Posted on 03/06/2008 4:48:47 PM PST by Libloather
Moore: 2 years of free college
Gubernatorial hopeful says also he'd want to raise minimum wage
MARK JOHNSON
mjohnson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted on Thu, Mar. 06, 2008
RALEIGH --State Treasurer Richard Moore, running for the Democratic nomination for governor, wants to offer high school graduates two free years of community college as part of an economic stimulus package.
The free college proposal, which Moore rolled out Tuesday, also is the latest offering among the Democratic candidates as they try to portray themselves as the best leader to help energize the state's economy.
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, Moore's opponent in the primary, recently proposed a tax break for some small businesses and a doubling of the state fund used to hand out grants for high-tech startup companies.
Moore said he narrowed his plan to changes in which the state will get the most benefit for its residents out of each dollar spent.
"These are things that will make a real difference in people's lives.
He called for:
• Raising the minimum wage by $1 between 2009 and 2013. It is scheduled to rise from $6.15 an hour to $6.55 an hour in July of this year.
• Cutting seniors' property taxes and freezing their home values so property taxes don't force them out.
• Eliminating the waiting list for children eligible for a state child care subsidy.
• Selling $1.5 billion in transportation bonds to update the state's roads and stimulate construction work.
Perdue said she has crafted an economic platform that "will allow North Carolina to grow economically regardless of the national economy."
Her proposals include:
• Giving small businesses with a net profit of less than $100,000 an exemption from taxes on the first $25,000. Companies making $100,000 to $200,000 get a $15,000 exemption. (Moore proposed the same cut.)
• Helping smaller towns with economic development, including boosting the state fund for those efforts to $2.25 million from $450,000.
• Enlarging the defense-related industry base in the state by recruiting businesses to the areas around the state's military bases with the help of the N.C. Military Foundation she helped create.
• Promoting environmentally friendly businesses through a "Green Business Fund" that the General Assembly approved last year.
I think everything should be free.
Treasurer?
Has anyone ever thought that expanding government benefits is a way of public officials to buy votes from the public? There’s no “free” college or anything else. If some benefit is offered without getting payment from those who benefit, government programs simply are shifting costs to someone else to pay it instead.
I'm still looking for stats on how many jobs are lost when the minimum wage goes up.
I know because I was borned in Bladen County which has more yellow-dogs per square mile than red-bugs:-().......
He’s trailing Beverly Perdue in the Rodent primary, right?
Yes, according to SUSA from a little while ago he was trailing. I saw one of his commercials when I was in NC in late January.
And I think Perdue is also leading the Repub(s) in a hypothetical matchup.
We are getting near the time when we’ll need Republican governors in place to watch redistricting efforts. Georgia is good for maybe five new republicans next time around, IF they do it right.
Richard was guest at an organization I belong to last week, he let us in on these plans early. All sorts of promises and after each one assured us he has a plan to pay for it all.
I live in his hometown and know him from church, etc. People here are falling all over themselves to vote for him just because he is from here. It stops them dead when my husband and I say we will cast our vote on issues not for someone because he is hometown boy.
Hard to believe. You’d think North Carolina rodents would want to get their “Moore-on.”
Wow. With the Beast campaigning to become the most powerful person in the Milky Way and *Bubba on the stump (so to speak) you must be PEAKING with that FReeper name - eh? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a huge Hussein Obomber fan.
It must include the new, grandiose, multi-tasking, 'education' lottery. Oh, boy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.