Letters to the Editor
Electro Robot
Published Letters: 1109 Editor's Choice: 9
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Now hear this
[Read the article: Anti-Obama ad a winner for McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]First off, North Cackylackistan is straight up crazy. When Lauch Faircloth and Jessie Helms were our Senators, Jessie Helms was considered the liberal. We have had one, exactly one, black person who held a statewide political office, since reconstruction. The Smithfield Klan operates in the open, tried to blow up the sheriff. Just about every administration has some senior official like the Ag Commissioner, the Transportation Commissioner, etc go to Federal Prison. The idea that Democratic candidates matter any longer is silly. Our own GOP doesn't like Libby Dole, didn't support her election. She's too liberal. How John Edwards squeaked in is a mystery. While our governor and the last gov are Democrats, they are democrats that support the death penalty, make noises about abortion and turn a blind eye to illegal immigration. The illegal population in NC is the fastest growing the US.
On the tax front, NC has some of the highest taxes of any red state. With such things as property tax on cars, sales tax on cars, road tax, registration and inspection fees and the highest state gas tax in the SE. We are also home to THE MOST EXPENSIVE interstate highways, per mile ever constructed in the US, ever.
NoCackylackistan HAS NO juvenile justice system. Offenders as young as 16 can and are tried as adults for any crime the ADA sees fit. The Tarheel Blight has in practice, the toughest drug laws in the country. In effect any amount of drugs in your possession, any amount, is generally tried as a felony. Wake county and the city of Raleigh have FIVE overlapping police forces, (5) all of which focus on driving offenses, drugs and of course 'gangs'. Charge for charge NC has the highest BAIL in the country for corresponding charges. As part of our 'drought control' (which is funny because all our water reservoirs are at 100%+ capacity) any public employee has been deputized to arrest any homeowner, and/or contact the police about any homeowner as which point, the general approach is to arrest the homeowner, disconnect the water from the meter and fine the household $2500. If any police are called to a home by 911, under the law, SOMEONE is getting arrested.
NC has I think the #50 ranked public mental health system in the US. Education is around #29 (up from 48th). The only public sector jobs that are growing is police and corrections and the clerks who process fines and payments.
And oh, yes, It's illegal to sue your own insurance company if they stiff you.
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Yes but
[Read the article: Total systemic breakdown, then and now]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]400 years ago China had zero desire and less actual ability to absorb any technology flowing the other way, back to them. They were quite happy to take the west's money because they didn't want or need anything else. I suspect that China does not feel that way now. They need us to help them develop in more ways than simply paying for it. From a high tech perspective, China is 4 decades behind the west from a pure R+D, applied, implemented technology perspective. And no amount of Tom Friedman hand flapping is going to magically allow them to make a quantum leap in the next year or two. It's clear that soon enough the Chinese machine will stall out if all they get from us is cash. Assuming they can't simply steal every last ounce of Intellectual Property they need, which is possible but not probable.
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Actually is has more to do with income taxes
[Read the article: No more brothels for you!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In Europe that glorious monument to fully functional socialist taxation, Executives are compensated with non cash benefits like a car, free tuition, expensive perks, a nanny, free vacations. Because giving them money is just giving most of it to the government. So in order to incent people to come work for them they have to engineer all sorts of financial arrangements that avoid the taxman.
At least they still have beer in the vending machines at my company's corporate cafeterias in Germany.