All in Columns
In last week's Column I wrote about the passing of my brother, Rick Gardner, and how the loss of a loved one can be painful to those who remain. But we are in this life "One day at a time," and it is incumbent upon us to cherish each day and be thankful for the opportunity we are given to share our lives with others, particularly members of our families.
Last week, I wrote about scammers using the telephone to intimidate and extort money and information from the unsuspecting. These thieves pretend to be federal government officials who are suspending social security numbers for suspicious activities and often demanding huge payments be made to avoid arrest and prosecution.
My brother, Rick Gardner, passed away last week, and he will be greatly missed. He treasured his family and friends, and he was always ready to help any of us who might need his assistance. He lived for the moment, and I am sure he left this earth with very few regrets.
I received three calls last Wednesday from scammers trying to get my personal information. One identified himself by his name and his federal badge number. I could tell by his accent that he “won’t from around here,” as we say down South.
Roughly one year ago, Governor Cooper declared a state of emergency regarding COVID-19, and while an emergency is typically seen as a momentary crisis, this has been harnessed into the “new normal”, expanding bureaucratic control over citizens’ lives for an alarming period of time. Regardless of the continued state of emergency, our local officials are holding themselves to a different standard. The Kinston City Council and Lenoir County School Board continue to meet outside of their chambers and only through Facebook or Zoom. Are they afraid for their safety while asking their staff to be dismissive of their own? Are they worried about facing parents and the community in a real public forum again?
The pandemic has made screen time super popular and nothing more than the sharing of recipes! Tik Tok, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and a plethora of Food Bloggers.
So what would you do if you were the Devil? Your answer might go something like this: If I were the Devil, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness. I'd already own a sizable portion of it, but I wouldn't be satisfied until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, the United States of America. I'd begin with a campaign of whispers. To you, as I had whispered to Eve, I'd say, "Do as you please."
Taxing the income, sales, or property of a business is a means of paying for government services associated with that business activity. It pays for police, courts, and other means of protecting property and adjudicating disputes. It pays to train current workers and educate future ones. It helps pay for local streets and other infrastructure.
I wrote a column nearly 30 years ago discussing problems of race relations here in Kinston and Lenoir County. I came across the column recently and marveled at how what I wrote in 1993 still applies today.
NC State Senator Jim Perry (R - Lenoir, Wayne) issues an op-ed on how the State of North Carolina should handle tax liability associated with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). “The State of NC shouldn’t think about these extraordinary events through the lens of normal operations. We shouldn’t saddle business people with a surprise state tax liability just because they helped distribute federal stimulus dollars to the people of North Carolina. I worked with Senator Chuck Edwards and Senator Dave Craven to file Senate Bill 104 requiring that NC not burden small business owners who participated in the Paycheck Protection Program.”
I’ve never really been a victim of cancel culture. But that’s not to say my critics haven’t tried to make me one. I began my syndicated column in 1986. It ran initially in a couple of newspapers in eastern North Carolina, then spread to dozens of others over the ensuing decade. On several occasions, left-wing activists have tried to get editors to drop my column. It never worked. In my experience, local newspaper folks didn’t like obviously orchestrated attempts to dictate editorial decisions.
If you want to know what to cook that is in season, this time of year it’s soup!! It’s the season for turning on the logs, donning your fuzzy socks and grabbing a warm blanket, and of course a cup of warm comforting soup!!
Today I want to talk about the passage of time and how we handle it. Life is NOT about how far we can go, how high we can jump, or how much weight we carry. Life IS about family, friendships, experiences, and memories. We all suffer heartbreaks over such things as losing a loved one or seeing a child suffer, but broken hearts can give us strength, understanding and compassion toward ourselves and others, and help us to appreciate life's peaceful moments.
Due to GOP tax policy over the past decade, in other words, North Carolina’s state sales-tax burden went down, not up, by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Alas, some of this effect was offset by increases in county sales taxes. Who is responsible for those hikes? Democrats, overwhelmingly. Democratic politicians authorized those sales-tax referenda and Democratic voters were most likely to favor them.
Whatever happened to tax credits and tax deductions? How many more payments will people expect in the future before we declare the pandemic over? The utter reliance and potential household budgeting for future stimulus payments disincentivizes Americans from using their skills and creativity to find a way to meet their obligations. The unintended consequence of stimulus payments may very well be a methodical way of killing the American dream by taking away all incentives of hard work and individualism.
Some may be uncomfortable reading my words today, but they need to be said. As a community, we need to take action. Last week I wrote about Barbara Johns of Farmville, Va., who organized a walkout at Moton High School on April 23, 1951.
For those of you who prefer to stay home and cook a sweetheart meal for two, here are some simple but delicious recipes for you to give a try.
“One of the most unhappy series of events in the state’s history began in 1835,” stated a textbook used in elementary schools across North Carolina. “As more and more white people came into their territory the Cherokee Indians had been driven further into the hills, but white settlers looked with greed on all their territory.”
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