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BTC Snapshot of Wilkes: Failing our citizens

4/1/2016

The Budget and Tax Center‘s Economic Snapshots provide a look at how well counties in North Carolina are faring across key indicators of economic well being and opportunity. Wilkes County is lagging behind the state average in many key ways. To just say that our residents are living in poverty is limiting the scope of the problem. We are being hit with poverty on all sides. The basic needs of every citizen are not being met; food, shelter, security,...and the hierarchy of needs from there fares even worse with education, vocation and health lagging behind the state average. View the full report HERE.

Educational Poverty
Only 12.9% of adults in Wilkes hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 27.8% statewide on average from 2010 to 2014. But the High School graduation rate was 87.6% compared to the state average of 85.6% in 2014-15. So why are we losing these kids beyond high school? Are we pointing them to an Associates Degree in lieu of Bachelor's too easily and stunting their earning potential later on?

Mental Health Poverty
There was 1 mental health provider for every 645 residents in the county in 2015. With the recent power grab of the County Commissioners last summer in overtaking the Board of Wilkes DSS, it hasn't improved. Our local law-enforcement is covered up with involuntary commitments at Wilkes Regional Hospital, so mental health is an important issue that impacts us all whether you realize or not.

Economic Poverty
23.4% of county residents (15,885 people) lived in poverty and struggled to make ends meet in 2014; the state poverty rate was 17.2%. What's more, 29.5% of our children in the county (4,204 children) lived in poverty in 2014, compared to the 24.1% state average.

Nutritional Poverty
14,329 of Wilkes residents received food stamps in December 2015, with 20.5% of Wilkes residents receiving assistance. Due to the recent implementation of the 3-month time limit for nondisabled childless adults, it's estimated 884 people in this county lost their food stamp assistance this year.

Vocational Poverty
There were 1,658 fewer employed people in Wilkes in December 2015 than there were in December 2007 (before the Great Recession began). Jobs have yet to come back to the county, and one doesn't see the same types of jobs that Key City Furniture and other manufacturing supplied will return.

Healthcare Poverty
16.5% of the Wilkes' residents did not have health insurance, compared to 15.5% of all North Carolinians on average from 2010 to 2014. It is estimated that 2,814 Wilkes County residents would benefit from Medicaid Expansion, delivering $51.4 million in economic benefits to the county.

Shelter Poverty
A Wilkes resident earning the minimum wage would have to work 67 hours per week to afford a modest 2-bedroom unit in the County. Rent and utilities for a safe, modest two-bedroom unit at the county’s fair market monthly rent was $632 in 2015; impossible at the current minimum wage. There is a severe shortage of quality rental properties in this range and below. 55.5% of renters in Wilkes spent 30% or more of their income towards rent.

So what can we as Democrats do?

Push for the Medicaid Expansion of the Affordable Care Act
Encourage more education for our citizens to make them competitive
Re-instate food stamp assistance for non-disabled childless adults
Demand expansion of social services and make mental healthcare (and drug treatment) a priority
Ask for results from our Economic Development that involve working with the companies that are already here to stay open and grow, and encourage entrepreneurship and friendly lending for residents that are already established here.
Encourage leaders that are willing to legislate policy that is inclusive of people, not exclusive, to attract people to visit and relocate to our area.

What are some of YOUR ideas for helping our county move out of the danger zone and into a healthier life for all our residents? Let us know in the comments below.

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An Overwhelming majority agree on this

3/8/2016

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“North Carolina residents are concerned about the direction of education in North Carolina,” says Dr. Don Martin, professor in educational leadership at HPU. “When 73 percent would be willing to pay more taxes to see that teacher pay reaches the national average in five years, decision makers in Raleigh should listen. While higher pay does not solve all of North Carolina’s educational problems, it does help attract and retain quality teachers – the very people who make the most difference in student achievement.”

Indeed! The results of a recent poll conducted by High Point University shows the public's opinion of the direction our current GOP legislature is taking our school systems. It's not a good one.

Giving the overall quality of our public schools a C grade, the answer is not one of privatization either.

"North Carolinians were critical of a proposal to require the bottom five percent of the lowest performing schools to be taken over by out of state, for-profit companies. Seventy-four percent of state residents said they would oppose such a policy."

Takeaway from this survey is that our citizens of the state know what need to be done. We need to pay our teachers what they deserve for the work they need to do,...to pay at a level to attract top talent and keep them, and to put resources into our public schools - not privatize them.

This is exactly what Larry Pendry, candidate for Wilkes Board of Education believes as well. He understands that the current path we've placed our state's schools on isn't sustainable, and it's hurting our biggest County employer - Wilkes County Schools, and it's hurting our kids. When you vote for a BOE candidate, vote Pendry.

To view more about this survey - and believe me, there's a LOT of good stuff here - visit the source material at:
http://www.highpoint.edu/blog/2016/03/hpu-poll-north-carolinians-see-education-headed-in-wrong-direction/_

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The Candidates First Intro

1/18/2016

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While sitting in a recent Wilkes Democratic Party meeting, I was excited to hear our candidates speak publicly for the first time. I knew a few of them already, but even those I DID know, I'd not spoken with about policy or their vision. But tonight each was going to take the stage and I was excited.

First up was our Democratic candidate of Register of Deeds: Connie Sue Cox
The first thing I noticed was Connie's warm smile. Okay, well maybe the second. If you don't know Connie, she's in a wheelchair; paralyzed after a horseback riding accident at Stone Mountain 17 years ago. She's been quoted as saying about the difficulties she's faced, "I now know there is nothing I can't accomplish. My legs are paralyzed, but my mind and heart are not." She is most interested in modernizing the office by getting many of the records online securely like most counties in the state do. "My mission is to proudly serve my home of Wilkes County and the great state of North Carolina, while bringing a fresh start, new ideas and progressive technology to the office of the Register of Deeds.”

Next to speak was Wilkes Board of Commissioners: Brandon Anderson
Brandon is a big man whose stature is only matched by the size of his heart. His warmth is felt instantly, and it comes as no surprise that Brandon is an ordained minister since the age of 17. He has worked for the NC Dept. of Public Safety for the past 8 years and volunteers extensively. He spoke of the importance of the need for our government to serve the least of us: Improving our schools for our children, re-establishing drug prevention programs in the schools, growing more youth programs like Communities in Schools, and the crucial need to improve spending for the county's Dept of Social Services, the Homeless Shelter, and increasing jobs within the county.

30th District NC Senate Seat: Michael Holleman
A teacher at North Middle School, Michael is no stranger to running for office. After a previous run, he admit he learned a lot in the process running against Shirley Randleman. One of the most eye-opening lessons he learned was the lengths to which the far-right would go to control the messaging that is put out at the local level. Outside ultra-conservative organizations like ALEC, John Locke Foundation, and others are not representing the will of the citizens of NC, and we need to take it back from the extreme forces at play.

94th District NC House of Representatives Seat: Mike Lentz
Previously he ran as an independent, but this election Mike returns to the Democratic party to win the seat back from Jeffrey Elmore. I had the honor of sitting at a table with Mike at the 10th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Breakfast, and we spoke about the rural Wilkes County of his youth; growing up poor, but not knowing you were poor because everyone around you was poor;...of working together because it was really about survival;...of reading the words of Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail for the first time and realizing how beautiful and powerful his words were. Mike is an unassuming man, but with a great deal of experience and a connection to Wilkes County that is very deep indeed.

All of these candidates promise to uphold the values of the Democratic Party and work to the betterment of Wilkes County. However, you might not hear a lot about them in the coming months. You see, none of these fine candidates are going to appear on the ballot in March because they are running unopposed within their party. So while the Republicans are fighting one another in the primary in March, our candidates will be waiting for their turn. However, they still need your willingness to listen to their message, your support through word and deed, and your commitment to vote for them in November. Please do!

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Health Care Denied

11/4/2015

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[the following is an op/ed letter submitted by Wilkes County Democrats Chairman, Larry Pendry to The Wilkes Journal Patriot on 11/4/2015.]

As we enter into the 90-day Open Season period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, I am reminded that Virginia Foxx warned us almost 6 years ago that our seniors would be subject to “death panels” under this law.

How ironic that part of her prediction may come true for some of the estimated 2800 citizens living here in Wilkes County that have no health insurance. The North Carolina General Assembly failed to expand Medicaid and put not only low income seniors, but all of these lives at a greater risk of some catastrophic illness or death.

Both Senator Randleman and Representative Elmore have previously voted against expanding health care for the less fortunate leaving all of us to pick up the higher costs. Predictably, HB 330 legislation to expand health insurance was pushed to committee this session and Senator Randleman voted in favor of HB 372 that privatizes Medicaid so that corporations can get their cut off the top. According to the General Assembly website, Representative Elmore had an excused absence on 9.22.15 when HB 372 was passed. Whatever happened to the “compassionate conservatives”?

And if our representatives do not care about the health of low income citizens, do they not care about the health of the Wilkes Regional Medical Center? Rural hospitals in general have big financial problems, and it would be a great help to our Hospital if every last one of those folks who come into the emergency room had some kind of health insurance to pay the Hospital.

~ Larry Pendry
North Wilkesboro, NC

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Thank You Steve Goss - YOU SERVED THE PEOPLE WELL

10/28/2015

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Senator Steve Goss meets with students before a speaking engagment at Appalachian State University in 2010.

Former 45th District NC Senator Steve Goss died October 26th, 2015 following a brief battle with cancer. He was 65.

Goss was a teacher and varsity football coach for years at Northwest Ashe High School, in addition to being an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He pastored churches in Ashe, Watauga, Duplin and Montgomery Counties in North Carolina, as well as Martinsville, VA. He traveled to Tokyo, Japan, in the 1980s for missionary work.

Goss served the people of Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes Counties for two terms, 2007-2010, as a Democratic member of the North Carolina State Senate. He was ultimately defeated by Republican Dan Soucek in 2010.

Goss worked tirelessly for the people of our district. To name two accomplishments: 1) ensuring the preservation of Pond Mountain for generations to come, and 2) securing funding to build the new Education building at Appalachian State University.

Of course, if you asked Steve, the thing of which he was proudest was that he personally responded to every constituent who contacted his office...he listened, and acted everywhere he could. He viewed his time in state government as his ministry - he was there to serve his people

Goss is survived by his wife, Phyllis, two adult children and 5 grandchildren. Visitation will be held at Boone Family Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, and the funeral will be held at Fletcher Memorial Baptist Church in Jefferson at 11 a.m. the following day.

For more information, visit http://www.boonefuneralhome.com.

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Where Women Stand With NC GA 2015

10/21/2015

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John Cole - editorial cartoonist for The Times-Tribune, and is syndicated nationally by Cagle Cartoons.

This year's NC General Assembly was exceedingly tough on women. Sure, the bills had pandering titles like the "Women and Children's Protection Act", but these bills created additional obstacles to the availability and quality of reproductive healthcare and the right to choose.

Click HERE to read a comprehensive list on the truth of what happened in the realm of Women's Rights in the 2015 North Carolina Legislative session. But a few of the highlights (or very low-lights as it were) are as follows:

A 72-hour waiting period for a pregnancy termination means an undue burden on women forced into two trips to a clinic, 2 absences from work, and additional childcare.

Additional burden on doctors to submit more info to DHHS.

This bill will prevent women from having the choice to donate tissue, even if the fetus has a rare disease and donation could help research find a cure for that very disease in the future.

Thanks to Senate Bill 279 basically anyone can teach sex education in public schools to the "values of the community," which could mean absolutely anything.

At the same time, state funding has been completely cut off for medically accurate and comprehensive sex ed programs provided by Planned Parenthood that have been shown to reduce teen pregnancy rates in the state.

Does that sound like laws that empower women, or does it sound like one that shames and punishes them? It greatly discounts all progress the state has made in reducing teen pregnancy by scraping the very programs that have helped.

Be sure to read the full article by NC Policy Watch:
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2015/10/21/tolling-the-damage-to-reproductive-freedom-from-the-2015-general-assembly/

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Women Join Up!

10/7/2015

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Shifting The Burden

9/29/2015

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*clap,clap,clap* Way to go guys! This budget really works out for guys exactly like us!! *clap,clap,clap*

In a new opinion piece in the Raleigh News & Observer by Gene Nichol, he points out how the North Carolina's income tax rate decline actually continues to squeeze lower income families. Small cuts to their income taxes will be quickly gobbled up by increases in taxes on repairs for automobiles and appliances. It makes no sense.

"The governor and the General Assembly just lowered, yet again, the state’s income tax rate. To help pay for it, they enacted a new sales tax on car and appliance repairs. The move continues an apparently defining project of shifting the tax burden from the wealthiest North Carolinians to the poorest."

Recently, our refrigerator died. It was a slow death, first the fridge went,...then the freezer. We couldn't afford a new fridge. We simply couldn't. So we had to get it repaired. So what makes our lawmakers think that if you can't afford a new fridge, you can afford higher taxes on getting your old one repaired? It makes no sense. I'd like to see our lawmakers go 3 weeks using ice and a cooler waiting for a part and hoping that you could afford it when it arrived.

It's as if our lawmakers have no contact with their actual constituents - you know, the ones that don't donate to their campaigns. Transportation is a key to life in our many rural communities without public transit systems. It means the difference between having a job and not having a job to many. Repairs to cars are not only necessary, but vital to entire households.

The wealthy not only have newer cars which need fewer repairs, but they can easily get loaner cars, may have multiple cars in their household, can even RENT cars to use if theirs is in the shop. But for those that are struggling, car repairs are a huge burden in keeping their older cars running. I've known many people that end up bartering with mechanics because they already struggle to make ends meet, and their car is essential to holding a job. Raising the financial burden on those already burdened is not a solution.

But that is precisely what our General Assembly chose to do. They blame the poor for being poor; for not being as smart as they are; for ultimately being failed millionaires. To empathize with the poor and needy means you have to accept that there may even be other paths to a happy life,...one that *what?* may not revolve around money or power. Our legislators need to simply stop making legislation that creates crisis after crisis in lives that they can't possibly relate to.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article36473067.html#storylink=cpy

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SCOTUS and the GOP

9/23/2015

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The upcoming election is an important one because of the ramifications the newly elected president will have in regards to the US Supreme Court.

"By Election Day 2016, three justices — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy — will be 80 or older. Given the likelihood of vacancies, a Democratic president would have the chance to maintain or, with a Scalia retirement, slightly enhance the ideological status quo. A Republican president would have the prospect of transforming it, for decades to come."

But there has been a disturbing trend in the rhetoric of the GOP candidates during the debates:

"...notable, and unsettling, was the vehemence of some candidates’ resistance to the court’s decrees; the fury unleashed on Roberts; and their fundamental cluelessness about constitutional guarantees."

Read on some of the flawed constitutional thinking of the candidates here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-candidates-constitution/2015/09/18/b2ceaea2-5e24-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html

And then remember to VOTE DEMOCRAT!!

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5 "Known UnKnowns" To Predict The 2016 Election

9/17/2015

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Marc Ambinder at the website Five Thirty-Eight (statistician wunderkind Nate Silver's website he founded and edits) wrote a great article about the factors that have historically gone into predicting the winner of the Presidential Election. I urge you all to read the complete article HERE:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/five-things-you-need-to-know-before-predicting-the-2016-election/

Ambinder points out 5 key "known unknowns" that contribute to the general election. These are items that need to be evaluated carefully to see how people are going to vote. With the undecided and unaffiliated voting segment larger than ever before, we know they are the ones that ultimately decide elections. A look at these issues may indicate which way the swing voter will swing:

1. How’s the economy really doing?
2. Is the economy or foreign affairs the voters main concern?
3. Can the Democratic nominee distinguish their base from that of Obama?
4. Who's constituency is more fired up?
5. And who is perceived as the winner & frontrunner?

Ambinder makes some really key points in looking at each of these 5 issues, and as Democrats we can see where we can make a real difference in focusing on the topics and staying enthusiastic, strong, and on topic. Additionally, he makes the point about single-women households being a HUGE factor in swing states like North Carolina.

What this article shows most is that ultimately, at the end of the day,...voters really don't care about the sensationalistic hot-button type of issues. It's all about these 5 "known unknowns" that make a difference in presidential campaigns. How will our party address them and how will we as party members support them and communicate them to our neighbors?

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