Larry Reed: Not-so-rosy outlook

Tim Moore’s Feb. 2 letter “Careful approach beats playing politics” was a classic application of a politician’s application of “the big lie,” where if someone repeats a lie loud enough and often enough, it works to brainwash people to believe it.

Moore seeks to claim credit for our country’s return to economic well-being, through none of the machinations of our gerrymandered state legislature and compliant governor.

He carefully avoids the fact that the bottom line national unemployment rate is 5 percent, South Carolina’s is 5.5 percent, Virginia’s is 4.2 percent and North Carolina is still stuck at 5.5 percent (ranked 39th in the U.S.).

He doesn’t note all the harm the legislature and governor have inflicted through increasing repressive sales taxes and service fees, cutting public education and undercutting the state’s environment and public health, such as failing to clean up Duke Energy’s coal ash contamination.

Industry doesn’t allow local state tax policies to dictate their business strategic decisions. They are glad to collect tax reductions due to their contributions to the Republican Party.

The legislature’s war on public education and the environment and public health inhibits new companiesfrom locating good-paying jobs in our state. Hopefully North Carolina voters will see through Moore’s big lie and hold him and his sidekicks responsible for the destruction of our opportunities.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Larry Reed: Not-so-rosy outlook."