OPINION
The Chronicle
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The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
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lively debate throughout the community.
James Taylor Jr.
Publisher
Tevin Stinson
Shayna Smith
Deanna Taylor
Paulette L. Moore
Donna Rogers
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Todd Luck
Managing Editor
Sports Editor/Religion
Senior Reporter
Specialty Reporter
Advertising Manager
Office Manager
Administrative Assistant
Get ready
for the vote
of your life
The N.C. General Assembly has ended with a
bang. The City of Winston-Salem is planning some
big stuff, too. Now, Forsyth County voters, don’t
think you will be missing out. The county has plans
for you, too. All governing bodies are presenting
voters with some serious items to decide upon in the
November General Election. These items are in
addition to whom to vote for for government offices.
Right now, 12 items will be on the Forsyth
County ballot. Go to The Chronicle’s roundup
story on page A3 to see what’s in store come
November.
The Republican General Assembly has six
amendments to the N.C. constitution waiting for
your vote. They are presenting the proposed amend
ments because they can. In order to amend the state
constitution, three-fifths of the General Assembly
has to agree to bring a proposed amendment to a
statewide vote. Right now, Republicans make up
more than three-fifths of the House and Senate. On
the ballot will be an amendment to require voters to
show identification before voting and five other pro
posed amendments.
Wmston-Salem officials hope you will approve a
bond referendum with $122 million worth of proj
ects, in five categories. Each category will be listed
separately on the ballot.
You approved city-sponsored bonds in 2014, but
these are new ones. The City says the bonds that
were approved in November 2014 allowed the city
to make a start on its backlog of unfunded capital
needs. However, Winston-Salem still has $632.3
million in unfunded needs for streets, sidewalks,
buildings, parks, infrastructure and equipment. The
bonds cover similar topics as the 2014 bonds, but
housing is a new topic for 2018.
On Aug. 6, the council is scheduled to hold a
public hearing before voting to authorize the bond
wording that will appear on the Nov. 6 General
Election ballot.
Forsyth County officials want you to vote for a
quarter-cent county sales tajt , on the ballot in
November. It would apply to purchases in Forsyth
County, except gas and groceries. The money raised
by the tax would go to pay for the debt from building
the new courthouse that will be built next to the
County Government Center on Chestnut Street. The
current courthouse was built in 1975.
Voters have about four months to decipher
what’s in store for the Forsyth County November
ballot. Take a break for some summer fun, and then
get to work now trying to determine the best way to
vote then. That way, you won’t have to cram for
your “finals.”
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Hold off on
replacement for
Justice Kennedy
To the Editor:
Justice Kennedy played a pivotal
role on the Supreme Court for 30
years. He was the deciding vote in
many close cases involving civil
rights and civil liberties. Without his
moderating influence, the balance on
the Court could shift dramatically to
the right.
This court has already under
mined basic rights we all believed we
enjoy as Americans - the right to
strong unions that bargain collective
ly; one person, one vote principles;
redistricting; and regarding the right
of women to make their own health
care decisions.
The stakes for nominating a
replacement could not be higher at
any moment in our history.
The court serves as the guardian
of our rights and liberties. The coun
try desperately needs a fair-minded
and independent jurist. Now is not
the time for a divisive and biased
appointment who will shake the pub
lic’s faith in the justice system.
The constitutional process for
appointing and confirming the next
justice must be careful, deliberative
and conducted with bipartisan sup
port. The Senate should not consider
a nominee until a new Senate is seat
ed next year. Moreover, the new
Senate should ensure that the nomi
nee has a demonstrated commitment
to equal justice and civil rights. The
names identified on Trump’s shortlist
do not fit that bill. For the good of
the American people, we urge the
President and the Senate to carefully
exercise their respective roles under
the Constitution in light of the conse
quential impact of this nomination on
our democracy.
The NAACP and its members are
committed to protecting the gains
won through the sacrifices of our
ancestors and to protecting civil
rights for generations to come.
Our justice system - and indeed
the very peace and tranquility of our
nation - hang in the balance.
We will not go silently into the
night. We can't.
The NAACP
Baltimore, Maryland
Income tax rate
cap amendment
is bad deal
To the Editor:
The passage of Senate Bill 75,
proposing a constitutional amend
ment capping the income tax rate to
lock in recent legislative decisions to
reduce rates, is fiscally irresponsible
and unnecessary.
In order to keep funding vital
public services such as schools and
public safety, lawmakers will likely
have to raise the sales tax or fees,
which will eat into middle class fam
ilies’ paychecks and financially hurt
those who are already struggling to
get by.
Lawmakers are not trying to
bring greater democracy to the budg
et process; they are trying to take
choices away from future generations
of North Carolinians.
Constitutions should be flexible
and enduring frameworks for govern
ing, not the place to impose the arbi
trary whims of the moment on future
generations.
Today’s [June 28] vote shows just
how arbitrary the rate is that legisla
tors choose to enshrine in the state
Constitution. The bottom line is that
this is about further locking in low
tax rates that primarily benefit the
wealthy, cutting public investments
that serve the common good and
shifting the costs for our state’s needs
to local governments and the middle
class.
In the end, the results of this
unnecessary amendment will be cost
ly for us all.
Alexandra Sirota, Director
Budget & Tax Center
Raleigh
Guest
\Columnist
Algenon
Cash
Most college students
are spending their summer
interning for a large corpo
ration, studying abroad, or
possibly just hanging out at
the beach with friends. But
for the more savvy students
looking to get a jump on
their colleagues, now may
be a great time to focus on
investing.
If you happen to be one
of those students who has
been interested in creating
an investment portfolio,
then here are five tips to
help you get started:
1. Read, read, and
read - Subscribing to
investment journals, trade
magazines, and online arti
cles are all great ways to
jump start your investment
education. I was required
to pass a securities exam
when I initially became a
wealth banker, which cre
ated a foundation of
knowledge, but most of the
skills that I gained came
through self-study and
independent reading.
Publications such as the
Wall Street Journal,
Investor’s Business Daily
or even the Economist can
help you gain a solid
understanding how the
capital markets operate.
Most books are inexpen
5 investment tips for
college students
sive or may even be free at
your local library. Not to
mention there are dozens
of online sites that provide
resources at no cost.
2. Pay off your credit
card debt - It’s virtually
impossible to build a quali
ty investment portfolio
when you owe money to
credit card companies and
banks. Those debts will
suck away the power of
your money to grow. So I
always encourage amateur
investors to initially focus
on retiring as much debt as
possible before you enter
the market. Try to remem
ber when you pay off debt
that provides a guaranteed
return on your money. For
example, paying off a
$1,000 credit card balance
with a 15 percent interest
rate is equivalent to netting
15 percent returns - or
$150 - since you would
avoid paying future interest
on that card. In this case,
it's probably worth it to pay
off the credit card in foil,
because getting a guaran
teed return of 15 percent is
a pretty good deal.
3. Buy your first invest
ment-Most investors may
select to use an online dis
count brokerage, where
yoi/ can execute trades
automatically through a
computerized trading sys
tem. Others select a tradi
tional brokerage, which
offers one-on-one advice
and a wide range of servic
es. The best path is com
pletely a function of your
own knowledge and expe
rience. Traditional broker
ages often have fairly high
minimum investment
amounts, so an online bro
kerage may provide an
option with a lower hurdle.
Keep in mind that you can
also buy stock directly
from a company with no
middleman involved,
which may save you
money upfront and boost
your overall returns. If
you’re a new investor, then
never borrow money to
invest.
4. Diversify your invest
ments — New investors
must be careful about mar
ket risk and never place
your entire savings in one
or a handful of stocks.
Think about the market
crash in 2008 when the
Dow Jones Industrial aver
age collapsed when it loss
54 percent of its value in 17
months - small investors
got wiped out. New and
smaller investors need to
spread your capital across a
broad ranged of assets and
market sectors, which can
reduce risk while boosting
overall returns.
5. Start immediately -
Young investors have a
considerable advantage -
time. Simply investing
small amounts of money
over a long period-of time
can lead to significant
returns. Compound inter
est means the interest you
earn each year on your
investments is added to
your principal - so the bal
ance grows at an increasing
rate. For example, let's say
you start with $1,000 to
invest, add $100 per month
to your investments for 40
years, and earn 8 percent
interest on average annual
ly. In 40 years, you'll have
more than $332,000 saved.
However, invest for 30
years instead, and you'll
have nearly half that
amount - $146,000.
Contact me with ques
tions, ideas, and general
feedback - good luck!
Algenon Cash is a
nationally recognized
speaker and the managing
director of Wharton
Gladden & Company, an
investment banking firm.
Reach him at
acash@algenoncash .com