We want to thank the overflow crowd of almost 200 area citizens from Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Halifax and Franklin counties who came out on Sept. 19 to attend the N.C. Forward luncheon and share their passion for moving our state forward with North Carolina Democratic legislators.

The N.C. Democratic Legislative Caucus has established four major priorities to address the needs and future of our beloved state: saving and creating jobs; protecting our education system and our children’s future; helping our most vulnerable citizens by fighting to preserve critical services; and respecting and protecting the rights of all North Carolinians.

Your area legislators also want to thank the many citizens who have emailed and called, indicating that the event was informative, empowering and fun.

One emailer reported: “We walked away with great confidence that legislators are trying to reach out and let us know they are very concerned about the impact of budget reductions in communities.”

The networking, good food, issue discussions and information sharing were uplifting for the work ahead, and have inspired us to redouble our fight against the movement to roll back the opportunities and rights that we have fought for all of our lives – a decent job at a livable wage, a fair chance and a humane and just society.

Our legislative listening session was attended by Democratic members of our local delegation plus 12 current and former legislative leaders, N.C. Sens. Josh Stein,Wake; and Ed Jones, Halifax; N.C. Reps. Joe Hackney, minority leader, Orange; Verla Insko, Orange; Ray Rapp, Madison; Becky Carney, Mecklenburg; Earline Parmon, Forsyth; Marvin Lucas, Cumberland; William Wainwright, deputy minority leader, Craven; and former N.C. Reps. John May, Franklin; and Randy Stewart, Nash; along with former N.C. Sen. Don Davis, Green, who is now chairman of the 1st Congressional District Democratic Party.

Our local delegation, N.C. Reps. Angela Bryant, Nash; Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Wilson; and Joe Tolson, Edgecombe, were delighted to support Rocky Mount’s downtown business community by holding our forum at the Four Seasons Restaurant and Conference Center and showcasing the Douglas Block and downtown projects to our peers across the state.

All of these efforts are a direct result of initiatives championed by these legislative leaders in support of small business and community economic development.

Our opponents say that cutting regulations and taxes will create jobs. While those actions will surely benefit owners and employers, there is no solid evidence of job creation from those untargeted and ill-defined measures which are, at best, longer term or indirect and meager strategies, and at worst, self-serving power and money grabs.

Meanwhile our job situation is getting worse now! North Carolina must take a comprehensive, focused and sustained public and private approach to save and create the jobs we need to reverse the spiraling economic decline we are facing. Slashing and burning education budgets that fuel our region’s largest employers is not a part of the solution for jobs now.

For example, N.C. Wesleyan College has lost $240,000 in state funds from various cuts that usually would support low-income North Carolina students attending college. Not only does that represent future job losses for students without educational opportunities, jobs have been lost right now for staff and faculty as a result of actions by this Republican majority.

Today, this education budget drops our state to 49th in the nation in per pupil spending for public education. Do you think that ranking makes this state and the Twin Counties attractive for doing business and attracting new business?

Nearly 125 education jobs have been lost in this region from this Republican budget – making up a part of our increasing unemployment rates of 16.2 percent in Edgecombe, 12.6 percent in Nash, 13.6 percent in Wilson and 13.7 percent in Halifax – and we have more government and private job losses to come.

The folks who support these strategies of “cut and deregulate” as the sole focus for job creation are missing or refuse to acknowledge the full impact of their actions. These 6,500 government workers that they have fired, not because of waste or poor performance, but because of a promise to remove a temporary 1-cent tax, are now missing in action from the consumer spending base that drives our economy.

Moreover, the providers of the services to elders, children and the disabled, that they have drastically cut, also represent lost jobs and economic spending in our community, in addition to decreasing health, safety and quality of life for all of us.

North Carolina needs a laser focus on job protection and creation in our region, and your Democratic leaders will continue to push for that now!

We need targeted tax incentives that are sufficient to incentivize job production and fair revenue-raising strategies to share the cost of investment for everyone in evidence-based job creation and economic development tools and infrastructure that will create jobs now!

North Carolina Democrats did not set the table for the budget crisis that we are facing.

That table was set by Republican policies at the federal level of unwarranted and unfettered spending on war and mindless deregulation of the financial industry that set in motion the deepest economic recession of our time.

Rather than focusing full-time on this economic crisis, the Republicans have focused on rolling back our constitutional rights to vote, to a sound basic education, to free speech and to equal rights and protection under the law, and on rolling back our human rights to health care and a chance at a decent living.

Let’s not roll back North Carolina’s ranking as one of the “Best States for Business” (CNBC). Join us in moving North Carolina forward now!

N.C. Rep. ANGELA 
R. BRYANT

Nash

N.C. Rep. Jean 
Farmer Butterfield

Wilson

N.C. Rep. Joe Tolson

Edgecombe

N.C. Sen. Ed Jones

Halifax