Up & Coming Weekly

SENIOR CORNER SENIOR CORNER Yes, the Times Are Changing by MARTHA OWEN and SUSAN GUY Believe it or not, the “age wave” is upon us! Certainly, you will recall the following recent news events. Edna Parker, the world’s oldest woman, died at 115-years-old in Shelbyville, IN. Tom Watson made a serious run for a major golf championship at nearly 60-years-old. Finally, Henry Allingham, previously the world’s oldest man and one of World War I’s last surviving vet- erans, made it his personal mission to remind others about those left behind on the battlefield before dying in July, 2009. Yes, significant change is ap- proaching, and with it will come major challenges. The most current and notable topic is healthcare reform, which most Americans will agree is needed desperately. Anyone who has followed the news for the past 14 months has watched the President, House of Representatives and Senate spend the majority of their efforts on the matter; they continue to have major issues with designing the legislation. A potential consequence of providing healthcare for the uninsured may be denying others insurance based on their increased age or their “statistic life expectancy.” While it is a fact that the majority of healthcare costs occur in the last few years of life, let us not forget that these same seniors are the ones that have con- tributed the most to healthcare, through individual and company insurance premiums and Medicare/Medicaid taxes. Reducing physician Medicare re- imbursement is also a topic being discussed. If this comes to fruition, how many doctors will stop accepting Medicare? Instead of cutting critical benefits to the elderly, we should con- sider other options. The number one fear of older adults is outliving their as- sets. Larry Haubner of Fredericksburg, VA., has achieved national attention recently. Haubner outlived his resources at the ripe old age of 105, and only with dona- tions was he able to stay in his assisted-living facility. At the age of 107, Haubner’s donations ran out. Luckily, through national attention, Haubner was again saved with more donations and was able to continue living in the same surroundings he calls “home.” The national debt is approaching historic proportions at the same time the number of people 65 and older is rapidly increasing. Entitlement pro- grams like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are sure targets for benefit reductions. If this concerns you, please let your elected officials know. They count on hearing from their constituents more often than election-day. Contact number for our North Carolina officials can be found at www.contac- tingthecongress.org. MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY Contributing Writers COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM A Tax-Cutting Tax Hike? by JOHN HOOD In several North Carolina counties where there will be a quarter- cent sales-tax hike on the ballot in 2010, advocates have adopted the strategy with the best record of success: sell a tax hike by promising a tax cut. If that sounds like a contradiction, then I chose the right words. It is a contradiction. But that doesn’t mean it lacks rhe- torical effectiveness. Back in 2007, the General Assembly re- sponded to years of local lobbying for “revenue options” by authorizing counties to raise their sales tax by a quarter-cent or their real estate transfer taxes by four-tenths of a percent — but only if voters said yes in a referendum. Overwhelmingly, North Carolina voters have said no to these tax hikes. On 23 occasions, local politicians and activists have tried to impose the transfer tax. All failed. In 44 of 56 tries at the sales-tax hike, voters have rejected higher taxes, as well, often by large margins. That does mean that in 12 cases, however, voters said yes to higher sales taxes. Given the economic situation and a public turn towards fiscal conservatism, how can these pro-tax votes be explained? Circumstances differ from community to community, but there is a common denominator in the advocates’ strategy: they have learned to sound fiscally conservative while making government bigger. The key to understanding the strategy is to recognize why the most unpopular taxes are those levied on income and property. These taxes make the most-reliable voters in the electorate particularly furious for two reasons: 1) they get an annual bill showing how much income and property tax they pay, and 2) they know that some of their fellow residents do not. These voters see the sales tax in a very different light. For one thing, because it comes in dribs and drabs throughout the year, they usually have no idea how much sales tax they pay. It doesn’t register the way a property-tax notice or 1040 form does. Voters are also (wrongly) convinced that poor people and illegal aliens, who are less likely to own homes or reach income-tax thresholds, will only pay their “fair share” if the tax system is weighted more heavily towards sales. Politicians are well aware of these sentiments. That’s why they spent so many years (and tax dollars) lobbying the General Assembly so strenuously for the au- thority to raise sales taxes. Still, after lawmakers felt compelled to include a referen- dum requirement in the 2007 bill, county after county voted down not just the real- estate transfer tax — which really was just a dumb idea, politically and otherwise — but the sales tax hike, too. Pro-tax county commissioners needed to find a more explicit message that would convince skeptical voters that a sales tax hike would be in their interest. Here’s what they came up with: • Promise voters that if they support a sales-tax hike, the county will cut prop- erty taxes by a significant amount. • Tell voters that the projects to be funded by the tax — schools, jails or infra- structure — must be built, regardless of the fate of the referendum, either because of unstoppable growth or state mandates. That way, voters will see their choice as one between sales taxes and property taxes, not a choice between higher taxes and lower taxes. As North Carolina counties began to adopt this messaging strategy, they in- creased their odds of passing sales-tax referenda. So far this year, two out of three county votes have resulted in sales-tax hikes. Several upcoming votes, mostly nota- bly controversies ones in Onslow and Robeson counties, will feature the same strat- egy — commissioners promising to cut and/or not to increase property taxes if the voters say yes to taxing illegal aliens and the poor instead. I still think most future referenda will fail. Tax-hike opponents correctly point out that whatever property-tax relief counties offer as a partial offset to a sales-tax hike will be temporary. Politicians almost always spend as much as they can, not as much as they promise. It doesn’t take much to convince voters to be skeptical of the promises of politicians. John Hood, Columnist. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com MARCH 24 - 30, 2010 UCW 21

• Cover