Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Leeland and Common Ground In Concert at Methodist by ROXANA ROSS Grammy-nominated progressive Christian band Leeland will perform a free concert at Methodist University as the headline act of the fourth annual Easter Jam, Friday, April 5 in Reeves Auditorium. The concert is open to the public, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. No tickets are required, but admission will be limited to the first 1,100 people. "Leeland is one of the best worship leaders in the world," said University Relations Event Coordinator Sam Morrison. "Their Leeland passion-filled music is inspiring and infectious. Easter Jam's attendees can expect a positive and upbeat worship experience. Two local artists, MU's own Common Ground and Jordan Tate, will open the concert before Leeland takes the stage. This will be the best Easter Jam yet!" Originally from Baytown, Texas, Leeland's 2006 debut album was "Sound of Melodies." Their fourth and most recent album, "The Great Awakening," was released in 2011, and includes the album's eponymous single as well as the song, "I Wonder." Each of Leeland's albums has been nominated for a Grammy award. The band's current lineup consists of three Mooring siblings, lead singer Leeland Mooring, brother Jack on keyboard and sister Shelly on bass; and drummer Mike Smith. Easter Jam is hosted by Methodist University's Campus Ministry Program. Prior Easter Jams have featured artists such as Josh Wilson, 7th Day Slumber, Charlie Hall, Methodist University's worship band Common Ground, and Manna Church's own Chris Fletcher. "The concert is a celebration of the Campus Ministry Program at Methodist University," Morrison said. "It's one of our many transformational experiences that we offer to students." MU students participate in a wide variety of spiritual activities through Campus Ministry, such as weekly small groups, live worship and interfaith discussions, traveling abroad on work team trips, and participating in local community service. Last week, a Campus Ministry group of 15 students and staff members traveled to Chinandega, Nicaragua over Spring Break, where they worked with the organization Amigos for Christ, to help that community with a water construction project. Visit methodist.edu/easterjam for more information about Easter Jam 2013 and other campus ministry programs at MU. Follow Easter Jam on Twitter @MUEasterJam13 and #EJ13, or visit facebook.com/ MethodistUniversity. ROXANA ROSS, Contributing Writer, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at Methodist University. COMMENTS?Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. For Many Happy Returns by JOHN HOOD a special-interest tax break that disproportionately benefits upper-income taxpayers Whether the setting is Raleigh or Washington, the tax reform debate will inevitably and those who build their homes) and the deduction for deposits into IRAs and come down to one Big Question: Are you willing to trade current tax preferences for 401ks (which is a policy for making taxes neutral with respect to current vs. future lower tax rates? consumption). Such a description is utter nonsense and unhelpful to policymakers. Most economists think the answer is obvious. Of course households and businesses You have to start with valid definitions. Income isn't just should be willing to trade in special credits or deductions transferring cash from one pocket to the other. It is best for a broader, flatter tax system, they say. There is strong understood as a current monetary return on some prior empirical evidence for the proposition that such a system lowers investment – a return on financial or physical capital, in the compliance costs and increases economic growth. It also tends case of dividends and capital gains, or a return on human to promote fairness in the tax code – assuming that tax fairness capital, in the case of wages. If government taxes the resources is (correctly) defined as avoiding political favoritism or large taxpayers spend to accumulate and deploy that capital in the first differences in taxes paid as a percentage of income or assets. place, such as deposits into investment accounts or the rearing To some taxpayers, however, revenue-neutral tax reform that and education of future workers, then it shouldn't also tax the offers to trade lower rates for fewer preferences may lack appeal. return on those investments. Otherwise, its tax code discourages If you work in a sector that benefits from special treatment, such long-term investment in favor of short-term consumption. The as high-end real estate or wind energy, those breaks may well be Most households and small businesses take more valuable to you than lower rates or compliance costs. Also, standard deductions and forego complex tax filings. results are complexity, unfairness, and weaker economic growth. So a properly structured tax system would retain tools such if you suspect that the terms of today's tax reform won't stick as generous personal exemptions (especially for children) and savings deductions. – that politicians will use lower rates as a pretext for abolishing tax breaks, then raise These tools shield capital formation from tax at the front end, since the returns on that the tax rates in the future – you may say no even to a deal that appears to benefit you capital are taxed later. Reformers shouldn't try to persuade or compel taxpayers to in the short run. give up these safe harbors in the tax code. These are among the reasons why tax reform is a bit like a TV meteorologist. That On the other hand, narrow tax preferences for housing debt, municipal bonds, is, it looks great from afar, or on a low-resolution screen. Close up, in high definition, eco-friendly projects, or non-wage benefits favor some forms of capital formation and imperfections become evident. maintenance over others. Any sensible tax reform ought to reduce or eliminate them, Still, we watch. And as for tax reform, we can't afford not to move forward. Our in exchange for lower rates. effective tax rates on corporate income and capital formation are among the highest In reality, most households and small businesses take standard in the world. They reduce the competitiveness of our economy and reward current deductions and forego complex tax filings. They do prefer simplicity consumption over long-term, productivity-enhancing investment. to preferences, and form a large The key to unlocking the tax-reform door is to recognize that it isn't really all about JOHN HOOD, Contributing Writer. consistency for tax reform. They marginal tax rates. The best-available tax system isn't the one that tallies up everyone's COMMENTS? editor@upandcomindeserve to get what they want. gross income and applies a tax rate to it. Yet some descriptions of "tax expenditures" gweekly.com assume exactly that. They list both the mortgage-interest deduction (which truly is 16 UCW MARCH 20-26, 2013 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM