Officially wards of the federal government

Reason’s Sam Staley writes about Obamacare:

The health-care reform plan, according to the White House summary, undermines the core governing principle of Federalism in several ways, not the least of which is treating states as if they are, at best, junior partners with the Federal government, or, at worst, little more than wards of the Federal government.

… (T)his refom is simply reinforcing a broader trend toward a unitary system of government, with the national government setting goals and objectives and lower levels of government carrying them out.

Unfortunately, this is really all part of a progressive vision to change the way America governs itself.

That last sentence is why I’m concerned about Greensboro’s mayor going to Washington to solicit federal funds, and why I was always opposed on principle to the downtown hotel deal funded with federal stimulus bonds.

Yeah, I realize no public money is (supposedly) involved, but it was still the result of federal legislation that nobody understands and therefore has many unforeseen consequences, worst of which was compromising the City Council’s responsibility to govern.

Being wards of the federal government has many unforeseen consequences. Think how many there will be now that it’s taken over healthcare.

State pension funding green jobs?

Yesterday’s N&R lead editorial addresses N.C. Treasurer Janet Cowell’s plan to use $230 million from the state’s pension fund to finance her North Carolina Innovation Fund.

The editorial rightly states that there are more questions than answers about this scheme. I personally have one question: Is it any coincidence that so-called ‘green industry’ is featured prominently in the editorial, with the implication being that both RF Micro —- now undertaking solar-cell technology —and the American Wind Energy Association would benefit from the innovation fund?

JLF president John Hood wouldn’t think so, considering the fact that —-what a coincidence — his column addresses government’s fixation with green jobs:

If you are in the business of selling LEDs, solar panels, wind turbines, or fantasies, the Obama agenda will be good for you. If you are in the business of selling energy derived from fossil fuels, traditional lighting fixtures, and all other goods and services that will take a hit as consumers are compelled to spend more money on “green” energy, then the Obama agenda will be very bad for you.

And we all know the painful truth — North Carolina is all up the Obama administration’s ….agenda.

Mayor Knight: Same old, same old

I have no doubt that Greensboro Mayor Bill Knight is an earnest, hard-working individual.

But I still don’t see where he’s shaking things up in local government. If anything, it’s the same old-same old:

Most recently, he accompanied Assistant City Manager Denise Turner on a lobbying trip to Washington to ask federal delegates to help fund various Greensboro projects with federal money.

“We are trying to build a presence up there,” Knight said of the trip to the capital. He said future visits with the delegation should be on home soil.

Relying on the fed dollar is local governments’ typical shirking of their financial responsibilities. That’s not why the majority of Greensboro’s citizenry elected Mayor Knight.

‘An offensive piece of social engineering’

Rep. Virginia Foxx makes an appearance in the NYT’s write-up of yesterday’s healthcare vote, calling the bill “one of the most offensive pieces of social engineering legislation in the history of the United States.”

Not surprising that President Obama handed over his own proverbial envelope of cash with his phony executive order. An empty, awkward gesture from an empty, awkward politician.

Update: “When politicians in Washington say you can cover more people and it will cost less, you should run screaming from the room holding your wallet. It won’t happen.”