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 SENATOR
ROBERT PITTENGER
NC State Budget
By: John Galles
Chip Scholz introduced our guest speaker, NC State Senator Robert (Bob)
Pittenger, a Republican from Mecklenburg County. Married with four children,
Bob and his wife moved to North Carolina in 1985. He has served as president
of the Charlotte Foreign Policy Association, also as president of Outreach
Carolinas, and on the board of the CPCC Foundation. Bob is serving his first
term as State Senator and sits on the Appropriations, Commerce, Finance,
Pensions and Insurance Committees.
Upon being introduced, Senator Pittenger graciously acknowledged the
Charlotte Rotary for its contributions and philanthropy in the Charlotte
community and also gave tribute to member, John Belk for all of his good
works. He also congratulated Tony Zeiss and CPCC for all of their great
works in support of our local economy.
Having been raised in Texas, Sen. Pittenger told a quick Judge Roy Bean
story, but unlike his story, Rotarians were pleased to remain through his
speech regarding the NC State Budget. His overhead presentation began with a
slide entitled “Road to Crisis.” He immediately set the stage with remarks
about obligatory built-in spending increases, budgets not being balanced,
and three straight years of fiscal emergencies. He went on to describe that
NC state population had increased by 21% in the last decade while state
spending increased by 113% over the same period. He went on to blast what he
called an “Obsolete budget philosophy” that included out-of-control
spending, the raising of taxes, raiding trust funds and taking local money.
His criticism continued with his declaration that NC personal tax rates were
the highest marginal rates in the southeast.
Adding to the state’s budget crisis, he stated that North Carolina has
experienced a net loss of 150,000 jobs while state government jobs have
increased by 31,000. Sen. Pittenger added that NC state government needed a
restructuring with its 22 departments in addition to the UNC system. He
would like to apply zero-based budgeting and more extensive audits to the
state’s budget process.
When confronted with the hard choices facing the state, Senator Pittenger
said that neither raising taxes nor cutting expenses affecting the most
needy would be necessary. He stated that efficiencies would provide
substantial savings and that reducing corporate taxes is essential to
business attraction and development. He believes savings can be achieved by
reducing state payrolls, an inventory analysis of 15,000 state buildings and
the sale of surplus assets, and statewide purchasing of technology to reduce
the annual budget of $700 million for IT personnel. He also recommended
greater accountability to more than 8,000 non-government organizations
receiving state funding and 39 worker-training programs. He has also
challenged the Medicaid system to apply fraud-testing software to its
operation to reduce annual expenditures of $8 billion in federal and state
funding. And furthermore, he recommends tort reform to achieve annual saving
of 5-9% of the Medicaid spending.
All combined, he believes that approximately $1.273 billion can be saved.
Asked about tobacco taxes, Sen. Pittenger responded that no tax increases
are necessary. He said that his bottom line is to see that corporate tax
rates are lowered. He asked why would an auto company choose North Carolina
when South Carolina has corporate tax rates of 5% to NC’s 6.9%.
Head Table:
Tom Robertson, David Erdman, Arch McIntosh, Chip
Scholz, Natalie English, George MacBain; Invocation: Frank Martin
Visitors and Guests:
Ron Ezell; Health & Happiness: Mike Rash; Club
Education: Jim Adams; Song: Thomas Moore
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z
Tom Burgess is busy organizing a reunion for the 87th
Infantry Battle of the Bulge survivors in Charlotte. The group will
take a boat ride on Lake Norman, visit Fort Jackson, and wrap up the
weekend with a golf tournament. 200 Bulge survivors are expected to
attend a memorial service and dedication of a monument to the 87th
Division at 9:00 a.m. Saturday in Marshall Park.
z
Mary Mack will have her hands full as
Chairman of the United Way of Central Carolinas annual campaign. This
year’s goal will be to raise $37.4 million, up 1.8% from last year’s
total.
z
Henry Cantrell has become a
Paul Harris Fellow.
z
Sympathy is extended to Gayle Smith
and family upon the death of Gayle’s Mother on August 20th.
z
Wishes for a speedy
recovery are extended to Tom Hutchins
as he recuperates from knee replacement surgery, and to
Michael Elder’s wife,
Pat, as she undergoes surgery this week.
z
If you have not logged
on to our club’s website,
www.charlotterotary.org, in a while – you’re missing
something. Jason Saunders (Chase
Saunders’ son) is our new webmaster and is doing a great
job. Please pass on your comments or suggestions for improvement of
the site to the Rotary office.
z Ed Turner
did not hesitate when asked to recite
the 4-Way Test. He was rewarded with a bottle of wine from Don Haack’s
private stock. Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it
build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all
concerned?
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2003-04 RI
Theme |
9/11 Scholarship Golf Classic Update |
SPONSORS are needed for the
First Annual Golf Classic on September 16th. All members are asked
to support the tournament in whatever way they can. Questions may
be directed to the golf committee. Remember, the tournament will
REPLACE the lunch meeting on September 16th. All members are
invited to attend the reception and dinner following golf, which
should begin between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.
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Jim Adams |
Marilynn Bowler |
Wes Clark |
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John Granzow |
Ron Kimble |
John Lassiter |
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Mike Rash |
Chip Scholz |
Ed
Turner |
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Phil Volponi |
Worth Williamson |
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THE ROTARY
INTERNATIONAL EMBLEM |
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Rotary's early emblem was a simple wagon
wheel (in motion with dust). It was designed in 1905 by Montague M.
Bear, a member of the Rotary Club of Chicago who was an engraver. He
designed the emblem to represent both civilization and movement. Most of
the early Rotary clubs adopted the wheel in one form or another.
In 1922, the organization decided to create and preserve an emblem for
the exclusive use of all Rotarians, and the following year, the present
emblem, a gearwheel with 24 cogs and six spokes, was adopted. A keyway
was added to signify the usefulness of the gearwheel.
An official description of the emblem was adopted at the 1929
International Convention. Royal blue and gold were chosen as the
official Rotary colors and the flag of Rotary was designated as a white
field with the emblem emblazoned in its center. The emblem, worn as a
lapel pin, now identifies Rotarians around the world.
The Rotary emblem is a trademark owned by Rotary International and is
protected throughout the world by the international association. The
emblem is a registered trademark in more than 35 countries to date. |
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PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
NEW ADDRESS FOR THE ROTARY CLUB:
841 BAXTER STREET, SUITE 118, CHARLOTTE 28202
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Attendance Record |
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8/26/03 |
8/27/02 |
| visitors & guests |
29 |
16 |
| club members |
194 |
174 |
| total attendance |
223 |
190 |
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Wedding Anniversaries |
3 Rose Marie & Gene Bratek
3 Judy & Sam Woodard
5 Imogene & Bill Kinney
7 Harriet & Bill Barnhardt |
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New Members - August |
Hunter Widener
Edwin Peacock, III
Townley Moon
Dick Robberts
Chris Kemper
Rex Cockerham |
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Birthdays |
2 Rufus Robinson, Baton Rouge, LA
3 Leroy Robinson, Southern Pines, NC
4 Martin Waters, Charlotte, NC
5 Robert Freeman, III, Charlotte, NC
5 John Lassiter, Lexington, KY |
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