The Real Answer to Local Property Crime

Published on: 2nd March, 2010 |

As property crime in the Port City soars out of control (up 19 percent this year alone), Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous railed to the City Council on Monday about thefts and burglaries.  The Chief said, “We are arresting and re-arresting these people over and over.  The rest of the system is failing us.”

The “rest of the system” to which the Chief refers is the county jail, the courts and the state’s prison and probation systems that turn out criminals as almost as quickly as they are arrested.

Chief Evangelous correctly pointed out that when arrested, property crime suspects typically receive low-bonds, allowing them to re-offend while awaiting trial.  Additionally many cases are “plea bargained,” meaning that numerous offenses result in only one conviction.

The result is what concerns Chief Evangelous the most:  officers may arrest the same person 30 to 40 times.  This means that these repeat-offenders, who are only a small percent of society, commit the bulk of the crime and, thereby, lower the quality of life of all of us.

To make matters worse, numerous prison closings and staff reductions in the N.C. Department of Correction are planned in the future.  The limited prison space, thanks to the General Assembly’s long-time refusal to fund prisons, means that prosecutors are forced to cut deals with criminals.  Weak sentencing laws (thanks again to the General Assembly) also tie judges’ hands, limiting their ability to incarcerate offenders.

So (besides cutting prison space!), what is the General Assembly doing to address a problem that they helped to create?  Get this — Liberals are trying to pass House Bill 1360.  What does it do?  It limits the types of felonies that can lead someone to be given a lengthy sentence as a habitual felon.  (Criminals qualify for habitual felon status after being convicted of a felony on three different occasions.)

In the case of property criminals the proposed law would mean suspects with multiple convictions for felony breaking and entering or breaking into a motor vehicle would NOT be considered habitual felons.  The result?  These criminals would receive lesser sentences.  Who’s the “crime fighter” sponsoring this bill:  Representative Phil Haire, a Democrat.  What is the justification Haire gives for his “Haire-brained” legislation?  Although he can offer no statistics, Haire claims that locking people up for nonviolent offenses isn’t stopping crime.  He misses the obvious – if they are locked up, they are not committing crimes.  Haire also falls back on other arguments from the liberal handbook:  it’s too expensive to lock-up the criminals and incarceration risks turning property offenders into more dangerous criminals.

Chief Evangelous is not buying these liberal excuses.  I don’t think you are and neither am I.  We know the answer to crime and it’s a simple one.  It’s one that I preached when I was Legal Counsel at the State Crime Commission.  We need swift and sure punishment for ALL criminals and a prison cell for everyone who deserves it – property criminals included! As your Senator, I will make no excuses and will hold any and all criminals responsible for their actions.  North Carolina and New Hanover County will be places were criminals walk in fear, not law-abiding citizens.

Don’t stop here! I purposefully made this article short and concise because I don’t want you just to accept my “spin.” Educate yourself by exploring further and by asking and answering your own questions.  See the article that started my inquiry:  “Wilmington police chief says repeat offenders committing bulk of crimes,” http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100301/ARTICLES/3014007/1015/NEWS0101?Title=Wilmington-police-chief-says-repeat-offenders-committing-bulk-of-crimes

Want to sound off and be heard?  Contact Chief Evangelous at the Wilmington Police Department at 910-343-3600 and Representative Phil Haire at 828-586-1771. Let us know at Carolina Talk Network what you find out!  Email me at Thom@CarolinaTalkNetwork.com.

State Tax Refunds Delayed

Published on: 16th February, 2010 |

As a self-employed taxpayer, I am well aware of the punishment if I am a minute late in paying my yearly state income tax bill — the NC Department of Revenue hits me with an immediate penalty.

However, it doesn’t go both ways.

If you overpay the state, now you’re being told you can expect to wait weeks or months in order to get YOUR refund.

Why?  Our governor and legislative leaders have so mismanaged our financial house that, according to NC Revenue Secretary Ken Lay, the move is necessary to make sure the state has enough cash on hand to pay its bills between now and the end of the State’s fiscal year on June 30.

Isn’t it interesting to observe the disparity between how the state runs its financial house and how you are expected to run yours? The more important question is:  why do we tolerate such poor leadership in our state?  We are overdue for a change.

Don’t stop here! I purposefully made this article short and concise because I don’t want you just to accept my “spin.” Educate yourself by exploring further and by asking and answering your own questions.  See the article that started my inquiry:  “Expect delay for tax refund,” http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/state/story/341560.html

Want to sound off and be heard?  Contact Governor Perdue and let her know what you think by calling her toll free at 800-662-7952.  You can also contact NC Revenue Secretary Ken Lay by calling him toll free at 877-252-3052.  Let us know at Carolina Talk Network what you find out!  Email me at Thom@CarolinaTalkNetwork.com.

Tax Bonanza or Christmas Giveaway

Published on: 12th January, 2010 |

It sounds great — North Carolina tax collectors brought in $427 million in revenues in December.   They accomplished this feat by settling 236 of 300 disputed cases — all with corporate taxpayers.

Clearly, the Department of Revenue felt under the gun — the state was suffering a shortfall of $110 million at the end of November.  It all sounds well and good, until some questions are asked, such as which corporations settled their disputes. Officials could not name the corporations claiming “state law” prohibited the Department of Revenue from disclosing taxpayer information.

When asked how many pennies on the dollar the state accepted in settlement, officials claimed to have focused on “the method of tax that was in dispute, instead of the dollar figure.”  Curious — when it comes to my own personal taxes, the taxman always knows what I owe to the penny.

For those of us who believe that businesses and individuals are overtaxed in North Carolina, it is always a good day when someone’s taxes are cut — as long as the cuts are fair and across the board.  However, in this instance, the Department of Revenue is close-mouthed about whose taxes were cut, if the deductions were fair and who else deserves a break.

The real question is:  Did the Department of Revenue giveaway the farm at Christmas?  We deserve answers.

Don’t stop here! I purposefully made this article short and concise because I don’t want you just to accept my “spin.” Educate yourself by exploring further and by asking and answering your own questions.  See the article that started my inquiry:  “Dispute effort yields a tax bonanza,” http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/269921.html

Want to sound off and be heard?  Contact Revenue Secretary Ken Lay at the NC Department of Revenue by calling him toll free at 877-252-3052.  See if you can get an answer.  You can also let Governor Perdue know what you think by calling her toll free at 800-662-7952.  Let us know at Carolina Talk Network what you find out!

College Educations for Illegals on Your Dime

Published on: 8th January, 2010 |

Just when you thought the world could not get any crazier, it does.  A recent public hearing by the State Board of Community Colleges demonstrated just how weird things have gotten.  The purpose of the hearing was to allow the public to speak out regarding the Board’s decision to admit illegal aliens into all the state’s community colleges.  That’s right – illegal aliens can attend our community colleges, if the pay out-of-state tuition.

Approximately 150 people showed up at the hearing on last Friday morning in Raleigh.  Many of the attendyees were Latinos, an unknown number of whom are illegally in the country.  More than 50 speeches were given, most lamenting on how unfair it was to even question the ability of illegal aliens to attend publically funded community colleges.

Some speakers, such as former UNCW Chancellor, James Leutze, said that it was ridiculous that the community college board would dare to require illegal aliens to pay out-of-state tuition.  Now does that make sense to anyone?  Think about it – when out-of-state students attend a North Carolina community college, they are expected to pay out-of-state tuition.  Somehow, in Leutze’s mind, if you are an out-of-country ILLEGAL alien you somehow rate a special privilege.

The most intelligent comment of the day came from one of the only six people in attendance who spoke out against illegal aliens attending our state’s community colleges.  His name was James Johnson with N.C. FIRE who said, “Since it is against federal and state law to hire an illegal alien, educated or not, what’s the purpose of giving an illegal alien a college education?”  This is the real point and heart of the matter.  What are we even doing discussing the education of illegal aliens who have absolutely no right to be in our country?  To even have a job, they must break several State and Federal laws.  What is the purpose of educating an illegal alien who, beyond not even being able to work in our country, has no legal or legitimate right to be here?

Supporters at the hearing even argued that better education for illegal aliens means a better future for North Carolina residents.  How is that possible?  Here’s another great quote from Leutze, who also buys into this argument: “…for individuals to compete in today’s workforce, they must be armed with appropriate training.”

Leutze is completely off the mark.  Illegal aliens cannot be part of any legal workforce.  Without legal status, they cannot legally receive a paycheck, don’t pay taxes and don’t support their local communities.  Does Leutze have any clue regarding the lawlessness that he is advocating?  For a former UNC System Chancellor, his inability to see what he is advocating is most surprising.

Don’t stop here! I purposefully made this article short and concise because I don’t want you just to accept my “spin.” Educate yourself by exploring further and by asking and answering your own questions.  See the articles that started my inquiry:

Board told to let illegals study, http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/248089.html

They came to be heard, http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/54311.html

Public speaks out about undocumented students policy, http://news14.com/triangle-news-30-content/headlines/619270/public-speaks-out-about-undocumented-students-policy

Habitual Felons to Serve Less Time

Published on: 5th January, 2010 |

Great news for habitual felons — you will serve less time in NC prisons thanks to a new law that recently went into effect.  It’s all part of the Democrat plan to not provide more prison space.

For months before the law was passed, newspapers around the state ran articles explaining how expensive it was to lock up habitual criminals.  Liberal criminal justice professors and Democrat politicians said we could save money by releasing hardened criminals early from prison.  Good news — the pro-habitual criminal lobby has  succeeded!

It does cost money to lock away career criminals.  However, it is much more expensive and harmful to let them loose on the public.

How can the same politicians who find money to spend on their favorite pork barrel projects, not fund the necessary prison space to keep dangerous, repeat criminals locked away?  The answer is simple — crime victims are random and have no constituency.  They have no lobbyists.  For the most part, victims of crime are just ordinary people who are raped, robbed and murdered by criminals who have many times committed numerous previous offenses.

Since passage of NC’s habitual offender laws, crime rates have gone down dramatically.  Why ruin a good thing?  The answer is simple — instead of keeping you and your family save, liberals want the money to spend on other things.

Don’t stop here! I purposefully made this article short and concise because I don’t want you just to accept my “spin.” Educate yourself by exploring further and by asking and answering your own questions.  See the articles that started my inquiry:

Legislature Slashes Sentences for Murderers and Rapists, http://www.nccivitas.org/media/publication-archive/policy-brief/legislature-slashes-sentences-murderers-and-rapists

NC Habitual Felon Law Prison Costs: $1.5 Billion, http://thecrimereport.org/2009/06/07/nc-habitual-felon-law-prison-costs-15-billion/ Where is any calculation of all the money saved from the crimes NOT committed by serious, habitual offenders?

Common Sense Foundation Foundation regarding mandatory minimum sentencing, http://www.common-sense.org/?fnoc=/common_sense_says/03_april Read the first sentence.  Is it at all possible that the rise in prison population has resulted in the reduced crime rate?  Duh!!!

Next Page »