Though it is sad that this has become necessary, I would like to ask that NC Patriots print the following very simple pledge for any candidate running for state office:
The “I will not succumb to bribery” pledge.
I will not accept federal dollars through my office in exchange for my vote or my influence over legislation or public policy, nor will I cede my vote on any piece of legislation because someone else has accepted federal dollars, even if the legislation in question is that which I might otherwise vote to approve. I acknowledge that passing legislation in exchange for money amounts to an abdication of authority and selling my vote. I also acknowledge that allowing campaign contributions to influence my vote or the exercise of my powers of office is a violation of North Carolina’s legislative code of ethics per GS120-86, GS138A-31, and GS138A-33. I accept this pledge and do so freely and without reservations, so help me God.
Signed, Candidate for NC Legislature
This pledge is particularly necessary of any upcoming NC House Rep at this time with the formation of NC’s new Public-Private Partnerships Committee aka the Committee on Money Funneling. One very prominent example of a public-private partnership in action is the partnership between Pearson Corporation and the State of North Carolina, which was solidified with the writing of Common Core mandates into North Carolina General Statutes, under Speaker Tillis, in exchange for federal dollars.
The state of North Carolina was not required to place Common Core into our statutes in order to implement them, they were actually already being implemented, and the State Board of Education is able to make decisions on education standards without the copyright product being in our statutes; however having Common Core in the statutes now prevents the State Board of Education from being able to reverse the decision to use Common Core even if they wanted to. Understand: the children of North Carolina have been sold out for federal dollars. How is that for representation?
When Obamacare bribe money was accepted by Gov. Bev Perdue under the terms that North Carolina would develop a state-run healthcare exchange, after uproar from constituents, the North Carolina legislature sent the money back to the federal government and refused the terms. The same should have been done with Common Core, but unfortunately not enough constituents were aware of the situation at the time.
Another example of a public-private partnership agreement is the high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes plan for I-77, advocated by Speaker Tillis despite the fact that NC residents already pay gas tax rates that are among the highest in the nation, and the fact that in 2013 the NCGA increased the annual registration fee of electric vehicle drivers to cover their exclusion from the gas tax. This HOT lanes toll plan will cost North Carolinians, up front, more than double the amount required to simply widen I-77 with general access lanes. The eventual costs of the plan are incalculable as the toll rates would be subject to the whims of a private corporation unaccountable to the taxpayers of North Carolina. For more information, see: http://wideni77.org/2014/03/25/thom-tillis-after-8-years-only-tholl-roads/
Make sure that anyone asking for your vote is willing to denounce the practice of bribery, whether it is conducted as a personal practice or it is conducted through the realm of government. Here are some quotations from across the spectrum about the practice of bribery and government policy:
“Can I say that I think it should be against the law for one state to use taxpayer money to try to bribe businesses in another state to move? Which then causes the target state to use taxpayer dollars to try to bribe the businesses to stay.” -Robert Taylor, IBI Merchants
“In fact, in virtually every country in the world bribery is a shameful act. Those who accept bribes do not speak publicly of their bribes anywhere … 1. Bribery corrupts the capitalist economic system. The capitalist system is based on competition in an open and free market, where people tend to buy the best product at the best price. Bribery corrupts the free-market mechanism by getting people to make purchases that do not reward the most efficient producer. 2. Bribery is a sellout to the rich. In any situation ruled only by money, the deeper pocket will prevail. … Bribery produces cynicism and a general distrust of institutions. It destroys people’s trust in the integrity of professional services, of government and the courts, of law enforcement, religion, and anything it touches … Bribery treats people as commodities whose honor can be bought and sold. It thus tends to degrade the respect we owe to other human beings.” -Instructor’s Guide to Engineering Ethics
“Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,” “Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,” Proverbs 10:2
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury” and “The American Republic will endure until the day that politicians discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”