Libertarians: No to Amendment One
RALEIGH (Sept. 20) -- The Libertarian Party of Wake County is calling
on opponents of Amendment One to show their disapproval and help educate
voters about this perilous government power-grab. They will sponsor a
rally against Amendment One Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Capitol
Building, Raleigh.
"Amendment One is the legislature's third attempt to hoodwink the
people of NC into a scheme known as 'self-financing bonds' or tax
increment financing (TIF) to allow local governments to issue bonds for
private and public projects without voter approval," said Susan Hogarth,
rally organizer.
"There is a good reason the state Constitution doesn't allow for bonds
to be issued except by express permission of the voters and the state
legislature is trying to change that," she said. "Do we really want to
make it easier for the government to borrow money?"
'There should be a three-strikes clause to make this the last time
North Carolina voters have to deal with this particular nonsense,' said
Hogarth, noting this is the third attempt in as many decades to pass such
an amendment. "How long will the legislature keep trying to pull this
turkey over on the voters?
The legislature's fear of voters getting wind of the real danger of
these so-called "self-financing bonds" is apparent in the "downright
fraudulent" way it has directed the state Board of Elections to present
the proposed amendment on the ballot, she added.
"Instead of the actual amendment, the legislature directed the BoE to
place on the ballot a watered-down version which amounts to little more
than an advertisement," she said.
"Who's going to vote 'no' on an amendment to 'promote local economic
and community development projects,'" said Hogarth, quoting what she
labeled the "highly prejudicial wording used on the ballot."
"Well, in the end, they may be surprised to find such trickery doesn't
fly with North Carolina voters," she said.
TIFs amount to little more than attempted bribery to seduce industry to
the state at the cost of higher tax rates for small native businesses,
Libertarian congressional candidate Maximilian Longley pointed out. The
supposed "protections" included for workers in the legislation supporting
Amendment One don't accomplish any such thing, he said.
"Why should they be able to get the bribe if they don't even have to do
that for which the bribe was given in the first place," he said.
The amendment, which won't be printed in full on the ballot, is about
500 words long. The legislation implementing the amendment, however, is
about 24 pages of new and revised legal code describing TIFs and how they
can be issued. And the legislation, unlike the amendment, can be easily
changed in any year by a simple act of the legislature, adding further
risk to the idea of allowing local government to issue bonds without voter
approval, Libertarians note.
"The issue is complex, but the question is simple," said Michael
A Joyce, a Cary town councilman. "Do you want the right for local
government to ask you when they place your money at risk?"
"This issue is not about party affiliation; it's about our rights,"
Joyce said.
Speakers at the rally will include candidates, officeholders and
academics opposed to Amendment One, including Libertarian gubernatorial
candidate Barbara Howe, Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Tom Bailey,
Lenoir city councilman TJ Rohr, Cary Town Councilman Michael A. Joyce and
Lee County Commissioner Chad Adams.
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