Mecklenburg County, time to go shopping in South Carolina
August 31st, 2009 by Cheris Hodges in News
Say what you want to say about South Carolina’s poor choice of governor, but come tomorrow, it’s going to be a lot cheaper to go shop at Wal-Mart in Fort Mill or Rock Hill than any of the 500 locations in Mecklenburg County or anywhere else in North Carolina.
Thanks to Gov. Bev Perdue, our poor choice of a governor, and the General Assembly, there is a new sales tax going into effect Sept. 1.
According to the Charlotte Observer, this is supposed to be a temporary fix for the state’s poor economy.
The tax hike, passed by the N.C. legislature this summer, is expected to raise $803.5 million.
It is supposed to expire in 2011. However, a 2001 sales tax increase characterized as “temporary” is still in effect.
Basically, Mecklenburg County is now overtaxed. And with all of the job loss in this area, people running out of unemployment benefits, this is something we can’t afford.
The drinkers and smokers are going to pay too. But guess who drinks and smokes more than anyone else — poor, stressed out people who are worried about their money. Lawmakers seem to forget that you can’t collect sales tax if people aren’t buying things and that’s what we should start doing around the state, stop buying things — especially here in the great state of Mecklenburg.
It would be different if the state gave Charlotte its due. But drive down (or up) any road the state is supposed to upkeep and your car tires will tell you that the state is holding out on us. So this “temporary” sales tax is supposed to do what? Break those of us who are already broke?
Maybe it’s time skip the N.C. sales tax racket and head to South Carolina to buy groceries, clothes and other items that are just too much here and see how well this increased sales tax works for the state then.
August 31st, 2009 at 2:09 pm
[...] to the Charlotte Observer , this is supposed to be a temporary fix for the state’s poor e click for more var _wh = ((document.location.protocol==’https:’) ? “https://sec1.woopra.com” : [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I am with you 100% on this. When times get good the tax still never goes away. Its kind of a ratcheting effect. When times get good they will spend the new extra money on more government. When times get tough again they will be forced to raise taxes to pay for the ever more bloated government. Its a death spiral.
The proper solution is for the government to let some people go like any normal company. With less economic activity we do not need as many people manning the DMV.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:29 pm
[...] Go here to see the original: Mecklenburg County, time to go shopping in South Carolina | theCLog [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 10:18 pm
The Charlotte, NC Unemployment Situation in a nutshell:
here is a map of Charlotte Unemployment in July 2009 (BLS data)
http://www.localetrends.com/metro/charlotte_north_carolina_home.php?MAP_TYPE=curr_ue
September 1st, 2009 at 10:25 am
[...] The tax hike, passed by the N.C. legislature this summer, iRead more at http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/theclog/2009/08/31/mecklenburg-county-time-to-go-shopping-in-south-... [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Ummm, we have a budget shortfall. And no one can agree on what programs should be cut. So I think in the name of collective sacrifice, we would do ourselves a favor by raising the sales tax one cent to fix the budget shortfall. Anway, if people are buying less because they’re unemployed, then those people are less affected by the sales tax increase. Furthermore, when you consider the state of South Carolina’s roads, their weak infrastructure and safety net, you would appreciate the subtle differences of living in N.C. Just a thought….