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North Carolina's next governor will have the ability to appoint more political allies to state government positions and have the ability to nominate new leaders to important state boards.
A new state law enables the governor to fill 1,000 state government jobs with political allies – more than double the current amount.
And a combination of legislative maneuvering and odd timing will allow the new administration to fill key posts on two powerful state boards in its first months, offering the governor the ability to shift the ideological direction and affect any family that pays an electric bill or sends children to public schools. read more here Next N.C. governor will have expanded power
Interesting--I hadn't heard about this before. Not sure what I think about it. On the one hand, cronyism is (or can be) a bad thing, but on the other hand, it may promote accountability as credit/blame can be placed more directly on the governor for his/her appointments' successes or failures. I have generally been in favor of granting the governor more power to create more of a federal-style separation of powers. IMO, the legislature has traditionally wielded way too much power (e.g., for years the governor had no veto), and the fact that so many council of state seats are elected does weaken the governor's power.
I think patronage is always a bad idea. North Carolina is already one of the most corrupt states in the country and this has the potential to make it worse.
I think patronage is always a bad idea. North Carolina is already one of the most corrupt states in the country and this has the potential to make it worse.
Big tobacco? Big banks? John Edwards? Jesse Helms? Rural roads to nowhere while urbanized areas sit in traffic? I could go on, but I think you get the point. The lastest Duke Energy hearings with the NC Utilities commission show that Big Energy funds quite a few of the political careers in Raleigh as well. NC may not be the worst (Texas, NJ, Cali, and Illinois all come to mind) but we are certainly in the top 10 (or better yet bottom 10) when it comes to corruption.
In the case of McCrory, he certainly does represent the big business interests of NC. Due to the economic problems in our state, it seems as though the voting public is willing to sell out our future to a corporate guy like McCrory. My hope is that a McCrory win will bring back good paying jobs with decent benefits. If not, we can simply vote him out...
Big tobacco? Big banks? John Edwards? Jesse Helms? Rural roads to nowhere while urbanized areas sit in traffic? I could go on, but I think you get the point. The lastest Duke Energy hearings with the NC Utilities commission show that Big Energy funds quite a few of the political careers in Raleigh as well. NC may not be the worst (Texas, NJ, Cali, and Illinois all come to mind) but we are certainly in the top 10 (or better yet bottom 10) when it comes to corruption.
No, I don't get the point. Nothing you've listed is "corruption". In every state, big money talks. Corporations and individuals bankroll politicians and they do favors for them. Not saying I like it, but as long as it's within the legal limits it's not corruption. And it's certainly no worse in NC than it is in any other state.
No, I don't get the point. Nothing you've listed is "corruption". In every state, big money talks. Corporations and individuals bankroll politicians and they do favors for them. Not saying I like it, but as long as it's within the legal limits it's not corruption. And it's certainly no worse in NC than it is in any other state.
corruption-Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery
^^^So in your opinion, it's not corruption if laws aren't being broken? I hate to tell you, but there are SEVERAL ways to be corrupt without breaking a single law of our land. As far as expanded power for our next governor goes, he will have more power to stop corruption or be a part of it. Only time will tell which path he follows.
corruption-Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery
^^^So in your opinion, it's not corruption if laws aren't being broken? I hate to tell you, but there are SEVERAL ways to be corrupt without breaking a single law of our land.
No, it's generally not corruption if laws aren't being broken. Bribery is against the law, and would be considered corruption of course. But nothing you listed suggests bribery or corruption of any other sort.
^ Randomstudent, did you even read the article? "Public corruption" is only one of five criteria they used--all the other factors involve non-government forms of corruption. NC ranks #36 in the public corruption category, which would include local governments in addition to the state level. The high overall ranking comes from fraud, embezzlement, and forgery in the private sector, not government.
That's a pretty weak basis for your argument, and in fact the article refutes your assertion. #36 out of 50 is not bad at all.
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