I was reading an article with great interest and it once again reminded me that North Carolina leads the South in taxes. In what once used to be a low tax state we are now taxed highly. As the article states we rank 35th out of 50 states in tax burden.

There will be several people that want to debate the accuracy of the figures and others that will tout how progressive North Carolina is, but the reality in my opinion is that North Carolina has lost their way. The Democrats that had been in charge for over a 100 years in North Carolina no longer was the party of fiscal conservatives that they once were.

The change in democratic philosophies have been kind to Republicans. There was a time when a Republican was rare in North Carolina. Those times have changed. So must our government. Education has always been important in North Carolina along with the pride in our roads. While both of these things are still important in the old North State there are people that question how it is being spent.

We care about education, but we can no longer just throw money at the problem. Good transportation is vital, however you can not afford to rank only behind Texas in the lower 48 in paved miles under state maintenance. It is past time to stop robbing one region to benefit another.

The Republicans in North Carolina were elected to fix the issue. They have begun, however they need to stick to their guns and move forward. It is imperative to the future of the Old North State that the burden is lifted from the citizens.

It is no longer acceptable that North Carolina leads the south in taxes. We can not be asked to pay more for continued unacceptable results. We need strong leadership to correct the mistakes made in the past. Being ranked in the bottom half of tax burden is not acceptable. It is the same leadership that is needed to stand up to Washington and tell them no more unfunded mandates. It is time for the land of the Longleaf Pine to be recognized as a leader again in a less intrusive way.