauses in their contracts. The Winston-Salem metro area’s vented so that this money could be put This would be just fine with the personal income growth rate for that to public uses other than the schools? usually soft-spoken Hurley, who said same period was even slower, at 12.7 One would think that the $50 ticket he “would like to see the cameras percent. sent to motorists caught running a red Red-light warning signs and cameras are spreading come down everywhere like the Ber- around North Carolina’s cities. Both figures compare to a na- light by one of about 10 cameras moni- lin Wall.” tional average during the five-year toring high-traffic intersections in High Hurley originally filed suit on be- span of 22 percent, according to ACBJ Point would fit any common-sense defini- perfect springboard for a constitutional test half of Shavitz in state court. High Point’s data. tion of a fine. case. lawyers got it bumped up as high as the U.S. Of the 170 metro areas in the But High Point maintains that the cita- Ultimately, Hurley said he believes that Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in United States with a population of at tions are not fines. Rather, they are “civil traffic enforcement by robot violates the Richmond. But in late June, the federal least 250,000, Greensboro-High Point penalties.” due process and equal protection provi- judges ruled that they did not have jurisdic- ranked 163rd. Winston-Salem was High Point bases this distinction on the sions of the U.S. Constitution. However, he tion over the question of where the money 166th. fact that its red-light camera citations don’t has had less success advancing these argu- from citations should go. The case was sent carry any of the unpleasant side effects of a ments in various courts since 2001 than he back to federal court in Greensboro, and it Fayetteville OK to annex moving violation issued by a police officer has had with the seemingly technical issue will eventually be sent back to the state — that is, no points are charged against the of what constitutes a fine. level. Hurley said he expected a hearing in The N.C. Court of Appeals re- motorist’s license that might affect insur- Hurley contends that traffic laws un- state court by late summer. cently ended a seven-day delay in ance premiums or even continued eligibil- doubtedly come under the criminal or pe- Fayetteville’s plan to annex 27 square ity to drive. nal laws of the state, Confusing case law miles, giving the city the go-ahead to Essentially, it’s fork whether they’re enforced add more than 42,000 people, the over the $50 and forget Soft-spoken Marshall by robotic cameras or live Prior North Carolina case law about Fayetteville Observer reports. about it. Unless you fail Hurley said he ‘would police officers. High Point what actually constitutes a fine can be con- City Attorney Karen McDonald to pay within three weeks, even has a policy of hav- fusing. The precedent most often cited — said a stay put in place by the appeals in which case the ticket like to see the cam- ing a sworn police officer by both sides in the High Point case — is a court June 29 was lifted by the court costs $100. If you refuse eras come down ev- review each set of photos 1980 North Carolina Supreme Court deci- at 4:44. City officials said services in to pay at all, the city won’t erywhere like the Ber- before any citation can be sion, Cauble vs. City of Asheville. the new areas, including police and issue a warrant for your written. High Point’s use At the time, Asheville had attempted to trash pickup July 7. arrest. Rather, it would go lin Wall.’ of the term “civil penalty” make parking tickets subject to a “volun- But the legal fight over annex- to court and obtain a judg- doesn’t change the fact tary” penalty — with the proviso that the ation is not over. Lawyers represent- ment, just like in any other that camera citations are city could issue a warrant for those who ing challengers to the annexation said civil matter. just fines. didn’t volunteer. they would appeal to the N.C. Su- High Point real estate broker Henry The high court ruled against Asheville, preme Court. Shavitz not only refuses to fork over the Should schools get money? stating that because parking offenses were “If the annexation is illegal, it $100 fine and late fee he owes High Point still misdemeanors against a city ordinance, should be stayed,” said Neil Yarbor- after his vehicle was caught on camera in As such, the North Carolina constitu- the way Asheville decided to collect the ough, a lawyer for the Homebuilders April 2001, he has retained Greensboro law- tion should be clear — robots or no robots, money was irrelevant. The parking tickets Association of Fayetteville. “Why yer Marshall Hurley to mount every pos- the money for traffic tickets would clearly were still offenses against penal laws and inflict annexation on 43,000 people sible constitutional challenge to the pro- go to schools. Every penny. And it’s here the proceeds should go to the schools. who don't want it?” gram. where Hurley’s argument could collapse However, High Point’s lawyers note Three challenges to the annex- Even before he agreed to represent the whole economic structure of red-light that a 1997 opinion by the state Attorney ation were filed in June in Cumber- Shavitz, Hurley had become concerned camera programs in North Carolina. General’s Office held that if Asheville had land County Superior Court. CJ about the basic reasoning behind red-light High Point started its red-light camera “decriminalized” its parking ordinances, it cameras. So, Shavitz’s problem became the program in 2001, after hiring a Florida com- could have levied fines as civil penalties. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Local Government 15

Property Taxes Up, Bush Tax Cut Down

n case you’re wondering where all the money from your Bush tax cuts went, you might con I sider revisiting your property tax bill. In the July 14 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Mark Zandi, chief economists at Economy.com Inc., a research firm in Pennsylvania, estimated that nearly a fifth of the income tax benefit Americans received in federal tax cuts this year went to pay for higher property taxes. Expectations are that this trend will continue and at an alarming rate. In North Carolina, that trend holds true as well. Across the state, counties have levied tax increases through their revaluations and all indications are that The N.C. Supreme Court Building (left) and the Court of Appeals in Raleigh. others, who have balanced their budgets through their Reimposes requirements overturned last year fund balance in an election year, will be raising taxes next year. N.C. Supreme Court Rules on Annexation Keep in mind that when property values go up, coun- By MICHAEL LOWREY ban areas that do not touch the city’s current borders. The ties do not index the current Associate Editor Court of Appeals agreed, though in a 2-1 ruling by a three- value to the property tax bill RALEIGH judge panel. and thus you pay based on Chad Adams n late June, the N.C. Supreme Court issued a signifi- “[T]he plain language of the statute includes all pos- what the value of your prop- cant new ruling that clarifies the requirements for sible combinations which make the following equation erty was at the last revaluation. When a revaluation Iannexation under North Carolina law. In doing so, the work: the amount of border which the non-urban area occurs, some properties (particularly in coastal or high court overturned a decision last year by the N.C. shares with the municipality combined with the amount of resort areas) can double or triple in value. This revalu- Court of Appeals that made it easier for municipalities to border [which] the non-urban area shares with an area or ation forces county commissioners to determine what annex “non-urban” areas. areas developed for urban purposes equals sixty percent of the rate would be to take in the same amount of money “Involuntary annexation is by its nature a harsh exer- the border of the non-urban area,” wrote Judge Eric Levinson as the previous year. This becomes the “revenue neu- cise of governmental power affecting private property and for the Court of Appeals’ majority. “One workable combi- tral” rate and is often lower than the previous rate. so is properly restrained and balanced by legislative policy nation exists where a non-urban area touches, on at least State law requires that county commissions, but not and mandated standards and procedure” Chief Justice I. sixty percent of its external border, only an area or areas cities, declare the revenue neutral rate so that citizens Beverly Lake, Jr. wrote for the high court. “Annexation is developed for urban purposes.” will know whether the rate went up. initiated upon the decision of a municipal governing board Judge John Tyson, however, dissented from this major- Many have suggested that time has come for the to extend the municipal corporate limits, and upon chal- ity ruling. “No case law supports the majority’s interpreta- state to overhaul its tax system. I concur. In doing so lenge by a property owner, the extent and implementation tion of this statute,” he noted. “All prior cases clearly show it might also start to remove mandates on local gov- of this decision must comply with legislative intent.” that in order for a municipality to annex non-urban land, ernment. that land must adjoin sixty percent of its external boundary What we should be asking about property taxes is The law to ‘any combination’ of the municipal boundary and the “are they fundamentally fair?” One could argue that boundary of land developed for urban purposes. Either paying property taxes is a fair and efficient way to pay North Carolina law generally holds that areas inten- boundary standing alone is insufficient.” for local services such as law enforcement, fire protec- sively used for “urban purposes” — residential, commer- A unanimous Supreme Court agreed with Judge tion, garbage pickup, and public works, because their cial, industrial, institutional, and governmental uses — Tyson’s reasoning. “Because the plain meaning of N.C.G.S. value to taxpayers is at least somewhat related to should be within a municipality. A city or town can annex § 160A-48(d)(2) states that there must be a ‘combination’ of property ownership. What isn’t truly rational is pay- such areas without the consent of those to be annexed as adjacency to the municipality and adjacency to areas devel- ing for federal and state programs, such as Medicaid long as it follows the procedures set out in state law. oped for urban purposes, the proposed annexation as to and education, with the same money. If you think that Areas that aren’t used for these urban purposes can be Non-Urban Areas 1 and 4 is invalid,” Lake wrote for the property taxes equates roughly to paying rent on involuntarily annexed only under much narrower circum- court. property you own to the government, then this equa- stances. For towns with a population over The case is Carolina Power & Light tion looks even more bizarre. 5,000, these requirements are set forth in Co vs. City of Asheville. The Supreme If ever there was a time for the N.C. League of N.C. General Statue § 160A-48(d): North Carolina law Court decision is available online at Municipalities and the N.C. Association of County “In addition to areas developed for generally holds that ar- www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/sc/ Commissioners to come together and fight, it is now. urban purposes, a governing board may opinions/2004/631-03-1.htm. The state has run rampant in an apparent quest to include in the area to be annexed any eas intensively used have a $20 billion budget within the next three years. area which does not meet the require- for “urban purposes” Fayetteville annexation It isn’t looking back. It would be my hope that county ments of subsection (c) if such area ei- should be within a and municipal leaders close ranks and tell state offi- ther: The Supreme Court decision comes cials to let localities pay for truly local services, but (1) Lies between the municipal municipality. as annexation continues to be a contro- either remove or pay for programs they currently boundary and an area developed for ur- versial topic across the state. Only days impose. ban purposes so that the area developed after making its ruling, both the Court of Continuing this escalation in property taxation is for urban purposes is either not adjacent to the municipal Appeals and Supreme Court faced another annexation- leading more cities to use forced annexation to in- boundary or cannot be served by the municipality without related case. crease revenues, it’s leading communities to look for extending services and/or water and/or sewer lines Fayetteville was planning to annex 27 square miles and bad ideas such as tax-increment financing in a desper- through such sparsely developed area; or 42,000 people effective July 1. Opponents to the large-scale ate attempt to lure new development, and it’s creating (2) Is adjacent, on at least sixty percent (60%) of its annexation — Fayetteville’s population was estimated to unnecessary hardship and economic damage every external boundary, to any combination of the municipal be just under 124,000 as of July 2002 — challenged it in time localities have to raise property taxes. boundary and the boundary of an area or areas developed court, contending the city failed to full the requirements set Cities and counties are replete with good leaders for urban purposes as defined in subsection (c). out in state law. and creative managers. Now we should free up their On June 29, the Court of Appeals issued a stay, effec- creative spirits by restoring true local control, from Asheville annexes tively putting the annexation, on hold while it examined the school systems to the courthouse. If the state wants the challenges. Finding them without merit, the appeals to foster economic growth, remove mandated spend- The case at bar involves a dispute between Asheville court lifted its stay July 7, allowing the annexation to take ing and regulations. In doing so, small businesses will and Carolina Power & Light Company over the legality of effect. Annexation opponents then appealed to the N.C. flourish and small-town North Carolina will be able to an 2001 annexation of about 1,500 acres in the Long Shoals Supreme Court. On July 12, the high court, in an unprec- compete. We don’t need more tools to increase public area. Among the properties involuntary annexed was a edented move, issued a stay, putting the annexation back debt. We need more freedom. CP&L power plant. on hold five days after it had seeming gone into effect. As I said before, both municipal- and state-elected In its annexation plan, Asheville classified 288.2 acres The Supreme Court’s stay surprised many residents official associations need to fight. This is the best time as not developed for urban purposes. These properties and left them scrambling to obtain services that the city was to pick that fight. The legislature will be entering a were separated into five noncontiguous tracts referred to to provide with annexation. Garbage disposal , in particu- budget cycle, the redistricting fight will be behind us, as non-urban areas 1 through 5. Non-urban areas 1 and 4 lar, provided problematic. Residents in areas to be annexed and regardless of who wins the gubernatorial elec- are not adjacent to the city’s existing borders. had cancelled their trash collection contracts in expectation tion, the possibility of a new approach to local govern- CP&L broadly challenged the propriety of the annex- of city garbage service. With the stay, they either had to ment could be a strong one. CJ ation before the courts. The Superior Court upheld the haul their waste to one of two county collection sites or hire annexation, including the propriety of annexing non-ur- a private hauler for an unknown period time. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 16 Local Government JOURNAL

Local Innovation Bulletin Board From Cherokee to Currituck Durham Public Housing Project Welcome to the Micropolis A Failure, Agency Member Says

ast summer, the U.S. Census Bu- gestion would be reduced by only 8 per- reau officially recognized a new cent, as drivers changed their commut- By MICHAEL LOWREY Charlotte to scrap housing bonus? kind of population center: the ing habits in response to less congested L Associate Editor “micropolis.” To qualify as a micropolis, traffic conditions. CHARLOTTE The city of Charlotte is considering an area must have at least one town of A survey by the National Associa- he fallout continues from the U.S. dropping plans for a so-called “density bo- 10,000 to 49,999 people and a small pro- tion of Homebuilders indicated that a Department of Housing and Urban nus” for developers that build affordable portion of its residents commuting out- substantial majority (83 percent) of Development’s audit into the activi- housing. side the area. Americans prefer to live in the suburbs, T ties of the Durham Housing Authority. In “We just didn’t see that we were going Generally, a micropolis is far re- as opposed to high-density urban areas the latest reversal for the DHA, the agency to be able to garner a huge impact,” City moved from the nearest big city, some- near mass transit. has admitted that its attempts to convert the Council member Pat Mumford told The times by 100 miles or more. Residents However, there are steps that can former Fayetteville Street public housing Charlotte Observer. are drawn by affordable housing, less alleviate congestion without dramati- project into a private, affordable-apartment Charlotte, like many other jurisdictions, urban congestion, and a lower cost of cally altering driving habits, including: complex have failed. Many of the problems limits the number of new houses that can be living. • Creating high-occupancy toll lanes the HUD audit discovered at DHA involved built per acre. A density bonus is a higher As more people move to these that would allow motorists in a hurry a the Fayetteville Street project. maximum density for developers that agree smaller semirural areas, companies are choice without keeping lower-income “The deal is not going to close,” Robert to build lower-cost housing. The theory is catching on to this growing market. drivers off the road. “Bo” Glenn Jr., housing authority board that by spreading the fixed cost of land over American Profile, a magazine distrib- • Building more roads in peripheral member, said to the Durham Herald-Sun. more houses, the cost of each resulting new uted in small town and rural area news- areas to respond to growth. “Given the present environment, I don’t see home would be lower. papers, has built up a circulation of nearly • Speeding the flow of traffic with a private investor coming in — not with the Charlotte leaders cite a number of rea- six million in four years, more copies the use of Intelligent Transportation Sys- cloud hanging over it.” sons for their lack of enthusiasm for a den- than People or Sports Illustrated sell each tem devices (electronic freeway signs, In a complex series of transactions, the sity bonus in the city. The city’s affordable- week. GPS equipment in cars and trucks, and housing authority in December 2002 sold housing policy is focused on ensuring an Movie Gallery, Inc., a video-rental better coordination of signal lights). the public housing complex for $1 to Fayette adequate supply of rental housing, not the chain based in Alabama, operates in Downs noted that congestion is of- Place LLC. Fayette Place, in turn, was owned creation of new low-cost single family micropolitan towns and has seen its ten the outcome of economic prosperity, by two nonprofit subsidiaries of the hous- homes. Indeed, neighborhood groups point stores and revenue double in the past and only a severe economic recession ing authority. The transfer was made to out that there is no lack of lower-priced three years. would substantially reduce the problem. obtain federal tax credits for developing homes in the city. Many businesses are attracted to low-income housing. The bulk of the $12.5 Charlotte already has a housing trust micropolitan areas because labor costs Recycling rubble pays million needed to remodel the non-air con- fund. The fund has allocated $23 million to are low, expansion is relatively easy, and ditioned, boxy brick-and-concrete public build more than 1,800 lower-cost housing local bureaucracy isn’t as burdensome States and localities are taking recy- housing units into modern Victorian-style units. The idea of the density bonus was as in large cities. cling to the next level as a way to save duplexes would have come from mortgage originally proposed by the same study More than three-fourths of micro- money and landfill space — by reusing revenue bonds and pri- group that suggested the politan areas gained population between rubble from demolished buildings in new vate investors. trust fund. 1990 and 2000. on-site construction, the Wall Street Jour- The principle force City staff also notes Unlike metropolitan areas, where a nal says. behind Fayette Place was “Given the present en- that density bonuses have large urban core is surrounded by sub- Faced with limited landfill space and James Tabron, then vironment, I don’t see been only moderately ef- urbs, a micropolitan’s center is smaller, increasing construction costs, state and DHA’s executive direc- a private investor com- fective in other cities. To and settlements around the town are local governments, along with develop- tor. In April 2003, Tabron achieve a major increase more diffuse. A handful of such towns, ers, are using concrete, bricks, and as- was forced to resign from ing in — not with the in lower-priced new- like The Villages, Fla., and Silverthorne, phalt from old buildings that have been the public housing agency cloud hanging over it.” home construction, man- Colo., have grown so rapidly over the torn down on the site where the con- for charging $12,500 in datory set-asides would past decade that they struction is taking personal purchases, in- — Robert Glenn Jr. be required. City Council may soon become place. cluding a $1,750 gold ring has shown little interest small metropolitan ar- The Census Bureau Virginia is con- for his daughter, to the in exploring that concept. eas by the Census’s lists 25 micropolitan structing a new park- agency’s credit cards. Discovery of Tabron’s standards. ing lot using 21,750 unauthorized credit card purchases also Chapel Hill alcohol rule change? The Census Bu- areas in North Caro- tons of concrete from prompted the HUD audit. reau lists 25 micro- lina, including New the site’s previously It has since come out that Tabron was Chapel Hill officials are examining the politan areas in North demolished labora- Bern, Boone, Albe- also engaged in self-dealing. Tabron ran a possibility of amending the town’s alcohol Carolina, including tory buildings, while consulting business on the side with Troy ordinances to allow restaurants to sell alco- New Bern, Boone, For- marle and Forest City. the remaining rubble Chapman, director of the Chester County, hol at tables on public sidewalks. est City, Albemarle, is going to local recy- Pa., housing authority. Chapman was to be Since 1995, the town has allowed res- Laurinberg, and Rock- cling facilities. The pre- paid a $450,000 “developer’s fee” upon taurants with the appropriate permits to set ingham. dicted cost savings is $485,000. completion of the Fayette Place project. up tables and chairs on public sidewalks Reported in the Wall Street Journal. Santa Clara, Calif.’s new baseball The HUD audit uncovered more than provided a six-foot wide path remained stadium will use about 25 percent of the $5 million in questionable spending by clear. Congestion is here to stay 25,000 tons of concrete rubble from pre- DHA. It also recommends that the federal There is one type of menu-item that vious buildings on the site, and 1,250 agency take over control of DHA, freeze can’t legally be served at these tables though: Public mass transit is not the solu- tons of recycled asphalt will be used to spending on a $35 million federal housing alcohol. State law when the town ordinance tion to traffic congestion, says Anthony pave the new parking lot; the expected grant Durham received, and discipline cer- was adopted allowed alcohol sales only Downs of the Brookings Institution. Most cost savings is $60,000. tain officials. within inside barriers “of sufficient integ- Americans live in low-density areas that The Rockefeller Corporation in New Even before the release of the audit, the rity.” The town’s regulations still apply this mass transit cannot efficiently serve. York is expected to save $300,000 by Fayette Place project was in trouble. The standard, despite a subsequent change in “The privately owned vehicles are using rubble from the demolition of three sluggish economy had put downward pres- state law. more comfortable, faster, more private, industrial buildings on site to construct sure on rents generally, making it difficult Robert Poitras, owner of the Carolina more convenient in trip timing, and more its new distribution center. for the authority to attractive private inves- Brewery on West Franklin Street in Chapel flexible for doing multiple tasks on one Recycling of older buildings does tors to the project. Hill, notes that restaurant can now serve trip than almost any form of public tran- not produce the degree of cost savings The housing authority has spent more drinks at street-side tables in Raleigh, sit,” he said. compared with the recycling of newer than $1 million on the project. To what Wilmington, Charlotte, and Asheville. This is true worldwide, said Downs: buildings because of the additional sort- degree it is liable for an additional $1.3 “We think Chapel Hill would benefit As incomes rise, people switch to private ing required of asbestos, lead paint, and million in pending and disputed charges from this because the downtown is losing automobiles and trucks. In the United other contaminants, but even sorting remains to be determined. businesses to Southpoint Mall and to Ra- States, there is little that public transit costs 5 percent less than hauling and To make matters worse, DHA moved leigh and Durham,” Poitras said to the News can do to alleviate traffic congestion. dumping the material. families out of Fayetteville Street in antici- & Observer of Raleigh. “We just want to be In the year 2000, 89.3 percent of Several states, including Massachu- pation of remodeling the property, aggra- able to sell alcohol in a responsible manner. Americans used private vehicles in their setts and Florida, are introducing legis- vating a public housing shortage in the city. We would limit the hours. But it’s the sum- daily commute, while only 4.7 percent lation designed to address rubble in land- The Herald-Sun reports that only 43 of the mertime, and people want to be outside.” used public transit—outside of New York fills. California already has legislation in 200 units are occupied. Twenty of those At least one town official is sympa- City, only 3.5 percent. place requiring greater recycling. In most families didn’t pay their rent in May. Even thetic to Poitras and other restaurant own- If existing public transit were tripled cases, rubble recycling appears to be a with only limited maintenance being done, ers. “I think it’s a good idea,” Mayor Kevin and used to its full capacity, road con- win-win proposal. CJ the complex lost $20,000 during the first Foy told the newspaper. “I think there’s a five months of the year. way we can work it out.” CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL CJ Interview 17 Balaker: Low Density of N.C. Unfavorable for Rail Projects

By CAROLINA JOURNAL STAFF Hood: It is higher than being implemented as hope they stay the course and stay with bus. RALEIGH the entire New York in the first two. It does In Charlotte and in the Triangle, both of the ed Balaker is with the Reason Public metro area — not have it on the drawing projects have basically stayed with the light- Policy Institute, a national think tank Manhattan. board. In all three of rail script. What I mean by that is that these Tbased in California, which recently re- these North Carolina things are getting really predictable, frankly. leased a study on the prospects for rail in North Balaker: Correct. areas, there is rail be- We’ve been doing this for over 20 years in Carolina. He has written extensively on high- That is where some- ing implemented. the United States and the script has sort of density development, the dream of many local- times people can get There are going to be passed from city to city and it rarely changes. government planners. confused. If you’ve hundreds of millions What I mean by that is that costs rise, rider- Carolina Journal’s John Hood interviewed been to Manhattan, of dollars or even bil- ship projections are ratcheted down, and Balaker during a recent visit to Raleigh. yes, that area is a lions of dollars spent when the line finally opens up, key goals much higher den- on it. Some of that are unmet, congestion continues to mount, Hood: You’ve looked at the use of rail in urban sity, but if you take money will come from it has no effect on air quality, etc. transportation across the United States and the New York metro the federal govern- there are lots of communities experimenting or area as a whole, it is ment. Of course they Hood: I was going to ask you about that. A lot of implementing or using rail transit. How does not as dense as Los just pull it off of trees people, when they hear about the debate on rail North Carolina’s efforts or plans in this regard Angeles. or something. About a transit or transit in general, the argument is compare? We are a state that tends to not have quarter of it will come that if we don’t build transit, we aren’t going to the kinds of urban centers that you see in other Hood: We’ll talk about from local communi- make any headway on congestion and we aren’t states. Charlotte, the Triangle ties from various kinds going to comply with some of the regulations and the Triad and some of the other debates of taxes at the local level, and a quarter of it regarding air quality because people are going to Balaker: That is very true and it is very key going on in North Carolina about transit, but comes from state taxpayers. So if you lived in keep driving. What are the advocates of rail to the issue. What you’ll see if you look first I’ve got to ask you this question that often Fayetteville, or you lived in Wilmington or systems in North Carolina predicting as far as outside North Carolina is that rail has a comes up when you mention rail transportation Asheville, part of your money you are paying in impacting congestion and air quality? tough time succeeding even under the best not really being a good fit with the kinds of living to buy gas at the gas pump is going to build these circumstances. So here in North Carolina, arrangements — the suburbanization we have. rail systems in Charlotte and elsewhere. What Balaker: Sometimes it is hard to pin down where circumstances are particularly un- Some argue this is a chicken-and-egg problem. should you know about those rail systems? exactly what they are saying. On one hand friendly to rail, we are really embarking on The reason why you have so much suburban- they seem to suggest that it will have a almost a new kind of experiment to try to ization and people aren’t living closer together Balaker: First, I think that is a very impor- positive impact on air quality and conges- make this work in extremely low-density or closer to downtowns is precisely because we tant point that you bring up. Even if rail is tion, but if you read their reports, their areas. invest all of our dollars in highways and not coming to your town, your money is reports are very frank in saying that rail will interstates and not enough in transit. going to rail. have virtually no impact on congestion and Hood: Let’s talk about that. What would be an will carry so few passengers that it will have obstacle regarding density in North Carolina? Balaker: There might be a slight point to the Hood: You are paying for it! no noticeable impact on air quality. Why does that have an impact on the viability of chicken-and-egg point of view. But again, rail transportation? the headline of my report is “Look Outside Balaker: And so yes, all three areas are Hood: So why are they building these systems? of North Carolina for Evidence of Success considering very ambitious plans. There is Balaker: The only way rail can really be or Failure.” You see that even when you a little bit of good news in the Triad, where Balaker: That is a good question. I think viable is if you have a high-density area have lots of money devoted to rail transit, it looks like they are leaning more towards part of it is holding out hope that it will where a lot of people are living in very close even in the most highly developed rail tran- bus than towards rail, which would be much work. The planning community — there quarters. It makes it easy for folks to walk to sit cities, the auto still dominates, sprawl more cost-effective. But again, these things are a lot of planners telling these folks that rail stations, hop on the rail, hop off, and and suburbanization is still occurring. have a way of reversing themselves. Let’s it will work and I think they believe them. CJ perhaps walk to work. Here in North Caro- lina, and really, the trend is nationwide and Hood: You are talking not only about the U.S. even worldwide, the trend is towards but in Europe and lots of places around the suburbanization. So we are decreasing pop- world. ulation densities. So when you have people spread out like that, rail becomes even more Balaker: That is kind of funny because a lot difficult to implement. It should also be of leaders point to cities like Paris, for ex- noted that rail success doesn’t mean a ample, we all want to be like Paris and be community’s transportation success. You can sophisticated. have high density, but high density usually brings the opposite of what most people Hood: Speak for yourself! want. It brings longer travel times. Balaker: [LAUGHS] I wouldn’t even be Hood: When you say density and the number of speaking for myself in that case. The prob- people, give us a sense, perhaps even a number, lem with this is that people visit these areas. as to how North Carolina’s metro areas will They visit Paris or Portland as tourists. And compare with some of the ones we are familiar as tourists, they go to the central city. They with elsewhere with rail systems. see the rail system. They may very well see lots of people on that rail system, but they Balaker: North Carolina urban centers typi- are getting a skewed view of the areas as a cally have population densities, that is whole. So even in Paris, most people get people per square mile, between about 1,200 around by car and most people live in the and 2,000. If you look at New York City, the suburbs. metro area has about 5,300. It is anchored by Manhattan, the highest density in the na- Hood: There seems to be an almost universal tion at 70,000. Compare that to an average desire to own a home if you can and to have some of roughly 1,700 in the metro areas here and room if you can. This is not something that is you see the disparity. Even if you look at limited to misguided Southern suburbanites. rail’s best-case scenario, which would be Portland, Oregon, densities there are typi- Balaker: Exactly. It is really the product of cally double what you find here. Again, you population growth plus wealth growth. Do have to look at, “Is this best-case scenario all we want to stop wealth growth? If you want that great anyhow?” That is because it ac- to do that then maybe we can reverse the counts for less than 1 percent of travel. trend towards auto use. And I think a lot of times auto use is misunderstood. We are Hood: One of the things that people might be said to be obsessed with our cars or ad- surprised about is the density — the people per dicted to our cars, but it is not really that at square mile in the Los Angeles area. You hear all. The car just offers the best way to get about Los Angeles being this spread out, sprawl- around. It is really a less-sinister, more- ing nightmare that North Carolina and other simplistic example. We wouldn’t say we fast-growing states need to avoid by heading are obsessed with our computers, and there- towards more density, but what is the density in fore we should have typewriters. L.A.? Hood: Well, there are some people obsessed with Balaker: The density in L.A. is 7,000 people their computers, but let’s change the subject to per square mile, the highest density area in Charlotte and the Triangle, and to some extent, the United States. the Triad, which is not as far along with rail August 2004 C A R O L I N A 18 Learning Curve JOURNAL

From the Liberty Library Movie review

• In The Connection: How al Fahrenheit 9/11: More Hallucinations by the Left Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America, ¥ Fahrenheit 9/11; 2004; directed by Michael nations. Of course, he fails to men- Stephen Hayes draws on CIA Moore; written & produced by Michael tion our principal ally, Great Brit- debriefings, top-secret memos from Moore; 2 hours and 2 minutes; PG13. ain, with whom we managed to de- national intelligence agencies, and in- feat Nazi Germany. Moore would terviews with Iraqi military leaders By JOHN PLECNIK rather splice in clips from Viking and Washington insiders to demon- Guest Contributor movies and make fun of the Icelan- strate that Saddam Hussein and DURHAM dic military. Osama bin Laden not only could work ichael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 Not surprisingly, Moore could together, but they did — a curious re- represents the worst of politics not put on a show about Iraq with- lationship that stretches back more and the best of propaganda. I am out disparaging Vice President Dick than a decade. Hayes’s Weekly Standard M saddened to say that America’s Leftists are Cheney and Halliburton. However, piece on this topic was cited by Vice treating themselves to a lie-fest, the likes of most would agree that the clip of President Dick Cheney as the “best which puts Baghdad Bob to shame. The Cheney expressing pride in his source of information” about the following is not the review of a documen- former leadership role with the cor- Hussein-al Qaeda connections. Learn tary, but rather, an examination of a shame- poration says it all — I would not more at www.harpercollins.com. less political hit-piece. Anyone audacious apologize for being CEO of a For- enough to assert that Moore’s film serves as tune 500 company, either. • Jed Babbin, former deputy an objective study of reality lacks either undersecretary of defense, has penned intelligence or integrity. Moore harasses legislators Inside the Asylum, which shows how the United Nations could veto Ameri- ‘Kerry for president’ ad From depicting dishonest cor- can foreign policy and why the U.N. porations to a disconnected con- deserves the nickname “The Asylum.” True to his ideological roots, Moore gress, Moore makes a scene on Capi- Babbin accuses the U.N. of assisting in- begins Fahrenheit 9/11 where all radical Left- tol Hill by chasing around congress- ternational terrorists and exposes the ists initiate their rants — the director-writer- men to recruit their children for the links between the U.N. and terrorist or- producer kicks off his 122-minute “Kerry Marines. Having concluded that con- ganizations. He also follows the money for President” ad by insisting that Florida gressional kids should be the first to trail from the U.N. to Saddam Hussein, was stolen from former presidential candi- fight, Moore expresses distaste and revealed in part in the Oil-for-Food date Al Gore. Flashing news clips of Gore sarcasm for the members’ unwill- Program — “proving that the UN sold carrying state after state, the scene ends Moore begins by showing us where ingness to volunteer their own children. its moral legitimacy for oil, stuffed its with the Associated Press calling Florida Bush was, when the first plane hit the twin Sadly, pestering Congress was the film’s own pockets at the expense of the Iraqi for the Democrats. Moore asserts that it was towers. The president was reading a book least-offensive vignette dealing with the people, and undermined American a good night. At least it was a good night, to schoolchildren.Incredibly, Moore ridi- armed forces. Moore almost seemed to take pressure on Saddam Hussein: the UN’s until Fox News announced that Florida had cules Bush for spending time with students. pleasure in debasing military recruitment cash cow.” The Oil-for-Food Program, selected George W. Bush. Neglecting to The director even goes so far as to narrate officers, portraying them like pimps on the Babbin said, “provided Saddam mention that all credible recounts gave Bush’s thoughts — depicting the president prowl for fresh meat in poor neighborhoods. Hussein with the means to bribe poli- Florida to Bush, Moore insists that a true musing that maybe he should show up to Moore took advantage of a mother’s pain, ticians, to deprive his people of needed tallying of the votes would have revealed a work more often. Essentially, Moore blasts encouraging a grieving woman to express food and medicine, and to literally Gore victory. He adds nothing new to the Bush for not jumping to action after being anger at the Bush administration for the steal billions of dollars. There is even debate. Between insulting Fox News and notified of the first attack. loss of her son in Iraq. emerging evidence that money from accusing the Bush family of nepotistic she- Moore also provides a negative view of the program might have gone to sup- nanigans, Moore simply tows a tired party Bush family and conspiracy our forces on the battlefield. The film shows port al-Qaeda.” More at www. line. us a handful of soldiers who gleefully dis- regnery.com. Transitioning to the transfer of power, Not satisfied with portraying Bush as a cuss the adrenaline rush of battle. They Moore depicts Bush’s taking office as a low lazy simpleton, Moore also tries to connect explain how their group enjoys listening to • Is Earth merely an insignificant point for the American presidency. He also the straight-shooting Texan to Middle East- rock music while they engage combatants speck in a vast and meaningless uni- pays considerable attention to certain black ern terrorists. Without citing many trace- and we are treated to an unwholesome verse? On the contrary, say Guillermo members of Congress who protest the re- able sources, Moore alleges that wealthy earful of their profane tunes. Of course, Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards, coau- sults in Florida as racially unfair. There is no Saudis have channeled more than $1.5 bil- Moore does not blame the soldiers for any thors of The Privileged Planet: How Our question that Moore was trying to paint the lion to the Bush family. He also attacks the misconduct. He blames the immorality of Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Dis- Republican Party as racially insensitive or president’s father for sitting on the board of their commander-in-chief for breeding im- covery. Contrary to scientific orthodoxy, worse. However, Moore’s criticism fell on the Carlisle Group, at a time when a relative morality among those beneath him. they write, it is not an average planet the Democrat Party as well. Sen. Tom of Osama bin Laden was also a member. Ultimately, Moore concludes that the around an ordinary star in an unre- Daschle and Rep. Dick Gephardt, the leg- With these assertions and a few clips of war in Iraq was not part of the war on markable part of the Milky Way, but is endary political attack dogs of the Left, are Bush senior shaking the hands of men in terrorism. Rather, it is part of a war to exquisitely fit not only to support life, depicted as too bipartisan and unwilling to turbans, Moore basically asserts that the terrorize the lower classes of American so- and also gives us the best view of the challenge the Republicans when it mattered whole Bush family is bought and paid for ciety. Moore maintains that the wealthy universe, as if Earth, and the universe most. Obviously, Moore has a sense of hu- with Arab oil. Holding the Saudis respon- and powerful can only sustain themselves itself, were designed both for life and mor. sible for 9/11, Moore insists that Bush was through fear mongering. He asserts that for scientific discovery. Readers are Once sworn in, Bush is portrayed as an desperate to protect his rich friends and Homeland Security has little to do with taken on a scientific odyssey from a unpopular, do-nothing president. Display- needed a patsy. security and everything to do with keeping history of tectonic plates, the wonders ing partisan protests as representative of In line with his conspiracy theory, the ruling class in power. To illustrate this of water, and solar eclipses, to our lo- the American people, Moore argues that Moore criticizes how the Afghan war was point, Moore shows us his impoverished cation in the Milky Way, the laws that Bush seemed like a lame duck from day administrated. He even goes so far as to hometown of Flint, Mich. The camera pans govern the universe, and the beginning one. He even makes light of Bush’s asser- accuse the president of not taking the con- across rows of dilapidated homes, seeking of cosmic time. Also from Regnery. tion that politicians can lead from outside flict seriously — alleging that Bush and to convey the ruinous results of our war on Washington and tries to describe the presi- company were already busy planning an the poor. • Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of dent as vacationer-in-chief. At this point of attack on Iraq. At the risk of angering millions of the Brain -- and How it Changed the World the film, Moore works in what he perceives From there, Moore brings us an idyllic Deaniacs and Kerry-crats, I disagree with is the story of the exciting discovery of to be Bush’s most embarrassing moments view of Saddam’s regime. He makes the Moore’s poorly warranted conclusions. If how the human brain works. In an ex- from Crawford, Texas. ridiculous claim that before the war, Iraq anything, it is the liberal elite who wish to amination of how the secrets of the We see the president playing golf, work- was never responsible for the death of an utilize an increasingly intrusive federal gov- brain were revealed in 17th-century ing on his ranch, and describing the antics American citizen. He incorrectly informs ernment to create and control a permanent England, author Carl Zimmer tells a of their family dog. An elitist, Moore pokes us that no weapons of mass destruction underclass. tale that unfurls against a deadly back- fun at Bush for taking pleasure in the sim- were found. Moore even shows us children However, ideologies aside, Moore’s sin- drop of civil war, plague, and the Great pler things of life. Moore’s mockery of Bush at play — never mind that they are in a cerity toward the poor of Flint may only be Fire of London. At the beginning of is nothing more than a mockery of middle- ghetto. Never mind the mass graves and demonstrated through personal generos- that turbulent century, no one knew class Americans. Our lifestyle must seem torture chambers that the film neglects to ity. If the ridiculously wealthy director truly how the brain worked or even what it boring and insignificant to Michael “Mil- reveal. Instead, Moore shows us the de- wishes to make a difference, let him surren- looked like intact. By the century’s lionaire” Moore. struction caused by the Iraq war. We see der his millions to the cause of resurrecting close, the science of the brain had taken Having dredged up practically every ravaged bodies. We see homes torn asun- Flint and the American poor. His profits root, helping to overturn many of the conceivable partisan dispute from the 2000 der. We see mourning relatives crying out from Fahrenheit 9/11 alone would be a sig- most common misconceptions and election, Moore proceeds to the central the- to Allah. No one may deny the devastation nificant contribution. CJ dominant philosophies about man, sis of his “documentary.” Hollywood’s of warfare—but no one should obscure the God, and the universe — as the very heaviest heavyweight lays out the proposi- horrors of tyranny. seat of the human soul. Details at tion that Bush used 9/11 to manipulate In passing, Moore derides Bush’s “coa- John Plecnik is a law student at Duke Univer- www.simonsays.com. CJ America into war with Iraq. lition of the willing” as a pack of defenseless sity. August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Learning Curve 19

Book Review World on Fire: Government Fails to Protect Scapegoats of Society

• Amy Chua: World on Fire; Doubleday; of the political restraints that had previ- become wealthier than most of their coun- 2003; 294pp.; $14 (paperback) ously held outbreaks of racist envy in check. trymen and thereby make themselves tar- How to deal with that problem is a question gets for violence by those who resent their By GEORGE C. LEEF she leaves unexplored, but free-market op- success. Increases in political and economic Contributing Editor ponents will say that nations should keep freedom don’t necessarily have anything to RALEIGH democracy and forget about capitalism to do with envy-based violence. he list of complaints against laissez- avoid the violence that inequality brings. A third difficulty with Chua’s thesis is faire capitalism is very long, includ- I do not find Chua’s thesis convincing that she attributes ethnic violence to hatred T ing such contradictory notions as and certainly do not agree that the way to engendered by economic success of a mi- that it is guilty of impoverishing the masses avoid outbreaks of racially driven violence nority group without pausing to consider and that it enables the poor to escape from against those who prosper the most under that the violence may have its roots in simple their “proper” station in life. In her book capitalism is to maintain socialism. racism. There was, after all, violence against World on Fire, Amy Chua adds to the list, the Chinese in the United States in the late- arguing that capitalism, when combined Two weaknesses in Chua’s thesis 19th century that cannot be said to have been with democratization in economically de- caused by their “market dominance.” Vio- veloping nations, has the terrible effect of First, her supporting examples do not lence against Jews in Russia has a long producing violence. The reason for the vio- really provide much support for her con- history, but it is better explained by reli- lence is that “market-dominant” minorities tention that the combination of laissez-faire gious differences than economic success. will amass wealth far in excess of that of the economic policy and political liberalization Finally, remember that in journalism, majority population group or groups and are such an incendiary mix. That is because bad news sells. Chua is so eager to create an thereby unleash resentment against their the world is virtually bereft of instances of issue with the alleged danger of “free mar- success. The result, she writes, can be “cata- significant reforms in both directions. Chua ket democracy” that she says nothing about strophic.” continually writes about nations that have the upside of freedom. As Adam Smith adopted “free-market democracy,” but the wrote, man is never so innocently engaged Does government policy win? cases she cites involve no more than small as when he is making money. What capital- indigenous population generally. Tragi- steps in those directions, especially toward ism does is to liberate all people from state- Understand that Chua is not advocat- cally, that wealth disparity has been seized capitalism. For instance, she notes the eth- imposed restraints and eventually prosper- ing socialist economic controls — she forth- upon by demagogues who are eager to nic violence in Zimbabwe, but that pitiable ity spreads to nearly everyone. rightly states that “market capitalism is the exploit the envy of their less-successful coun- nation remains a state with little freedom of Nothing does more to reduce violence most efficient economic system the world trymen. Consequently, many Filipinos have any kind. and many other social ills than the rising has ever known”—but her book may be come to believe that violent “retaliation” Second, it is easy to find instances of the standards of living that capitalism alone read by opponents of the free market as against Chinese “exploiters” is justified. sort of violence against the economically makes possible. What a tragedy it would be proving that government policy should be Chua points to many examples around the successful occurring without either of if nations were to forego the tremendous used aggressively to redistribute wealth in world of the phenomenon of majority ha- Chua’s two conditions being met. She cites long-run benefits of capitalism out of fear order to avoid the kind of violence she tred directed against “outsiders” who, by Jews in Russia as a case in support of her that there might be violence in the short-run describes. For that reason, it is worth exam- virtue of their superior business acumen, argument, and while it’s true that Russia against those who take advantage of busi- ining World on Fire to see whether Chua become conspicuously wealthy. has moved somewhat in the direction of ness opportunities the earliest. makes her case, and if so, what conclusions The author’s contention is that envy- political and economic freedom over the All that World on Fire proves in the end logically follow. driven violence against “market-dominant” last decade or so, there was a great deal of is that governments cannot be depended Chua, who is a professor at Yale Law minorities is apt to occur when a nation violence against Jews by majority Russians upon to prevent violence against people School, begins with a painful personal ex- moves from political authoritarianism to for centuries under the autocratic rule of the who have been, for whatever reason, de- perience. Her aunt was brutally murdered democracy at the same time it moves from Czars. monized by others. That’s nothing new. CJ in the Philippines, a victim of anti-Chinese a centrally planned or highly regulated The fact of the matter is that even under violence. In the Philippines, as in many economy to capitalism. That combination highly authoritarian regimes, some people other nations, ethnic Chinese have been of changes, she says, leads to rapid accumu- — whether they are from a “market-domi- George C. Leef is executive director of the Pope more economically successful than has the lation of wealth for a few, but the breaking nant” minority or not — figure out how to Center for Higher Education Policy. Book Review Hayek’s Challenge: Mandatory Reading for Students of Hayek

• Bruce Caldwell: Hayek’s Challenge: An In- itself challenging. acterized as “Hayekian”: tion of their circumstances as an explana- tellectual Biography of F.A. Hayek; University The first section of the the dispersion of knowl- tion for their actions.) Instead, Hayek of Chicago Press; 2004; 489 pp; $55 book examines Hayek’s edge, the evolution of wanted to refute materialist reductionists intellectual forebears, be- spontaneous social or- and behaviorists on scientific grounds. BY GEORGE C. LEEF ginning with Austrian ders, and the limits of hu- Therefore, he came to emphasize the dis- Contributing Editor School founder Carl man reason. tinction between simple and complex phe- RALEIGH Menger. Caldwell’s con- Caldwell consis- nomena, rather than that between human ruce Caldwell notes that “chal- cise, informative histori- tently succeeds in high- actions and mechanical occurrences. lenge” describes the career of Aus cal survey is a wonderful lighting one or two key It is true that Hayek shifted his empha- B trian economist F. A. Hayek in sev- bonus in a book focused ideas essential to a par- sis. But I dispute two aspects of Caldwell’s eral senses. Hayek frequently challenged on Hayek. ticular stage in Hayek’s account. Firstly, while I agree that prevailing ideas. He opposed economic In the next section, journey. “Scientism” did not represent a hermeneu- planning when its popularity was at its ze- “Hayek’s Journey,” we The final section of tic turn for Hayek, that is because Austrian nith. He rejected the theories of John find our protagonist in the book surveys the jour- thought generally has followed a broadly Maynard Keynes even as the vast majority Vienna, in the 1920s. ney from an aerial per- hermeneutic approach, so that we find of economists and policy makers enthusi- Hayek, just out of gradu- spective, both summariz- Hayek emphasizing meaning well before astically embraced them. He asserted that ate school, was under the ing Hayek’s achieve- “Scientism.” Secondly, if it is true that mean- the social sciences need not ape the meth- tutelage of Ludwig von ments and examining ing is essential to comprehending human ods of the physical sciences, at a time when Mises, whose writings what basis they might action, then there is nothing “scientific” any other approach was considered “unsci- had converted Hayek from socialism. offer for further research. about discounting its importance. entific.” In the 1930s, Hayek moved to the Lon- Already, others have built on his legacy. Caldwell also disapproves of Mises’s Furthermore, Hayek delved into eco- don School of Economics, where he had a Contemporary theorists in cognitive sci- contention that economics is, at its core, an nomics, history, psychology, law, politics, profound influence on noted economist ence often have proceeded along Hayekian a priori discipline, based on insight into and philosophy, leaving those less intellec- Lionel Robbins. He and Mises were at the lines. Hayek’s work on complexity and universal principles that underlie all action. tually nimble breathless. Since he was al- forefront of what became known as “the spontaneous order anticipated the contem- However, in several other passages he as- ways willing to re-consider his earlier ideas, socialist calculation debate.” While devel- porary surge of interest in such topics by serts the primacy of “basic economic rea- it is often hard to pin down just what he oping their arguments against socialism, decades. soning” in the subject. But it was never clear thought on some topic. And many of the they became aware of fundamental differ- In a few places I disagree with to me how Caldwell’s notion differs signifi- thinkers offering diverse explanations of ences between their Austrian approach and Caldwell’s interpretations. For instance, he cantly from Mises’s. Is it just that it doesn’t what Hayek was really getting at do not the emerging neoclassical mainstream. disputes the common notion that Hayek’s contain the offensive term a priori? make matters easier. In fact, Caldwell says That dawning awareness opened new paper “Scientism and the Study of Society” Despite such quibbles, I highly recom- the “secret title” of his book is Caldwell’s vistas to Hayek. Beginning with his 1937 marked a “hermeneutic turn” in his theo- mend Caldwell’s book. Indeed, I believe it Challenge. Nevertheless, he has created a paper, “Economics and Knowledge,” he rizing. (The hermeneutic approach to social is mandatory reading for anyone attempt- masterful work: thorough, engaging, and began to explore the themes typically char- science focuses on people’s own interpreta- ing to seriously engage Hayek’s work. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 20 Opinion JOURNAL

N.C. Again Fails To Manage Roads

t’s not exactly a secret that North Carolina does a poor job of managing its road system. What is I rare, though, is for two news stories in a few days in late June to illustrate the state’s road policy short- comings. On June 25, The Charlotte Observer reported that the N.C. Department of Transportation would spend $10 million to repave portions of Interstates 77, 85, and 277 in Mecklenburg County. The move comes as a surprise. It’s not that the highways don’t need the work. I-77 in south Charlotte, for example, is developing long, deep, cracks as the road slowly pulls apart along the seam where an extra lane was added in 1996. The shocking aspect rather is that the work will happen this soon. Did the state suddenly Michael decide that keeping some of Lowrey its most traveled highways in decent condition was a top priority? Er, no. Rather, it seems that the federal government gave North Carolina money to repair key roads. The NCDOT wanted to use the money in other parts of the state. The grant, however, requires Editorials lature. Now there are so many nonprofits performing that the state award contracts by Oct. 1, which the governmental duties that the legislature has lost track of NCDOT wasn’t sure it could do. State highway engi- them and the revenue they spend. The best guess anyone neer Benton Payne suggested that rather than lose the has come up with is $750 million a year. Only recently has money, the NCDOT should spend it in Charlotte. SILENT REVOLUTION the State Auditor’s Office attempted to monitor nonprofit Payne, the chief engineer for the highway division spending by requiring them to file periodic reports. Still, that includes Charlotte, is sure he can get the con- N.C.’s republican government in jeopardy many of the nonprofits have specious duties to perform, tracts let by the Oct. 1 deadline. and they operate outside public scrutiny. A couple of the Were it not for the use-it-or-lose-it federal money, high-profile nonprofits are the Golden LEAF Foundation the interstates would not have been repaved for silent revolution is being waged in North Caro- and the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, both of several more years. The federal road dollars are not a lina. It’s a revolution in which the state’s republi- which administer hundreds of millions of public dollars bonanza for the Charlotte area, though. State rules A can form of government, based upon the state and which bow to the direct influence of Easley and Senate require that the $10 million be subtracted from future Constitution, is being gradually dismantled in favor of Pro Tem Marc Basnight. road spending in the area, regardless of actual needs. more centralized and bureaucratic government. The take- • Redistricting In Raleigh, meanwhile, the General Assembly is over of power is being led by the people’s own onetime For about three seemingly endless years the General considering a bill to alter how the state funds certain representatives — the General Assembly and the governor. Assembly, long under the control of the Democratic Party, road projects. Unfortunately, the proposed changes At least five events over the past few years demon- struggled to redraw legislative districts. Vote after vote, do nothing to address the funding formulas that strate the scope of the revolution: court battle after court battle, Democrats insisted on draw- allowed some of the state’s most traveled roads to get • Certificates of Participation ing districts that would strengthen their grip on power, into such poor condition or that favor rural areas over About three years ago, the General Assembly approved rather than create districts that would best serve the inter- cities in new-road construction. certificates of participation, which enable the legislature to ests of all voters across the state. The gerrymandered In 1989, the Assembly created the Highway Trust borrow money to finance new projects without a voter districts would have negated any attempts at true repre- Fund and raised gasoline taxes and certain fees to pay referendum, as the state constitution mandates. sentative government. Politicians, in effect, were choosing for its work. The extra money would be used to build The legislature required State Treasurer Richard Moore voters, rather than the other way around. The state judi- seven urban loops, 31 intrastate highways, and pave to create the nonprofit North Carolina Infrastructure Fi- ciary has limited, but not entirely blocked, this activity. dirt roads. The extra taxes end when the road work is nance Corp, which would be owner and landlord of three • Easley’s Seizing of Funds done. prisons that needed to be built. The state was able to skirt The governor, under the guise of a budgetary “emer- Under a bill passed by the House on June 29, the voter-approval requirement because technically it is gency,” seized several funds and shifted them to programs work on 30 more road corridors — most interstates the finance corporation taking on the debt, then turning that better suited his own priorities, rather than those and U.S. routes plus certain state highways — could around and allowing the state to use the prisons under a mandated by the legislature. Among the programs were be funded using trust fund dollars. The reason for the lease-purchase agreement. the Highway Trust Fund, which Easley tapped for hun- change? Trust fund money is doled out by purpose Technically, the state might not be the borrower, but dreds of millions of dollars; and tax sharing and reimburse- (urban loop, intrastate road, etc.) to NCDOT’s 14 for all intents and purposes, the only way the finance ments for localities, which Easley also tapped for hundreds divisions based upon a set funding formula. At least corporation could obtain its funding was because the state of millions of dollars. four divisions can’t spend all the money they’re in is obligated to make the lease-purchase payments. • Centralizing Technology Policy line to get. Some of the projects on the original trust Former Deputy State Treasurer Charles Heatherly said State Budget Director David McCoy recommended fund list are on hold pending the approval of envi- at the time, “I don’t think it’s legal. If this is legal, then we that the state panel that oversees technology policy be ronmental permits and the like, leaving little work can just borrow money for everything.” downsized and its powers reduced. McCoy also wanted that can actually be paid for with the trust fund Sure enough, Heatherly’s prophesy came true. First, technology policy to be “centralized” — in other words, dollars. Gov. Mike Easley signed a state budget that provided for controlled more directly by the Easley administration. In some cases, the divisions have run out of certificates of deposits worth $234 million to build three Previously, the Information Resources Management things to do with the money. There are apparently prisons. Commission’s 23 memberscomprised many of the state’s almost no more dirt roads left in Catawba County, for Similar arrangements will allow the state to finance: top elected and agency officials. Some members are ap- example, that need to be paved. two prisons that were previously run by a private com- pointed by the governor, the House, and the leader of the The bill won’t change the allocation of funds pany; preliminary work on three juvenile facilities ($6.8 Senate. They exercised oversight of the state’s strategic between divisions. It does requires that priority be million); a new state psychiatric hospital ($110 million); information technology planning and management. McCoy given to the original projects. funding for renovation and repairs to state property ($300 wanted IRMC’s role to be reduced to an advisory one. The Even leaving aside the issue of the implicit tax million); and a “Structural Pest Control Training Facility” problem with McCoy’s plans was that a chief information increase, the proposed changes to the Highway Trust at North Carolina State University ($310,000). officer would wield unprecedented authority, and possi- Fund widely miss the mark. North Carolina’s funda- Clearly demonstrating the undisciplined spending bly operate as a “czar,” as state Revenue Secretary Norris mental problem is that it doesn’t effectively prioritize habits of legislators when they get their hands on new Tolson said. That position is filled with Easley appointee its road needs. Money isn’t being spent where it will sources of revenue, the Assembly, in its summertime short George Bakolia. Apparently, under McCoy’s plan, many of do the most good. To do so means you have to session, approved $468 million for land purchases and the IT decisions that are now made in a public forum will compare projects of different types across different major construction projects, including a long-sought $180 be made away from public scrutiny, IRMC members said in parts of the state. It might mean repairing existing million cancer hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill. a scathing response. roads instead of building new ones. Until such funda- • Proliferation of State-Funded Nonprofits In retreat for several years now, North Carolina’s citi- mental changes are made, North Carolina drivers Over the years the General Assembly has created or zens need to retake the reins of state government. They will continue to suffer needlessly. CJ funded hundreds of nonprofit organizations that perform should demand future legislation to restore checks, bal- duties that once were under the responsibility of the legis- ances, sunshine, and political reforms. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Opinion 21

ing to silence independent organizations that purchase advertising during election cycles to inform voters about CONGRATULATIONS! legislative records. Self-styled campaign-finance reform- Epicurean Epithets ers immediately praised lawmakers for enacting a major Session ends with mutual back-slapping piece of legislation, one surely deserving of serious debate, without any substantial review or discussion. Now that’s and Propaganda he 2003-04 session of the General Assembly ended good government! in mid-July with a self-congratulatory round of Somehow, it seems that the doors of the inside-the- re you an epicurean? The answer reveals Tback-patting and what amounted to an open meet- Beltline chapter of the North Carolina Mutual Admiration something about you, something about the ing of the inside-the-Beltline chapter of the North Caro- Society will be forever closed to us. A English language, and something about the lina Mutual Admiration Society. power of propaganda. As we move through this elec- House Speaker Jim Black sounded a major theme of tion year of highly polarized politics and obstreper- the post-adjournment afterglow when he told the Associ- ous outbursts of invective against state and national ated Press that his alliance with Republican Co-Speaker leaders, it is worthwhile to consider how important Richard Morgan had proven to be a productive one. WRONG REASON it often can be to frame the terms of debate—whether “Everybody predicted chaos and thought it was go- the issue is war, crime, taxation, or transportation. ing to be the end of the world,” he said, but in fact his two- Legislators accidently get tax change right For Epicurus, the famous Greek sage and teacher year coalition in the North Carolina House of Representa- of the Hellenistic Age, the issue was how to live a tives “began in terrible fashion and ended up with a good good and contented life. Reacting to the turbulent result.” Perhaps reflecting the zeitgeist of the times, what he main legislation enacted by the North Carolina times within the Greek world after the death of with the Kedwards presidential hugfest and all that, Mor- General Assembly during its 2004 short session was Alexander, and to what he considered to be the gan described the partnership this way: “I could look in Tgrossly irresponsible: a massive increase in state wrongheaded and unfounded teachings of Platonists Jim Black’s eyes and trust him. He knew he could look in spending, much of it funded with temporary revenues, and and Aristotelians, Epicurus developed both a natu- my eyes to trust me.” another bond issuance of nearly $500 million that will ob- ral philosophy that grappled with issues of existence Meanwhile, over in the other chamber, Senate leader ligate future taxpayers without honoring their traditional and cosmology as well as Marc Basnight celebrated the legislature’s fiscal right to vote on public debts. an ethical philosophy that decisionmaking in his traditionally scholarly way, by plac- As the details continue to emerge from the legislature’s taught his followers how ing it within a venerable tradition. disastrous final weekend of fiscal binging, their poor fis- to find contentment in the “North Carolina’s history is enriched by these kinds cal choices become even more evident. midst of worldly strife of developments,” Basnight said, “where we have invested For example, in the waning hours of the session the and disorder. the public’s money for the good of the public.” He regret- General Assembly doubled the taxpayer subsidy for a new The main lesson of ted only that a half-billion-dollar package of new state debt motorsports test track, to $4 million, and stuffed yet an- Epircureanism was that had not occurred in 2003, so that even more jobs would other $1.6 million into the Global TransPark in Kinston, human beings need not have been created and lives saved. We’re not kidding about which after squandering tens of millions of tax dollars over be unhappy. There was no that last part, as Basnight appeared to be referring to new the past dozen years now promises that it will come up need to fear the gods, be- John Hood medical buildings at East Carolina University and UNC- with a true business plan to develop private-sector fund- cause they were found in Chapel Hill. ing. Not exactly what we’d call reasonable spending pri- a perfect higher plane of existence and did not inter- orities. fere with human affairs. There was no need to fear A quick recap One fiscal item that didn’t get much public attention, death, because it is no more than the cessation of life but ended up in the compromise, had to do with the appli- and thus could not be experienced in pain or regret. Here’s what actually happened during the session: cation of sales tax to manufacturing businesses. North And far from being beyond their grasp, human be- • Lawmakers approved an adjustment to the state’s Carolina had previously offered sales-tax exemptions on ings could find contentment fairly easily. It did not biennial budget that brought the General Fund spending building materials and supplies to companies that invest lie in material wealth or sensual pleasures, Epicurus total for 2004-05 to nearly $16 billion, an increase of well nearly $100 million in plant and equipment in such indus- taught, but in contemplation, friendship, benevo- over $1 billion, or nearly 8 percent, above the 2003-04 bud- tries as pharmaceuticals and bioprocessing. The 2004 pro- lence, and self-control. get. posal was to extend this tax treatment to manufacturers of It did not take long for Epicurus and his school Almost all of this massive spending increase was fi- computers, semiconductors, automobiles, and aircraft. to make powerful enemies. Rival philosophical nanced with onetime revenues, including trust-fund raids It passed along with the rest of the 2004-05 state bud- schools and nervous government officials scorned the and “temporary” taxes. So when the newly elected Gen- get. It was widely believed among state lawmakers that teacher’s reclusive ways and subversive ideas. For eral Assembly convenes in 2005, it will face another large the provision was designed to make a Triad manufactur- example, Epicurus took the radical step of inviting budget gap between anticipated revenues and desired ing site more attractive to Dell Computers and more gen- women and slaves into his company, which shocked spending unless the economy generates about $1.5 billion erally to serve as an additional incentive for potential cor- the larger society. Surely there was something nefari- in revenue growth (a billion to cover existing obligations porate relocations. Thus, one might expect the usual con- ous going on, his critics said, and they spread un- and other half-billion or so to cover enrollment growth and flict over the role of business subsidies and incentives in founded rumors about the Epicureans’ atheism, de- other routine expansion items). North Carolina’s economic-development policy—and bauchery, and excess. In actuality, Epicurus urged his In short, next year lawmakers will probably be dip- you’d be right, in that some of the same arguments were followers not to consume strong drink, not to value ping into your wallet, again. trotted out for this new tax policy. fine clothes or great feasts, and to practice sexual Don’t believe us? Asked about the situation by David modesty. But the rumors grew into extended philo- Rice of The Winston-Salem Journal, Black was noncommit- Sales taxes and business purchases sophical and religious arguments, and then into anti- tal: “we’ll see where we are.” Epicurus propaganda in the following centuries. Basnight, feeling more comfy in his political sinecure Only they needn’t have been. This is an example of It worked. Let’s go back to my initial question. in the Senate, let the truth slip. “Cigarette taxes and alco- politicians doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Are you an epicurean? The name of Epicurus sur- hol taxes are taxes that other states successfully use,” he Indeed, one suspects that many didn’t even realize why vived into the Latin and Germanic languages, and said. “They could be replacements. You definitely have to the tax-law change was a good one. To put it simply, retail eventually into English in the form of this term. But consider it.” sales tax should never have been imposed on business pur- its primary definition bears a meaning that is wholly Yes. This fall, non-Puritan voters just might want to chases in the first place. By definition, they are not retail opposite to what he taught. Used as a noun, as either consider it. purchases. “epicurean” or “epicure,” it means “a person devoted •The state budget included the $50 million Gov. Mike This is not a semantic distinction. The problem with to sensuous pleasure.” Used as an adjective, it means Easley requested to reduce class sizes in the third grade, sales taxes applied to business inputs is that they create a “devoted to pleasure” or “furnishing gratification of even though everyone involved knows that public-school “cascading” effect down the line. That is, if businesses pay the senses.” But for Epicurus, pleasure was about districts won’t have the space or the personnel to imple- sales tax on what they use to produce a good, and then avoiding painful ideas and resisting wanton lusts and ment this dictate next year, and everyone should know that consumers pay sales tax on the finished good, a portion of worldly temptations. Unfortunately, the propagan- there’s little evidence the move will enhance student the purchase price is covering the previous layer of taxa- dists transformed his very name into something he achievement (class-size reductions of this magnitude don’t tion. would view as an epithet. typically show even modest correlations with test scores, This violates three key principles of tax policy: sim- Never, never let someone suggest that language and the best evidence suggests that reductions don’t offer plicity, or transparency, because consumers don’t really doesn’t matter, that words cannot do harm, that they much benefit beyond kindergarten or first grade). know the full tax imposed on their purchase; neutrality, are “just words.” Politics is replete with “facts” that • The aforementioned $468 million bond package for because the cascade effect creates an artificial incentive for are not so, but that frame the debate on consequen- UNC buildings and other projects will add to the problem producers to integrate their operations to avoid outside tial matters, such as the idea that Franklin Roosevelt’s of North Carolina’s rapidly rising debt load, which has al- (taxable) purchases; and equity, or proportionality, because New Deal brought the country out of recession and ready played a key role in the tax increases of the past three the taxes consumers pay no longer have any rational con- saved capitalism. Wrong and wrong. years. nection with the benefits they receive from governmental Repeat errors or lies often enough and they be- This isn’t just a financial issue. It’s a trust issue. Past services. come “true” in the minds of future generations. That bond issues were sold to voters in statewide referenda as If they truly wanted a rational and pro-growth tax is why it is so important to confront them, repeat- not requiring higher taxes, even though they certainly did. policy, North Carolina policymakers would eliminate all edly, from the very beginning. Oh, and don’t try to This time, the political class isn’t even bothering to ask the business purchases from the retail sales tax, regardless of look up Epicurean.com on the Internet to find out voters’ opinion about it, or bothering to explain why such the type of business or the extent of its investment in the more about his philosophy. The site is an “online valuable projects—supposedly attracting millions of dol- state. Perhaps we’ll get there eventually—but not if law- magazine for food and wine lovers.” CJ lars a year in grants and billings and thus creating jobs – makers fail to realize why what they are doing is worth couldn’t sustain themselves without dipping in taxpayer praise. funds. Perhaps they haven’t been thinking much about why Hood is publisher of Carolina Journal and a syndicated • At the last minute, incumbents of both parties sought fiscal conservatives might be happy with their work, since newspaper columnist. to protect themselves further from competition by attempt- it happens so rarely. CJ August 2004 C A R O L I N A 22 Opinion JOURNAL

Editorial Briefs

Social Security, Medicare burden to grow

The 2004 annual reports for Social Security and Medicare examine the short- and long-term health of the programs, and highlight the financial burdens they will create for future generations. If not reformed in a timely and responsible way, Social Security and Medicare will consume an increasing portion of work- ers’ incomes or the government must break its prom- ises to future retirees, says senior policy analyst Matt Moore of the National Center for Policy Analysis. According to the Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ “intermediate” forecast, when today’s col- lege students reach retirement age in 2050, their chil- dren and grandchildren will face a payroll tax rate of 17 percent just to pay Social Security benefits — a 37 percent increase over today’s rate. When Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) is included, the payroll tax burden will have to rise to 24.9 percent. If the federal and state governments’ shares of Medicare Part B (supplementary medical insurance) and Part D (the newly-enacted Medicare prescription drug benefit) are added to Social Secu- rity and Medicare Part A, the burden on workers will climb to 34.9 percent by 2050. When other government-funded health-care ex- penses are added, the total burden will reach 39.17 percent by mid-century.

Fair-trade product pricing

Retailers promote “fair trade” by selling goods such as a coffee and bananas at a price higher than the world price, then donating the extra cash back to the growers in developing countries. However, this seem- ingly altruistic move may benefit retailers more than growers, as they freely increase prices to offset the North Carolina Gets a D on Small-Claims Court costs of providing goods at so-called fair-trade prices. The British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s sells fair-trade bananas at four times above the world price By GEORGE C. LEEF put badly to shame by Georgia and Tennessee, ranked as and 16 times what growers receive. Contributing Editor the best and sixth-best respectively by HALT. On the other In one case, Borders Book Store Café in New York RALEIGH hand, North Carolina’s small-claims court rating is just City sells fair-trade coffee for $16 per pound (the price n May, the national legal reform organization HALT slightly worse than Alabama’s and a bit better than of Borders’ regular coffee is $12 per pound), but released a “report card” on the states, rating each one’s Louisiana’s. growers receive only $1.41 per pound. I small-claims court system. Unfortunately, North Caro- To further complicate the issue, labeling and word- lina had the eighth lowest score of all, earning a D. Legislature should raise cap on claims ing creates confusion for consumers. In one case, Small claims court is the alternative to the regular Allegro (the coffee unit of Whole Foods Market) pro- system of civil justice. The crucial difference is that in small- What could the General Assembly do to make North moted a program to donate 5 percent of sales from claims court, the litigants represent them- Carolina more friendly toward small-claims selected coffees back to growers. What they didn’t tell selves, thus avoiding the high cost of repre- court? The biggest thing would be to raise consumers, though, was that the 5 percent was a sentation by a lawyer. Often, the availabil- the cap on the dollar amount. As HALT’s portion of a lower price between Allegro and Whole ity of small-claims court makes the differ- Senior Counsel Thomas Gordon said, “A Foods, not the retail price paid by consumers. ence between being able to obtain justice $4,000 limit on small claims leaves many Critics of inflated prices are reluctant to criticize and merely having to swallow a loss caused people stuck in a legal no-man’s land with retailers, for fear they will stop carrying fair-trade by another person or company. a dispute that is too large for small claims goods. court, yet not large enough to hire an attor- Some stores, however, are taking a hit in order to Damages too much or too little ney.” avoid the reputation of using fair-trade goods as an In Georgia, the claims limit is $15,000, excuse to excessively raise prices. Wild Oats Natural Suppose, for example, that a family con- allowing far more people to use these courts. Marketplace stores, based in Boulder, Colo., is pricing tracts with a roofing company for a new HALT advocates that all states go to $20,000. fair-trade organic bananas at the same price as regular roof on its home. The firm replaces the old In Alaska, the cap was just raised from organic bananas, and fair trade coffee at $9.99 per roof with new shingles and the family pays $7,500 to $10,000. What is North Carolina pound, the same price as regular organic coffee. $6,000 for the job. But the next time there is doing? The cap of $4,000 has been in place George Leef Reported in the Wall Street Journal. a heavy rain, the new roof leaks badly. since 1999, when it was increased by $1,000. When the family complains, the roofer re- Last year, a bill passed in the Senate (SB 577) Farm bill provides corporate welfare fuses to do anything to remedy the problems. The home- that included an increase in the limit to $5,000, but that bill owner might think about suing the contractor. In North has lain in the doldrums in the House. America’s farm subsidies, originally intended as Carolina, however, the limit in small-claims court is $4,000. The sponsor of SB 577, Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, D- a safety net for small farms, have been transformed If he pursues his claim there, he automatically drops $2,000 Charlotte, said the problem in the House isn’t over the into America’s largest corporate welfare program, of his loss. He could go into the regular court system, but increase in the small claims court limit and thinks the bill says a report by the Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foun- there the procedures are more complicated and hiring a may pass this year. He also thinks, however, that more dation. lawyer is, even though not legally required, a virtual neces- substantial increases in the limit would run into stiff oppo- According to a recent U.S. Department of Agri- sity. The trouble is that a lawyer will charge a substantial sition from district court judges and clerks. They tend to see culture report, farm households — the recipients of fee to take the case and probably insist on a good chunk of small-claims courts as competitors. 2002’s $180 billion farm bill — have higher incomes, money up front. Trying to recover the $6,000 might mean When it comes to the administration of justice, the state greater wealth, and lower consumption expenditures legal bills of half that amount. has a near monopoly. Except in instances where people than all U.S. households. Worse still, eligibility for Cases like that are ideal for small-claims court and it’s have agreed to arbitrate a dispute, they need to be able to farm subsidies is determined not by income or pov- too bad that North Carolina hasn’t done more to make that use the court system. Small-claims court is the option erty standards, but by the type and size of the crop. option available and user-friendly. individuals must have in cases where the extent of their The top 10 percent of recipients receive 65 percent HALT’s analysis is based on six factors: the dollar limit loss is too large to simply forget about, but too small to of farm subsidy benefits, while the bottom 80 percent on claims, the extent to which the system has advisors to warrant the expense of hiring a lawyer. receive 19 percent. help people navigate it, convenience (such as evening and In the interest of bringing justice within reach of more Riedl advises that for the benefit of consumers weekend sessions), availability of mediation, assistance to North Carolinians, the state should take steps to make our and of small farms, all subsidies should be phased out winning parties in collecting judgments, and whether judges small-claims court system more accessible and user- and replaced with a crop insurance program. This can use remedies other than money damages, such as friendly. CJ way, farmers will be protected from short-term risks injunctions. On the first two criteria, which count for 60 of farming such as bad weather — the prime motiva- percent of the grade, North Carolina earned Ds. On the last tion for government aid in the first place. CJ four, the state got Fs. George C. Leef is the executive director of the John William Pope Among other states in the southeast, North Carolina is Center for Higher Education Policy. August 2004 C A R O L I N A JOURNAL Opinion 23

No can do in Canada Swallowing a Bitter Lesson on the Price of Prescription Drugs

By MICHAEL L. WALDEN use to sell the same ticket to different customer groups, like Just have the U.S. government tell drug companies Contributing Editor business travelers and vacation travelers, at different prices. their prices can’t go above a certain level, or have the RALEIGH The goal of market segmentation is to increase profits government regulate how much drug prices can increase in rescription drug prices have become a major issue for the seller by dividing buyers into distinctive groups and any year. Problem solved! for many elderly households. Since selling to each group at different prices. One of the common But there could be a “bitter after-taste” to this solution. P 1990, prescription drug prices have risen twice as characteristics for classifying buyers is income. Higher- Developing, testing, and ultimately receiving governmen- fast as all other consumer prices. income consumers are willing to pay more tal approval to market new drugs is a long and costly Is there a solution available from our and so will be charged more than lower- process, taking up to 12 years and $800 million. And once northern neighbor, Canada? Prescription drug income buyers. development of a new drug is begun, there’s no assurance prices, and prices of all medical services, are And guess what? Canadian households the company will make a dime from its efforts. The prob- controlled by the Canadian government and are poorer, on average, than U.S. households. lem with government control of prescription drug prices is are significantly lower than drug prices in the Therefore, U.S. drug companies have decided politicians would have an incentive to keep the prices low. United States. Some see the answer to high it’s in their interest to charge American buy- And the problem with this is, it might “kill the goose that drug prices as allowing legal purchases by ers more and Canadian buyers less for pre- lays the golden eggs.” If drug companies can’t charge U.S. consumers of drugs from Canada. scription drugs. Of course, this works only as prices high enough to recover their costs and give them an long as the U.S. and Canadian markets are acceptable profit, they may stop developing new drugs. Pricing strategies kept legally separate. So is there any hope for arresting the rise in prescrip- Then what would happen if there were tion drug prices? Actually there is. Developers of drugs are Buying prescription drugs from Canada no legal restrictions barring Americans from given a patent lasting 12 to 14 years, during which the seems like a simple solution, but there are two purchasing Canadian drugs and the Cana- developer is the exclusive seller. But once the patent ex- big problems with it. First, the Canadian mar- Michael L. Walden dian and U.S. markets were combined? Cana- pires, competing generic prescription drugs can be sold. ket couldn’t handle the demand. The Cana- dian drug prices would rise, and U.S. drug And the good news is, once generic alternatives are avail- dian pharmaceutical market is less than one-tenth the size prices would fall. But because the U.S. market is so much able, studies show the price can fall by as much as 90 of the U.S. market. There aren’t enough prescription drugs larger, the new price would be much closer to the old U.S. percent. in Canada to supply U.S. buyers. price and savings to U.S. buyers would be small, perhaps Easy answers to economic issues are often misleading. Second, legally allowing prescription drug purchases as low as 1 percent. A good case in point is the bandwagon touting the pur- from Canada would effectively merge the Canadian and chase of prescription drugs from Canada. CJ U.S. markets, and as a result, the price differences would Protecting the Golden Goose end. Here’s why. Many economists think U.S. drug compa- “Aha”, you may be thinking, if buying prescription Michael Walden is a William Neal Reynolds distinguished pro- nies price prescription drugs differently for the Canadian drugs from Canada isn’t the answer, then maybe the an- fessor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Econom- and U.S. markets using a common business technique swer is to imitate the Canadians in another way — control- ics at North Carolina State University and an adjunct scholar called market segmentation. It’s the same method airlines ling prescription drug prices. with the John Locke Foundation.

Farewell to President Reagan, a Unique, Great American Leader

By MARC ROTTERMAN into a small studio to practice for the debates. I was one of their course, grow strong in their own convictions and ask Contributing Editor a handful of fortunate young men and women who can be for divine guidance to help them in life’s journey. These RALEIGH best described as utility ball players. We faxed press re- men set the very best and most positives examples that we t’s been over a month since the passing of Ronald leases, ran errands, helped with advance, clipped newspa- can point our young people to emulate — and we are lucky Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. pers, and shuttled the senior campaign staff to and from the to have had them be a part of our history as a nation. Some Clearly, President Reagan was one of the giants of the official campaign headquarters in Arlington to the farm. men let adversity cripple them. Ronald Regan did not. Ith 20 century. I remember clearly the time that I met then-Governor When you look back at the chances Reagan took politi- The outpouring of respect from average Americans Reagan. I was assigned to Edwin Meese, who was running cally and professionally, we have to admire his courage. As was not staged. The American public felt an obligation to the election campaign on a daily basis. Reagan had just governor, Reagan defied the 1960s counter-culture on honor this man who was one of the last of come from riding his horse and Meese took California’s university campuses even when his family the greatest generation. the time to introduce me to him. Reagan was threatened with violence. What was it about Ronald Reagan that welcomed me on board and thanked me so makes politicians want to emulate him for “helping out.” Reagan seemed to me A unique individual who meant business and to define themselves as a Reagan con- then and still seems now, 24 years later, as servative? a figure larger than life. The knock on Reagan from his adversaries was that he Since then, I have spent the majority of was an empty suit. Those of us who were around him knew Goodness guided Reagan my adult life helping politicians get elected differently. It was well known within the campaign that he to office. What struck me about President hand-wrote many of his own speeches on a yellow legal As someone who served on his 1980 Reagan was that he seemed to have no ego. pad and that he done that from his days as governor. It is national campaign staff and had the privi- He was completely comfortable in his own also commonly known that from his days as a radio an- lege of being around him for the last three skin and confident in his beliefs. nouncer he wrote his own scripts. From those early scripts months of the presidential race and in the and speeches, we see that Reagan had a core set of beliefs first term of his presidency, I learned the Reagan’s bedrock principles and principles from which he never wavered. He was a secret. It is simply this: President Reagan believer in the American dream and the was one of the most decent men I ever met. We came to under- American people. He believed in limited I was introduced to then Governor Marc Rotterman stand that it was Whether it was deal- government, a low tax rate on businesses Reagan in August 1980 in Middleburg, Va. Reagan’s faith and con- and entrepreneurs, and a strong Ameri- The Reagan-Bush campaign had moved its national head- victions that grounded him as it has many ing with the air traffic can military. quarters from Los Angeles to Arlington, Va. Governor and other great leaders of men and nations. controllers’ strike or the Whether it was dealing with the air Mrs. Reagan were staying at “Wexford” in Middleburg, the These lessons were taught to them by Soviet Union, people traffic controllers’ strike or the Soviet small horse farm that Jackie Kennedy had built. She had one, if not both, loving and supportive Union, people knew that Reagan meant desired to own a small ranch home close to Washington, parents. knew that Reagan business. It is no coincidence the hos- but tragically the Kennedys had stayed there only one For Reagan, he had the benefit of the meant business. tages in Iran were released on the day of weekend, the weekend prior to going to Dallas. moral and biblical teachings of a won- Reagan’s inauguration as president. The Middleburg home was purchased later by a former derful, loving mother. She set a strong As a mentioned earlier in this col- governor of Texas who had loaned it to the Reagans for the example for him and led him to understand that while life umn, many politicians today try to tie themselves to Reagan. duration of the campaign. Reagan, as it is well known, may be full of adversities and challenges, we ourselves can If you look back, at his career, he emulated no one but loved to ride horses and in fact was quite adept as a choose to be successful and not victims of life. Reagan’s himself. horseman. father was by most descriptions a weak man, given to the Modern day conservatives would be well-advised to rages of alcoholism. But Reagan did not let that shape him stand on their own set of core convictions, be their own man Business at the horse farm as an individual. He learned from it. And perhaps it was or woman and stick to their own values and beliefs. Reagan from this part of his life that he developed his great compas- did, and it served our nation, and the world well. CJ During those days at Wexford, a series of meetings sion for and understanding of the human condition. took place, many dealing with economic policy and the Other great leaders, men of great character, such as upcoming campaign debates. Press conferences were some- Gen. Robert E. Lee, had many of the same challenges as Marc Rotterman is a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation times held there and a portion of a barn had been turned youth, but they found the courage and strength to chart and treasurer of the American Conservative Union. August 2004 C A R O L I N A 24 Parting Shot JOURNAL Defeated Edwards Returning to His First Love After loss to President Bush, former VP candidate wants to get back in litigation game with class-action foul ball suit

By PAUL CHESSER Stuckey suf- Long-Suffering Red Sox Reporter fered a fractured November 5, 2004 orbit, cuts on his RALEIGH forehead and right e’s been riding the pine for the American Bar As- inside eye socket, sociation since his political career began in 1998, and permanently Hbut now former Sen. John Edwards is ready to damaged sinuses. come off the bench for a new class-action cause: fans in- In addition, the at- jured at baseball games. tendant made him Ever since a New Jersey appeals court ruled in July pay for the two that fans can sue professional teams for injuries from foul spilled beers that balls, the former vice presidential candidate said he has were tipped by the been “itching” to get back into the litigation game. ball that ricocheted “I was hoping that I could help John Kerry get over off Stuckey’s face. the top in the presidential race,” Edwards said after Presi- “Not only did dent Bush’s victory Tuesday. “But now I’m ready for a new my face get challenge. smashed in,” “I’ve had my eye on this case as ‘Plan B’ all summer.” Stuckey said, “but I Adjusting the brim of his embroidered “No Malprac- paid 13 bucks for tice” cap, Edwards said he will go to bat for thousands of two beers I didn’t fans who are unwittingly struck in the stands by batted even drink.” foul balls during major and minor league games. He said Edwards is he has already reached an agreement with a principle plain- poised to rectify the Kevin Stuckey (left) of Yardley, Pa., was struck in the face by a foul ball while waiting for a vendor to tiff, Kevin Stuckey of Yardley, Pa. indignity suffered fill his beer cups at a Trenton Thunder game. Trial lawyer John Edwards says it’s just great to be back. According to his recollection and several witness ac- by Stuckey and counts, Stuckey sometime last year was standing at an um- thousands of other baseball fans who couldn’t get out of a truck through” the opening made by the New Jersey brella-shaded concession cart while an attendant filled two the way of foul balls. court, blowing up the Stuckey case into class-action suit, 24-ounce cups with Killian’s Irish Red Lager for him. “Anyone who has a story to tell about how foul balls which will put Major League Baseball, individual teams, “I was watching Caonoba Cosme’s at-bat on the TV have harmed them is welcome to join this suit,” Edwards millionaire ballplayers, concessions companies, ballpark monitor while I waited for my beers, when I saw him hit announced. “This is a great opportunity to right a societal architects, and umbrella cart manufacturers on the defense. the ball and it went off the corner of the screen,” Stuckey wrong.” “They are all culpable, and I will make sure John recalled. “The umbrella cart had those hangy-down flaps Edwards said he has been modifying his famous Edwards remembers them all,” said one lawyer who hoped on the edges, which obscured my view of the action on the “heart-wrenching” plea for jurors in the new case, in which to assist the former senator on the case. field. he channels the voices of those who have been injured. Edwards said he won’t stop until justice is served. “The next thing I knew was, ‘Whack,’ something hit He said Kevin Stuckey and similar sufferers deserve “Fans deserve to enjoy the great game of baseball with- me from under the flappy thing. Turns out it was Cosme’s no less. out fear of injury,” Edwards said, “and to drink the beer (expletive)-in’ foul ball.” Those who know Edwards say he will be able to “drive that they pay for.” CJ

Host Tom Campbell Chris Fitzsimon Barry Saunders John Hood

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