The General Assembly is preparing to convene for a short session this summer, which will probably last six weeks. The stunted length of the legislative session typically rules out action on big issues, but this short session is anything but typical.
For starters, in January 2015, N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis might find himself being sworn in as Sen. Thom Tillis, assuming these six weeks in the summer don’t get in the way. Then there are the many issues making serious political waves in the state and drawing an increasing amount of the national media’s attention to North Carolina. Whether or not Tillis decides to run for the Senate will determine the General Assembly’s response to these issues.
Despite promises from Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and other Republicans, the state continues to rank 46th in the nation for teacher pay. Yet the GOP, not Democrats, has cut teacher pay and ended tenure for public school teachers. The party continues to fight for publicly funded vouchers for private and home schools. Universities, research and every economic development program imaginable won’t make a difference if public schools aren’t producing students that can fill these positions.
Even universities are feeling the General Assembly tighten the fiscal strings. Gov. Pat McCrory famously derided humanities, even though he holds a political science degree from a liberal-arts college. Those same college professors have seen year after year of stagnant pay. Some have even seen their salaries diminished. Speaker Tillis should lead on this issue now.
Then there’s the economy, another topic of national focus. The General Assembly went out of its way to slash unemployment benefits more than any other state. As a result, the unemployment rate dropped but took the workforce with it. The bottom line is that reductions in unemployment are tied to the participation rate, and people are giving up on the North Carolina economy. Unemployment benefits were put in place to help those who lose work stay on their feet long enough to find new work. When those funds run out, they are at risk of giving up. Of course, people could pursue a secondary degree or certificate from a community college, assuming there are any left after this General Assembly adjourns.
Chronic or untreated medical conditions also factor into why people lose or leave their jobs. It’s hard to put 40 hours into a week and turn in top-rate performances with untreated diabetes. But usually people who work at jobs that don’t offer healthcare don’t, spoiler alert, have insurance. So, even though study after study states a Medicaid expansion in North Carolina would generate millions in extra tax revenue and gross state product, the GOP-led General Assembly refused to do so. As a result, the health and prosperity of 500,000 North Carolinians are at risk. To top it all off, citizens are paying higher taxes under the Affordable Care Act to subsidize Medicaid expansion nationally. North Carolina taxpayers are paying for other states’ programs. Speaker Tillis should lead on this issue now.
The list goes on and on. It seems like many of the issues facing the General Assembly should be bipartisan in nature, since Republicans have voiced support for fixing teacher pay and potentially expanding the Medicaid program through private insurers. All the same, it’s unlikely that any substantive action will be taken until next January, when a new General Assembly convenes, presumably with a new speaker.
Tillis will continue to let North Carolina stagnate so he can beef up his conservative credentials in a three-way primary fight before drawing a stark contrast between himself and Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan. Tillis will be enjoying millions in campaign funding from outside sources like the Koch brothers and Karl Rove, while the legislature deliberately avoids tackling the big issues in the state. Experts in the state and all around the country have studied teacher pay, Medicaid expansion, the economy and voting rights at length. Elected officials know which policy paths will lead to the best results. But with legislators like Tillis, who would put D.C. politics before North Carolina’s prosperity, the worst results are the best voters can hope for.
