Cabarrus Cheap Seats

You asked for it.  Read, make comments.  My summary is pretty general in scope.
The total amount of the General Fund (the main part of the budget) is $206 Million. Of this amount, $56 Million, or 27% of the General Fund, is designated for programs which are mandated by the state or federal government, or involve [...]

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I read the news today and you should, too: [READ CABARRUS NEIGHBORS ARTICLE ON SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION] 
Over the course of the next year and a half, people running for office will act shocked that we’re so far behind on school construction and that it costs so much.  They’ll act like this is all one, big suprise.
Don’t believe [...]

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“Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.” - Robert W. Sarnoff 
Update Note [April 23, 2007]: I figure since The Cabarrus Youth Tax: How Your Kids Might Pay For Their Own Schools became the most read article on this blog over the past couple of weeks, I would re-run [...]

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It was great seeing all of the people supportive of the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bond at the Cabarrus BOC meeting last night.  Dr. Dari Caldwell and Roy Davis did an amazing job speaking.  I spoke also, but I got a little scrambled in the middle…kinda felt like I was doing [...]

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After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. - 2 Corinthians 12:14
Earlier this week, Cabarrus County Schools reported that their budget was increasing 20% from last year. This is to open and staff new schools.
The claim has been made by members of the old majority [...]

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“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” - Thomas Carlyle
According to Harold Smith and Coy Privette - I’ve been undertaxed. Or, they were simply mistaken. Or, they were exploiting perception to score some votes in the May Primary.
I’m going to serve up a big helping of the benefit of [...]

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For a time, I’ve been trying to consider the other side of the coin. Could it be that Coy, Harold, and others are right and I’m dead wrong? I’m willing to consider it (and have). However, I think the problem is not so much a difference of philosophy; but one of one group of people [...]

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There’s an acronym that is used frequently in the technical world - RTFM. Nicely put, it stands for “Read The Friendly Manual”. Exercise your imagination as to what word usually replaces Friendly.
Whenever I read an outrageous post by Harold Smith, it usually takes me anywhere from a few minutes or a couple of e-mails to [...]

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In order to accept what I’m about to tell you - it’s necessary for you to suspend all belief in facts, logic, and fiscal responsibility. You’ll have to ignore your judgment and believe what Harold Smith (www.goharoldsmith.com) has said about the Capital Reserve fund being a “slush fund” to be true. This will be difficult, [...]

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“I have no problem whatsoever letting the future pay for schools” - Coy Privette 
Oh, yes, you heard that right: Coy is interested in mortgaging the future. In all honesty, I thought of using the term “Cabarrus Youth Tax” as an illustration of how the debt that Coy Privette, Richard Suggs, and Robert Freeman arranged when [...]

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