Sen. Daniel Newsletter Oct 14 2011

DISTRICT 44

Burke OCTOBER 12, 2011

Caldwell OCTOBER ISSUE #1

Dear Friends, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about our current state economy.

Every chance Gov. Perdue gets she places blame on North Carolina’s 10.4 unemployment rate on the loss of government jobs caused by GOP budget cuts. (Keep in mind that the first Republican drafted budget in 100 years only took effect on July 1, 2011.)

Despite the Governor’s statements, the state Employment Security Commission’s figures do not support her claims. The ESC in its latest report stated there was a net increase of 13,600 government jobs. Gov. Perdue is demonstrating her lack of leadership on the economy and continues to play politics with divisive and untruthful rhetoric.

The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria: Columbus’ three ships that helped discover America on October 12, 1492.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Senator Warren T. Daniel Legislative Office Bldg., Room 411 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Email: warren.daniel@ncleg.net Phone: 919-715-7823 Fax: 919-754-3265 District Office of Sen. Warren Daniel 348 Harper Avenue NW Lenoir, NC 28645 Email: senwarrendaniel@bellsouth.net Phone: 828-754-9335 Fax 828-754-9335 (Please call before faxing) www.facebook.com

** http://bit.ly/SenDaniel (For pictures, more news, resources)

Keeping on the topic of jobs, in our district the current recession feels like a depression. But whether we label this problem a recession or a depression, a double dip or one big dip, the fact remains that people everywhere are hurting financially. A lot hinges on whether you are working or not, whether your children or grandchildren are working or not, and whether or not your business is holding its head above the water. I, along with a majority of the public, do not trust President Obama or Governor Perdue to help the problem because their answer to every economic problem is more government spending. The leaders of the executive branch at the National and State level are not getting the job done, and America and North Carolina are moving backward not forward as job losses mount and businesses close.

Although we are facing difficult economic problems, the fact remains that the fiscal restraint of the Republican leadership in Raleigh has created a $125 million dollar budget surplus for the first three months of the fiscal year. There is no doubt this budget surplus can be attributed to policies approved by the Legislature this year that allowed temporary income and sales tax increases to expire and changed the rules governing how state regulations are created. These changes are giving our small business owners more confidence to grow and expand. I believe that continuing to make state government live within its means will have a lasting positive effect on our business climate, increasing demand for goods and services, and therefore increasing the number of jobs that are available.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about state incentives that are given to attract new business to our state. I have always been against corporate welfare which does nothing to help our small businesses grow in North Carolina. That is not to say that I am opposed to recruiting new business to North Carolina or finding new ways to help existing companies. In fact, there have been several examples this year of companies in our district getting performance grants or building re-use grants to expand their business and add employees. We have seen cases where our local governments have been able to recruit new companies to the area. The economic development leaders of Burke and Caldwell Counties have a great track record of incentive policies.

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GETTING TO KNOW CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Christopher Columbus is believed to have been born between August 25 and October 31, 1451. He hailed from Genoa, Italy and his given name was Cristoforo Colombo. Columbus began a career as a seafarer at the age of fourteen and later supported himself by selling maps and charts.

Columbus first went to King John of Portugal with his idea to find a westward sea passage to Asia, which he believed would be 2,400 miles west of Europe (in fact, 10,000 nautical miles lay between Europe and Asia), but after months of waiting, the answer was “no thank you”. Queen Isabella was the next go-to option and her original response to the idea was that his price was too high, he wanted too many ships, and his conditions upon arriving in Asia were too lofty (he asked for a title, a coat or arms and one tenth of all profits for Spain). It took Queen Isabella six years to agree, yet on August 3, 1492, Columbus's first voyage with the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria began. On October 12, 1492 a sailor on the Pinta shouted "Tierra!" or "Land!” and the Caribbean Islands, South America and Central America were discovered for Europeans. On Christmas Eve, Columbus allowed an experienced boy to steer the Santa Maria, and later that night the ship crashed onto a reef near Hispaniola; only the Nina and Pinta would return to Spain. Even though he made three return trips west, Christopher Columbus never actually stepped foot on the mainland of North America. Columbus died May 20th, 1506 at the age of 54 in Valladolid, Spain of a heart attack caused by reactive arthritis.

Burke

Caldwell

DISTRICT 44

Page 2

OCTOBER 12, 2011

In the most recent case concerning the Continental Tire plant relocating to Brunswick County the issue of incentives gets complicated. One lesser-known fact is that Continental once had its headquarters in Charlotte but left in 2008, laying off hundreds of employees. The state would have had to come up with an incentive package worth as much $87 million, with $45 million cash up front in order to bring the company in our state. It is not clear what recourse the state would have had if Continental fell short of their employment predictions, but I believe there are more responsible ways to recruit companies to North Carolina. The economic development director for Brunswick County said the state needs to reduce the corporate tax rate and blamed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for killing another job development project in our State due to environmental restrictions that are stricter than South Carolina. I imagine that this played a role in Continental’s decision.

There were also some allegations that Continental opted for South Carolina due to apparent conflicts of interest or “crony-capitalism” regarding the land where the facility would be located. Governor Perdue was quoted in media reports as saying, “It doesn’t matter to me what land was selected, as long as 1,300 jobs come to North Carolina.” On the surface, the governor seems concerned about bringing jobs to our state. But upon closer scrutiny, there is cause for concern about the site location for the Continental facility. First, the industrial park is owned partly by a Democratic State Senator and a member of the Golden Leaf Foundation (which is also contributing to the incentive project). Secondly, the lawyer that was contracted by the company to look for land possibilities is the son of the Governor. Not surprisingly, everyone involved is saying that no one would have benefitted from the deal, but it sure doesn’t pass the smell test.

Creating jobs and putting our state on a sound financial footing has been my number one priority since taking office. Did you know that there are 16 automobile manufacturing plants in the southeast and not one in North Carolina? The question we need to be asking ourselves is, “why not?” Appropriating taxpayer funds in a responsible way is critical to ensuring the future economic success of our state. The Governor needs to stop her political sniping at the Republican leadership and work together with the General Assembly to ensure that North Carolina is doing all it can to help existing businesses and to attract new businesses to our state. If the Governor wants to bring jobs to North Carolina, I encourage her to join the General Assembly in our efforts to reduce taxes and regulations on businesses and make North Carolina the economic engine of the southeast that it once was.

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather and the changing leaves. The mountains will soon be on fire with color. Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in the North Carolina General Assembly. Please feel free to contact my office with any questions, comments or concerns.

Sincerely,

Civitas Poll: McCrory Still Leads Perdue; Obama Trails in North Carolina Despite having not yet announced he is running for governor, Republican Pat McCrory leads Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue by nine percent among North Carolina voters. Fortyseven percent of voters said they would vote for McCrory if the election for governor was today and the candidates were McCrory and Perdue. Thirty-eight percent would vote for Perdue and 11 percent said they are undecided.

Unaffiliated voters, the fastest growing voter segment in the state, would vote for McCrory by a 52 percent to 31 percent margin.

McCrory has 49% support of voters in our area (Western Carolina), as well as 49% in the Piedmont Triad and 62% support of Charlotte area voters.

In the swing state of North Carolina, another poll by the Civitas Institute reveals that if the election for President were held today, Democrat Barack Obama would lose to either Republican candidate Mitt Romney or Rick Perry. Romney currently leads as the choice among North Carolina voters as 50 percent said they would vote for him if the election for President of the United States was being held today and the candidates were Mitt Romney the Republican, and Barack Obama the Democrat. Thirty-nine percent said they would vote for Obama, and seven percent are undecided.

Source: Civitas Institute Polling

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: OCTOBER 12, 1492 After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia.

His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and Spice Islands of Asia. During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainlands, but he never accomplished his original goal—a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia. Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.