Jarvis Edgerton: ‘Historic tax reforms’ don’t help teachers

A teacher’s reality

I have noticed a trend in the People’s Forum recently. A resident submits a letter describing personal experiences related to a political issue – usually a teacher, environmental activist or LGBT person.

In response, a politician writes a letter asserting the personal experiences of the resident are false. This response inevitably relies on cherry-picking statistics, or deceptively re-framing the issue so bad facts can be ignored or glossed over.

This happened yet again when Sen. Bob Rucho responded in the Aug. 25 letter “Teachers ahead” to a teacher complaining about having to pay out of pocket for school supplies. Rucho asserted, from Jones Street, that he knows best about the daily life of teachers. Due to “historic tax reforms,” Rucho claimed, “teachers are ahead.”

Of course Rucho and every other GOP politician in Raleigh never include the expanded sales taxes and government fees in their calculations of “historic tax reforms.”

The teacher does not have the luxury of cherry-picking reality, however. She has a job to do, and repeating “Carolina Comeback” or “historic tax reforms” a million times does not help a single one of her students.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Jarvis Edgerton: ‘Historic tax reforms’ don’t help teachers."