page dos

12/27/2005 7:11:26 PM

i never knew how to spell that.

there goes my degree.

12/27/2005 7:41:56 PM

Nick, you need to own this thread.

Rip his post up like Old School.

12/28/2005 8:38:31 AM

Quote :

"People whine all the time about how they pay too much in taxes, but in reality they are mostly just selfish and greedy. We can all get by just fine on a few thousand a year, and anyone who says they can't hasn't tried."

Ahahah! HAHAHA! hahahahahahaha...

Oh holy shit man, you're a nutcase.

[Edited on December 28, 2005 at 1:23 PM. Reason : /]

12/28/2005 1:23:18 PM

Whatever. My mom raised me and my brother on less than 5 grand a year for three years from 1987-1990, so don't tell me it can't be done.

It's easily possible. It's not always comfortable, but it can be done.

12/28/2005 6:33:54 PM

You know, it's not as much the concept of living on that much money as it was that it seems like you were arguing that we weren't being taxed enough, and that we could all live just fine under heavy taxation with a small amount of money each month for our own personal expenses. (Or was that not what you were thinking when you wrote that paragraph?)

12/28/2005 7:08:03 PM

I could have sworn that even reasonable conservatives accepted infrastructure as an acceptable public good. If a portion of tax money from some hick from Yadkin county goes towards the roads in raleigh, that is an investment for the person in yadkin county.

A 1$ of road in raleigh certainly is more productive economically than one in yadkin county. The returns then go back to yadkin county in various forms.

Furthermore, it's the person outside of Raleigh who leeches off of the person inside of Raleigh, since Raleigh is a high tax revenue area. Taxes disproportionately get distributed from high revenue areas to low revenue ares. Distributing road costs subsidizes rural and suburban living.

So, the person who lives outside of Raleigh would lose by having more toll roads. Don't know why some people think it's the opposite.

12/28/2005 7:34:03 PM

Quote :

"Whatever. My mom raised me and my brother on less than 5 grand a year for three years from 1987-1990, so don't tell me it can't be done. It's easily possible. It's not always comfortable, but it can be done."

On federal aid? Sure. Without? NO FUCKING WAY! Hell, if you somehow managed to find a place for a family to live in that cost just $300 a month (which you aren't going to find) then you've already eaten up $3,600. That leaves you about $116 a month for utilities, food, clothes, transportation and everything else.

Oh, and average teacher salary is just barely under $50,000 but should hit there in the next year or two. I don't wanna hear any bitching from them, period.

12/28/2005 7:49:42 PM

that 50k figure is skewed. The majority of teachers make no where near 50k a year.

12/28/2005 8:08:39 PM

thats for damn sure. starting salary is what, 25K?

12/28/2005 8:16:24 PM

29k and barely increases above that based upon experience

12/28/2005 8:18:17 PM

its 40k if you work for like 15 years

[Edited on December 28, 2005 at 8:57 PM. Reason : which is sad for a college graduate]

12/28/2005 8:56:40 PM

True, but gosh darn isn't it great to have so much time off? You work a seven hour day and get four months off every year. That time could be spent working a second job (teaching community college classes, etc) and suplementing your salary. Hell, just working at wal-mart will net you $1600 for each summer month. But I would expect more out of a college graduate.

12/29/2005 12:21:11 AM

Based on what I'm reading, there isn't anything that I could say to change your minds, regardless of the factual basis. My mom was not on federal aid. And she did it. The point was simple.....that we have much more than we need in this world, and we think that it is a right, not a gift.

As for the teaching thing, I leave for work around 6:30 and get home on average around 8, and this is the first year I have ever been able to manage even that. I go in on Saturdays at times and have spent more nights than I can count at school until after midnight. Hell, there was one night I even slept in my classroom. In case you are wondering what the teacher salary schedule is, here it is:http://www.abss.k12.nc.us/employment/salary_schedules/index.html

But I am not complaining about my pay or anything else. I love my job and I don't ask for anything from it, because the reward is doing the job itself. The same thing that makes me love my job makes me angry when I see people who are given so much in life and get angry whenever they have to give back.

But this thread is getting away from the original point, which was the gas tax, and I apologize for changing it to something about teaching and my personal story. If you want to keep up this discussion, feel free to make a thread about those issues and I'll be happy to join in, but other than that I'll let this one get back to the gas tax issue.

I think the gas take hike is fine, and I'll pay my money on January 1st with every tank I fill up.

12/29/2005 12:44:11 AM

Quote :

"The point was simple.....that we have much more than we need in this world, and we think that it is a right, not a gift."

I'll give you that some people see it as a right (including douchebags in my last semester CE214 class), but people who work for their money tend to see it as a gift.

I just really didn't like this blanket statement so I had to chime in.

12/29/2005 12:59:13 PM

Quote :

" WRAL.com N.C. Gas Tax Will Go Up, But Relief Could Be In Sight Some Lawmakers Want Easley To Consider Break In Energy Taxes POSTED: 12:20 pm EST December 29, 2005 RALEIGH, N.C. -- A nearly 3-cent-a-gallon increase in the state gasoline tax appears headed to take effect as scheduled Sunday, but lawmakers may still try to return to Raleigh without the blessing of Gov. Mike Easley to consider breaks on energy taxes. Several House Democrats asked Easley late last week to call the General Assembly back into special session so they could try to persuade their colleagues to freeze the gasoline tax for six months. They also want some temporary tax exemptions or cuts on natural gas and other home heating fuels, some of which, like gasoline, have soared in price since the late summer. "I don't think we need to hurt our road system. I don't think we need to hurt the future growth of our state. But if we can give some people relief in this desperate time, then we ought to do so," said Rep. Bill Faison, D-Caswell. The gasoline tax is set to rise by 2.8 cents per gallon Jan. 1 to 29.9 cents. The tax is recalculated twice annually based on the average wholesale cost of fuel. Easley opposes a freeze in the tax, saying it would provide little benefit for consumers while expanding a shortfall for overdue transportation projects. Each penny of the gas tax generates about $53 million annually, according to the Department of Revenue. Easley wrote to legislators Wednesday telling them that he has already set aside $10 million through a partnership with utilities to help pay the heating bills this winter of about 70,000 low-income families and make their homes more energy efficient. He called it the best use of scarce resources given that the federal government has failed to provide enough money this year to help with energy bills. "I believe that our values require that we help the neediest rather than provide across-the-board assistance that fails to target those hurting the most," he wrote. Rep. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe, one of the proponents for cutting the gas tax, said despite Easley's opposition, he's working on getting a special session called through another method in the state constitution: written requests from at least three-fifths of the members each in the House and Senate. Seventy-two signatures are needed in the House and 30 in the Senate. "We need some assistance for all families, not just low-income families," Goforth said. Twenty to 25 House Democrats have written or will write letters asking Speaker Jim Black to call the session, Goforth said. Republicans have been asking for energy tax relief since this fall, so many of the 57 GOP members should be on board, he said. "I really feel like that in the House we can come up with the three-fifths," Goforth said. Reaching that level could be more difficult in the Senate, where Democrats control 29 of the 50 seats and Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, doesn't support a gas tax freeze, according to a spokesman who cited transportation needs. Black, D-Mecklenburg, spoke briefly with Easley and legislators Wednesday about other ways to provide energy tax relief, spokeswoman Julie Robinson said. Easley could veto any bills approved by the Legislature in a special session, raising the question of whether it's worthwhile for lawmakers to return to Raleigh. But legislators preparing for May primaries may benefit politically from passing bills that support lower taxes. "It's just a lot more complicated than people think," Rep. Bill Culpepper, D-Chowan, one of Black's top lieutenants, said after meeting with Black at the Legislative Building. "No decision has been made." Easley told the lawmakers more heating bill assistance is possible as the winter progresses and needs remain. Goforth said if North Carolina gas prices, already among the highest in the Southeast, increase much more, low-income workers will find it difficult to drive to work. "People in the rural areas are getting hurt the worst," Goforth said. "There's no sense in having good roads if you can't drive on them." Copyright 2005 by WRAL.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. "

http://www.wral.com/news/5711088/detail.html

12/29/2005 1:26:19 PM

I don't see how anybody could support even a 15% gas tax increase when, over only the past 4 years, $1 BILLION was drained out of the highway trust fund for non-highway projects. Governor Easley neglected vital needs of the state such as increased teachers' salaries and highway repairs when he signed a budget that appropriated funding for a TEACUP MUSEUM and an ACC Hall of Fame. These may be nice things, but when they are syphoned out of the Highway trust fund and paid for with tax dollars, who is our general assembly representing?

12/29/2005 5:44:13 PM

tax money is not raised to serve the needs of the people but the ego of our elected officials.

12/29/2005 10:17:41 PM

Mmmmm... Yes and it supports the pork to go with inflating those egos.

12/29/2005 10:25:42 PM

Amazing, I had no idea. I guess it's like congress stealing from social security then whining about a deficit in what...2040.

[Edited on December 30, 2005 at 11:06 PM. Reason : spellcheck]

12/30/2005 11:05:23 PM

Quote :

"The point was simple.....that we have much more than we need in this world, and we think that it is a right, not a gift."

So if we want to keep more of the income we worked for we are greedy and have too much for our own good.

If the government wants a larger share of that money we earned they aren't being greedy? Please. I guess if you were in charge every family would give all but 5K of their income to the government and things would just be fine. You know, when we are left with 5K for a year we budget and spend conservatively. When the government faces a shortfall they just pass some more laws to increase their revenue. I'd be in a better attitude over new/increased taxes if the government could actually show some fiscal responsibility and live within its means.

Gas prices have effected the government's budget and the average joe citizen's budget. The difference is that the average joe citizen can't pass a law to get a higher salary so they have to cut back and spend more conservatively. The government just raids average joe citizen's pocket to more than make-up the difference, thereby placing more of a burden on average joe citizen.

Everything I have seen coming out of Easley can pretty much be boiled down to "Look there's money...grab it!" He is far too worried about the state of NC's revenue and not the revenues of her people. Easley runs a tight ship of a people for the government by the government.

1/3/2006 8:16:11 AM

I'm for the tax hike. My car isn't an SUV.

1/3/2006 8:28:19 PM

^ If you want to pay more tax money to the state, nothing is stopping you from just mailing them a check.

1/3/2006 11:31:50 PM

It cost me like an extra $.25 to fill up today.



Hah-hah

1/4/2006 2:35:55 AM

NC Conservatives United, the group that set up this website to oppose the gas tax, held a press conference yesterday at the NC legislative building. Bill Graham, its founder, released over 22,000 names on the petition and it looks as if the general assembly is going to hold a special session to discuss a gas tax cap. You can read the details of the press conference here.http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/385049.html

1/5/2006 12:00:17 PM

Quote :

"A number of Republican legislators have pushed for a freeze on gas taxes. But Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat, has expressed skepticism about rolling back the gas tax."

Yeah, I heard this guy on the news. Nice to see Easley is sticking to the "but the state will lose money" story. Even though the state wouldn't be losing money, just not making as much as it could.

Quote :

""If you are driving around town, there are maybe 20 cents' difference from gas station to gas station," said Larry Goode, a former state highway administrator and co-chairman of NC Go. "The gas tax is a small part of the price.""

Yeah, that is a good reason to raise taxes

Anyone know the latest excuse on why gas shot up about $0.20/g this week? It was on the news about a week ago but I missed it.

1/5/2006 12:28:39 PM

they need a reason?

maybe it was winter heating issues

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 12:37 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2006 12:34:47 PM

Maybe it was winter wanting more money issues.

1/5/2006 12:37:30 PM

1/5/2006 12:38:32 PM

^^ yeah they don't need a reason
^ because that is the reason

I just enjoy hearing how creative they can get. They aren't even trying nowadays. It isn't winter. Natrual gas prices went down because "it has been a mild winter so far".

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 12:42 PM. Reason : -]

1/5/2006 12:41:01 PM

Quote :

"True, but gosh darn isn't it great to have so much time off? You work a seven hour day and get four months off every year. That time could be spent working a second job (teaching community college classes, etc) and suplementing your salary. Hell, just working at wal-mart will net you $1600 for each summer month. But I would expect more out of a college graduate."

just because they aren't at school doesn't mean they aren't teaching. you have the ultimate warped sense of reality.

1/5/2006 3:43:39 PM

http://www.newsobserver.com/559/story/384832.html

Quote :

"N.C.'s roads need all the gas tax they get Joseph Freddoso Many calls have been made recently to weaken North Carolina's state tax on gasoline. Critics demand its reduction, temporary suspension, capping or even elimination. These are understandable reactions to a real concern about rising prices. However, every one of these proposals would irreparably harm transportation in North Carolina. The stark bottom line: crucial highway projects are multiplying, and so are the associated costs. At the same time, revenue for funding those projects is failing to keep pace with expenses. The state gas tax is a vital part of that revenue. It is the primary source of funds for maintenance of existing roads and for public transportation. Simply put, to keep our roads and public transit in working order, the gas tax is a necessity.And there's no reason to believe that the transportation crisis will let up anytime soon. The state Department of Transportation has identified $30 billion in needs over the next 25 years that will not be met by current revenue sources. In the Triangle alone we are facing a shortfall estimated to be $8 billion over the next 25 years. Under these circumstances, reducing revenue is not a good idea. • • • It is true that we have higher state gas taxes than other Southern states. However, in North Carolina the vast majority of roads are maintained and built by the state. In Georgia the gas tax is relatively low at 7.5 cents per gallon (plus a 4 percent sales tax), but construction and maintenance of all county roads are the responsibility of county governments, which in turn pass the cost onto taxpayers. When all state highway funding is divided by the total mileage of the state system, Georgia invests four times the amount per mile of state road as North Carolina does. In Florida, the state gas tax is less than half of North Carolina's -- but when local option taxes and environmental inspections are included, the average Floridian will pay more to the state than the average North Carolinian will, even with our 2.8 cent increase that began Jan. 1. Businesses and individuals are clearly being impacted by the rising cost of fuel -- whether to move trucks and vehicles or heat our homes. But a reduction in the gasoline tax of less than 3 cents is probably the worst kind of "savings" possible, because it will lower current investment in our financially challenged transportation system. Construction costs for highways have increased at a far faster rate than gas tax revenues -- around 30 percent over the last two years. Given this, the state would be wise to invest today's dollars at a greater rate, not cut them. This month's 2.8 cent increase in gas taxes will cost a consumer who drives a 20 mpg vehicle 15,000 miles a year $21. However, it costs the state millions of today's dollars to properly maintain and scale existing road and transit systems. High gas prices are being felt across the nation and are primarily the result of natural disasters, inflation and international politics -- not taxes. A number of factors affect gas prices, and North Carolinians traveling north would still be well-served to fill up here, rather than in states with higher prices such as West Virginia and Pennsylvania. • • • I do agree with those who object to transportation taxes and fees being used for purposes other than transportation. Statewide advocacy groups such as NC Go! have noted that more than $3 billion in transportation taxes and fees have been used for non-transportation purposes in the past 15 years. Ongoing diversions from the state Highway Trust Fund are hurting transportation, damaging the economy and undermining the public trust. Missouri recently passed a constitutional amendment to end such diversions in order to speed $800 million worth of needed transportation projects. A proposal by the legislature and the governor to preserve transportation tax revenue solely for highway and transportation investments would provide needed assurances for potential creators of new jobs in North Carolina, and such a call would receive the full support of the Regional Transportation Alliance. There's no doubt North Carolinians have endured their share of pain at the pump. However, we must face the reality that saving three cents on a gallon of gas now isn't worth adding to a $3 billion underinvestment in mobility. If there is a call for a special session of the legislature, let it be on an issue that can make a true difference in both the short- and long-term: preserving transportation taxes solely for transportation and mobility improvements. Don't suspend the gas tax increase -- end the diversions of the public's transportation tax and fee investments. (Joseph Freddoso is chairman of the Regional Transportation Alliance, a Triangle advocacy group of business executives.)"

I completely agree with the sentiments of this op-ed. I don't mind paying the extra 3c a gallon if I know that money is going to maintain and enhance our transportation infrastructure. However, our morally bankrupt state government diverts that money towards other causes, and that I have a serious problem with.

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 3:44 PM. Reason : dsaf]

1/5/2006 3:44:04 PM

Quote :

"Gas prices have effected the government's budget and the average joe citizen's budget. The difference is that the average joe citizen can't pass a law to get a higher salary so they have to cut back and spend more conservatively. The government just raids average joe citizen's pocket to more than make-up the difference, thereby placing more of a burden on average joe citizen."

exactly. joe citizen has to pay higher gas prices for his vehicle, then more taxes to fill the governments vehicles, then higher prices on goods and services to put gas in the vehicles of UPS, OfficeMax, Food Lion, etc. fucking triple edged sword.

im telling my boss i voted myself a 15% raise.

1/9/2006 8:26:46 AM