Posts by Carter Wrenn
Political Point Scoring
Having a Republican legislature and a Democratic Governor fighting over how to best save North Carolina has sure made our politics more entertaining. The Republicans passed a bill to save us from Obama-care – which didn’t go down at all well with Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper who the Republican legislative leaders ordered to…
Read MoreBev Gets a Break
Governor Perdue must be happy. She’s had a hard two years but she’s finally gotten a break. Two of them. Her stand to extend the ‘temporary’ sales tax increase (in order to lessen spending cuts) has turned out to be popular. Voters – 60% of them – agree with Perdue and disagree with…
Read MoreThe Worst Idea Since Reconstruction
Over the last three years Wall Street has taken it on the chin – what with bank bailouts and corporate subsidies and Stimulus Bills corporate America has become about as popular as, well, politicians. In fact, a recent Gallup poll showed that big business has almost caught up with Congress – in unpopularity. That…
Read MoreSubsidizing Corporations
Limiting jury verdicts for the Medical Society, legalizing negligence in the emergency room for the Hospital Association, cutting worker’s compensation for the Chamber of Commerce – business is having a field day like it never had before in the legislature. In the blink of an eye after the election last November lobbyists and CEO’s…
Read MoreSenator Rucho’s Bill
Having gotten his bill for the Medical Society to “cap” jury awards in malpractice lawsuits rolling, Senator Bob Rucho now has his sights set on getting his friends at the Hospital Association immunity when they commit malpractice in the emergency room. Now a lot of folks have the idea you can sue a doctor…
Read More$48 a Month
Up in Washington there’s a big rhubarb going on over Republicans cutting $60 billion in government spending. ‘Heaven forbid,’ the newspapers are reporting, ‘workers will have to be furloughed.’ ‘Horror of horrors,’ the editorialists add, ‘the government may shut down.’ Every agency from Social Security to Homeland Security is moaning and predicting…
Read MoreTrial Lawyers
To my chagrin I haven’t written a syllable in weeks but at least the reason makes a curious story; – for a month I’ve been camped out with a tribe of trial lawyers, trying to explain the foibles of politicians in general and Republican politicians in particular. I’d like to say how I came…
Read MoreListening to NPR
The last two mornings listening to National Public Radio while driving to work has been like being assailed; folks are calling-in mad as hornets and every media pundit is thoroughly morally outraged and they’re all blasting away at the Tea Party, saying overheated political rhetoric caused the shootings in Arizona and Sarah Palin all but…
Read MoreOur Governor
Unintended Consequences
To cut spending Republican leaders in the General Assembly, the News and Observer reported the other day, are considering allowing Governor Perdue’s Cabinet Secretaries to decide what to cut in their departments. In other words the legislature will decide that, say, the Department of Transportation budget must cut $200 million to balance the budget,…
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