With veto, Gov. McCrory is more interested in himself than the jobless
Published June 27, 2014
by Barry Saunders, News and Observer, June 26, 2014.
For just a brief moment there, it looked as though Gov. Pat McCrory was siding with – rather than sticking it to – struggling Tar Heels.
Sure, Gov. McCrory rejected, the first chance he got and seemingly out of spite, billions in Medicaid moolah that would have helped about 500,000 uninsured people get treatment. And yes, he reduced the amount of money people receiving unemployment insurance payments can get and how long they can get it.
At every turn, the governor appeared indifferent or hostile to the state’s poor.
This week, however, he vetoed a House unemployment bill that would have forced people receiving payments to verify that they contact at least five potential employers each week to continue receiving payments. Under the existing rules, they have to contact two and show proof.
“Nay, nay,” one envisions a suddenly vertebrate Gov. Pat bellowing on behalf of the poor as he sought to prevent the Republican-led legislature from bringing its heel down even harder on their necks. “I’ll not have you do this awful thing, requiring people with no job and few resources to contact – and verify that they’ve contacted – that many potential employers. It is odious, it is abhorrent, it is oppressive.”
Employer hardship
That doesn’t even take into account the hardship the new requirement would inflict upon employers, having their phones ringing incessantly with calls from job-seekers who just called the previous week.
All together now for Gov. McCrory: “For he’s a jolly good ...”
Say what?
Oops. Turns out we were delusional. McCrory did help the unemployed of his state, but not on purpose. In a statement released Tuesday, McCrory set the record straight on his priorities. “Although the vast majority of this bill contains much-needed revisions to unemployment laws,” he said, “there are unacceptable provisions” in it.
Sorry, poor, unemployed people of North Carolina. Gov. Dude deep-sixed the bill not because of any increased hardships it would have placed on you, but because those “unacceptable provisions” would have diluted his power by allowing both the House and the Senate to place a member on the Board of Review.
McCrory at present appoints all three members to the board, and home slice is in no mood to share that crony-rewarding power with the legislature. The board, of which you’re likely unfamiliar, reviews decisions on unemployment benefits made by the Division of Employment Security. It’s a plum piece of patronage pie, that post, allowing its members to remain out of the spotlight while making $120,000 a year.
‘Board of Review’
Is there any wonder the governor wants to hoard that board power, even if it means – EGADS! – unintentionally helping the unemployed?
With apologies to Elvis and his classic “Blue Suede Shoes,” here is Elvis McCrory’s version, called “Board of Review.” Maestro, hit it:
You can knock the poor down
You can spit in their face.
Slander their name all over the place.
Do anything that you want to do
But don’t you mess with my Board of Review...
Kick ’em outta their house
You can steal their car
Make ’em go potty in an old fruit jar.
Do anything that you want to do
But unh unh honey
Lay off of my Board of Review.
You can do anything
but stay off of my Board of Review.
You know how in war, people who are injured or killed despite not being the intended target are referred to as “collateral damage”?
What do you call people who, like North Carolina’s unemployed in this battle between the governor and the legislature, are spared despite not being the actual targeted beneficiaries?
Lucky, I guess. For now.
June 27, 2014 at 10:22 am
Norm Kelly says:
Writing about McCrory, Barry says 'he reduced the amount of money people receiving unemployment insurance payments can get'. Let's be clear about a few things. Just because the same lie is repeated often and it seems always in the N&D does not make it so. The first part of this story that we need to know is that unemployment benefits were extended several times under the current occupier. This is because his economic policies suck so bad that jobs actually aren't being created so the demon alternative is to pay people to not work. But the point and facts are that when the central planners extended unemployment benefits again, the demons in Raleigh simply went along with it. The unemployment fund was flat broke. There was only 1 way to pay this extension: borrow the money from the central planners. No attempt at negotiating a plan that would allow the state to afford the extension. No attempt to figure out how to repay the loan from the central planners. The demons in Raleigh simply put the state into debt to an amount that was about 10% of the total budget. Not for an expansion of the state budget to cover shortfalls across the board. Nope. A 10% debt, with no repayment plan, for a SINGLE LINE ITEM.
When the Republicans took over they had two problems. First was how to get a 10% budget deficit/loan to the central planners paid off. Second was yet another extension passed the central planners. What was the state to do? They had 2 choices, it would appear. First would be to do the same wimpy, chicken-a@@ thing the demons did: put the state further into debt. Second was to request a variance from the federal plan; one that would hopefully allow the state to afford the extension. Mind you, the Republicans asked permission from the central planners to actually extend unemployment payments, but with a different formula than that demanded by the central planners. The response from the central planners? Hell, no. Our great state followed the central planner demands or we would NOT be allowed to participate in the extension AT ALL. The central planners idea? Go further into debt for a single line item or don't pay unemployment benefits extension at all. So, the requirement to cut off unemployment payments came from the central planners NOT the Republicans in Raleigh. Facts are damn funny things. Constantly ignored by demons and libs. But still facts.
Also writing about McCrory, Barry says ' McCrory rejected ... billions in Medicaid moolah'. Potentially billions. For a short period of time. Remember, the liar in chief promised that the first round of socialized medicine would NOT add to the national debt. At this point, we all know that was just ANOTHER of his LIES! So, initially the central planners would pay for all of the additional costs of medicaid. But in short order, that would have changed dramatically and the state would be left holding the bag. A very large bag full of IOUs. A bag of IOUs that the state simply can NOT afford. The central planners aren't just broke. The central planners have put us $17TRILLION in debt!!! Can you even imagine how large that number is? If you said yes, you are also a liar not just a lib. The projection is that socialized medicine round 1 is going to push us well past the $20TRILLION mark, all on it's own. How long can this debacle be sustained? And we need to add to this that the demons at the central planner level are refusing to change the law to insure that illegal aliens aren't getting socialized medicine coverage. Just recently, this week I believe, the demons in the Senate prevented a bill from being voted on that would do just this, prevent illegal aliens from getting socialized medicine coverage. So the $20TRILLION number is considerably low for the impact of socialized medicine. How long will the central planners be able to sustain state medicaid payments at this rate of debt creation? So the Republicans in our great state did ALL the citizens a favor by NOT participating in this round of socialized medicine. Unless all you libs can come up with a way that this scheme can actually work, it's time to stop trying to convince the rest of us that we should be lemmings. Educated voters are the best defense we have against socialism. Obamacancer absolutely IS socialized medicine, even if libs don't yet want to admit it. I believe this is one time that our very own K needs to be listened to. Ask her about Obamascare and she'll tell you the fault with it is that it allowed private sector businesses to participate and until it's completely taken over by the central planners, it is doomed to failure. K's idea: complete socialized medicine take-over by the feds. Ta-da. Mission accomplished. Failure guaranteed, but socialists are happy.
