Rob Christensen at the Raleigh News & Observer fact checks 10 key planks in the North Carolina Republican Party’s propaganda platform:
Myth No. 1: North Carolina’s public schools are failing its children.
North Carolina fourth and eighth graders performed better than the U.S. national average, according to the 2011 Trends in International Mathematic and Science Study. They out-scored students in Australia, Israel, Sweden, Italy and Norway.
Myth No. 2: North Carolina’s state government was in a financial mess until the recent change in party control.
Not according to Wall Street. North Carolina was – and continues to be – one of nine states with AAA bond ratings as awarded by Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings…
Myth No. 3: Until recently, state government was on a spending spree.
Not according to the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation. Between 2001-2011, North Carolina state government spending per capita grew 18.3 percent, making it the 45th fastest-growing state government in the country, according to the Tax Foundation…
Myth No. 4: N.C. spending on public education is at an all-time high.
Actually, spending for secondary and elementary schools is less than it was five years ago, despite an increase in enrollment…
Myth No. 5: North Carolina was a high-tax state before the recent tax cuts.
The state and local tax burden for North Carolina in fiscal year 2010 was 9.9 percent, exactly the national average, according to the Tax Foundation… Because it was surrounded by low-tax states, North Carolina looked higher. In the South, only Arkansas had higher taxes.
Myth No. 6: North Carolina high schools have a dropout problem.
Any students who drop out are a problem. But the four-year high school graduation rate is now at 82.5 percent, the highest graduation rate in state history….
Myth No. 7: North Carolina was no longer an attractive state because of high taxes.
Not according to the moving companies. The 2012 United Van Lines Migration Study found that North Carolina was the fourth highest destination for moves, following the District of Columbia, Oregon and Nevada. North Carolina has been growing at twice the national average. During the first decade of this century, only the states of Nevada and Texas grew faster than North Carolina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Myth No. 8: North Carolina is in hard times.
This is true. North Carolina’s unemployment rate of 8.9 percent is tied with Rhode Island for the third highest in the country … There are signs that North Carolina’s economy is picking up. Last year, the state’s real gross domestic product grew by 2.7 percent, second only to Tennessee in the Southeast.
Myth No. 9: N.C. teachers were never well paid.
Tar Heel teachers almost always trailed the national average, although they were as high as 25th in the country as late as 2008-09 school year … North Carolina beat out Indiana for the biggest loss in teacher wages. The state now ranks 46th in teacher salaries.
Myth No. 10: North Carolina has an anti-business climate.
… North Carolina was ranked as having “the top business climate” in the country displacing Texas in 2012 according to Site Selection, the magazine of corporate real estate strategy and economic development. North Carolina ranked as the third best state for business by Chief Executive magazine in 2013 behind Texas and Florida. Forbes and CNBC both ranked North Carolina as the fourth best state for business in 2012. And the state ranked 44th in tax climate for business by the Tax Foundation.
