4A
EDITORIAL AND OPINION/ tTIje Clwriotte
Thursday, April 27, 2006
tIClje Cljarlotte ^osit
The Voice of the Black Community
1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Gerald O. Johnson CEO/PUBLiSHER
Robert L. Johnson co-publisher/general manager
Herbert L White EDITOR in chief
OPINION
Choices for
Mecklonburg
■
Mitchell
Woodard
Tuesday’s primary offers Mecklenburg County voters an
opportunity to weigh in on their choices for political office,
although gerrymandereded districts have taken competition out
of most races. Nonetheless, every campaign is worth paying
attention to, especially those with qualified candidates running.
Tb that end, The Post offers its recommendations
for Tuesday.
• County Commissioner District 1; This may be
the most intriguing race because of who’s cam
paigning for the Democratic nomination. Sam
Spencer, a 21-year-old from Davidson, is running
against Thurman Ross, a Cornelius town com
missioner . Mr. Ross, a real estate professional,
has the business and political experience to merit
a chance at the position in November.
On the Republican side, Karen Bentley is running against
Darryl Broome, with the winner in a commanding position to
win in this heavily-Democratic district. Mrs.
Bentley and Mr. Broome are near mirror-images
(except for public schools, where Bentley favors
breaking up Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools), but
^Hp Mr. Broome’s advocacy of fostering growth in
District I. makes him a more attractive choice,
k ♦ Mecklenburg Commissioner, District 2:
* jPI Incumbent Democrat Norman Mitchell is run-
Broome ning against Donna Jenkins Dawson, who ran for
the county Board of Education last year. Mr.
Mitchell has proven to be a capable steward of the county’s inter
est as a thoughtful moderate on many issues. Miss Dawson, who
has been very active in community and school
activities, is a feisty advocate for education issues,
but Mr. Mitchell’s experience in navigating gov
ernment issues and dealing with fellow commis
sioners make him our choice for another term.
• County Commissioner District 3: This will
likely be the most heavily campaigned race, but
offers the clearest choice of candidates.
Incumbent Valerie Woodard has been a staunch
suppporter of health and human services and the
county’s role in supporting both. William Chandler, a coimty
parks and recreation commissioner, has vast
knowledge of county government and would hke
to bring together factions split along social, eco
nomic and racial lines.
Mr. Chandler is a fine servant of the people and
would make a good commissioner, but Mrs.
Woodard already is. Although she is a lightning
rod for criticism because of her politics, it hasn’t
limited her ability to speak to the issues most
important to her constituents. We’d hke to see the
winner dedicate more time to furthering economic development
of District 3, which would help alleviate some of those fissures,
but taking all that into account, we endorse Mrs. Woodard for
anotlier term.
Be aware of asthma and its
impact on life and breath
By Andrew Harver
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Majf is Asthma Awareness Month
The eighth annual World Asthma Day will take place on May
2, as a kickoff event for asthma education events during the
month of May.
In 1999, the Global Initiative for Asthma established World
Asthma Day and World Asthma Month. Organizations will
sponsor asthma education events aroimd the world to raise
awareness about the indoor and outdoor pollutants that trigger
asthma episodes, and how to avoid them as part of a compre
hensive asthma management plan.
For many children and their families, the struggle with asth
ma can be challenging, stressful, and even frightening.
Understanding asthma symptoms, triggers, and treatments can
help families begin to take control of this common condition.
Asthma is a respiratory condition marked by chronic inflam
mation of the breathing passages and constriction of the muscles
surrounding the airway. Inflammation is triggered by one or
more internal or external irritants. When an attack is triggered,
the lining of the breathing pass^es swell, and the mucus in the
lungs fills the airways, making it difficult to exhale.
Asthma doesn’t have to put major limits on your child’s life.
There are many things that you can do to take control of asth
ma and minimize its impact on your child’s activities. Because
each case of asthma is different, treatment needs to be tailored
for each person. One general rule that does apply, though, is
removing the things in your environment that you know are fac
tors that make your child’s asthma worse. These triggers vary
from person to person and may include smoke, mold, cold air,
physical exertion, dust mites, and other factors.
For most people living with asthma, simply avoiding triggers
is not enough. Most people also require medication to control
symptoms. Controller medications help prevent airway inflam
mations; rescue medications open the airway providing relief if
symptoms flare up. Inhalers are a common means of adminis
tering both kinds of medicines. Your family doctor can help you
develop an asthma control plan that’s right for you and your
child.
ANDREW HARVER is chair ofUNC Charlotte's Department of Health
Behavior and Administration and oversees Project On TRAC.
Learning to lean on one another
After seven consecutive
weekends on the road, I was
glad to be home last
Saturday. I decided to spend
the rainy day
through the cable menu and
saw that “Lean on Me,” star
ring Morgan Freeman as
“Crazjf’ Joe Clark, was about
to be aired on A&E, I became
as excited as someone watch
ing the movie for the first
time
“Lean on Me” is my favorite
movie. I’ve seen it dozens of
times since it came out in
1989 and each time, I have
had to fight back tears. It’s
not that I was unfamiliar
with the ending - that’s
always the same. I find the
movie so touching because
with tough-love, determina
tion and a genuine belief in
the abilities of his students,
Clark turns around a decay
ing, drug-infested Eastside
High School in New Jersey.
After asking instructors for
a list of troublemakers, the
Joe Clark character calls a
school assembly.
“I want aU of you to take a
good look at these people on
the risers behind me,” Clark
says, as the students behind
him continue to misbehave.
“These people have been here
up to five years and done
absolutely nothing. These
people are drug dealers and
drug users. They have taken
up space; they have disrupted
school; they have harassed
your teachers; and they have
intimidated you. Well, times
are about to change. You will
not be bothered in Joe Clark’s
school.”
The students on stage
remain unruly, but not for
long.
“These people are incorrigi
ble,” Clark says. “And since
none of them could graduate
anyway, you are all expurgat
ed. You are dismissed! You
are out of here forever! I wish
you well.”
A line of security guards
show those on stage to the
door, some of them forcibly. '
Turning to the remaining
students, Clark says: ‘Next
time it may be you. If you do
no better than they did, next
time it will be you.”
After “expurgating”
Eastside High of the miscre
ants, Clark explains his goal.
“My motto is simple: If you
do not succeed in life, I don’t
want you to blame your par
ents. I don’t want you to
blame the White man! I want
you to blame yourselves! The
responsibility is yoiu*s!
“In two weeks we have a
practice exam and a mini
mum skills test on April 13th.
That’s a hundred and ten
school days from now. But it’s
not just about those test
scores. If you do not have
these basic skills, you wiU
find yourselves locked out.
Locked out of that American
Dream that you see adver
tised on TV - that they tell
you is so easy to get.”
For the three people who
stiU have not seen the movie,
I won’t give away the ending
except to say it was a dra
matic and happy one.
After my 2-hour movie, I
knew the opening game of
the playoff series between the
Cleveland Cavaliers and the
Washington Wizards would
be less intense. And the bas
ketball game proved to be
just that. The only real ques
tion was how well LeBron
James would perform in his
first playoff game. In retro
spect, that question should
not have been raised, given
James’ stellar performance.
It was the half-time profile
of Wizards Star Gilbert
Arenas that tugged at the
heart. Best known for throw
ing his jersey into the stands
after each game. Arenas has
a tender side. The captain of
the Wizards has become the
self-appointed big brother of
Andre McAllister, a 10-year-
old and sole survivor of a fire
last December in Washington
that killed the bojfs mother.
twin sister, great-grandfather
and cousin. Arenas spends
time with McAllister, got him
a job as a baUboy for the bas
ketball team and remains
devoted to helping shape his
future. He has already made
plans for the youth to attend
college and says McAllister is
the brpther he never had.
Watfching “Lean on Me” and
the ch^ about Arenas brought
back memories of Robert L.
Glynn, the head of McKenzie
Court, my housing projects in
Tuscaloosa, Ala. He spent
countless days telling me and
others that we could accom
plish anything that we set
our mind to. He told us of his
poor upbringing, letting us
know in the process that we,
too, could overcome that bar
rier. I’ll always remember the
stories he told me about fill
ing holes in his shoes with
newspapers and how he
worked his way through
what is now Alabama State
University.
Sometimes we forget just
how much of an impact we as
individuals can have on the
lives of our youth. And if
there were ever a time to
exert that influence, it’s now.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of the National
Newspaper Publishers
Association News Service and
BlackPressUSA.com. To contact
Curry or to book him for a speak
ing engagement, go to his Web
site, www.georgecurry.com.
Just how do we define a tax increase?
By Mike Walden
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Few topics spark, as much .
controversy as taxes, espe
cially a tax increase. But
what really constitutes a tax
increase?
Are aU tax increases creat
ed equal? Tb some the answer
is easy: a tax increase is
whenever taxes you pay rise.
That is, if Joe Smith paid
$1,000 in taxes last year and
this year he pays $1,200,
that’s a tax increase. End of
story. But what if we re talk
ing about the income tax, and
what if Joe’s tax payment
rose only because his income
rose?
Should he still consider this
a tax increase, especially if
the percentage of each of Joe’s
dollars taken in taxes
remained the same? Taxes
paid result from multiplying
whatever is taxed - the tax
base - by the percentage of
that tax base taken in taxes,
or the tax rate.
For example, how much
sales tax you pay equals the
dollar amount of your retail
spending multiplied by the
sales tax rate (cents of sales
tax per dollar of spending).So
an increase in taxes paid can
occur for two reasons: the tax
base rises or the tax rate
increases. But should both be
considered a tax increase?If
your retail spending increas
es, shouldn’t you expect to
pay more in sales tax? So tax
base increases (here, retail
spending) aren t usually con
sidered a tax increase.
Only a tax rate increase
(here the sales tax rate)
would be thought of as a tax
hike.
Most taxpayers imderstand
this logic with one exception:
property tax. Like all taxes,
property taxes paid equal the
property tax base (here, the
property value recorded by
the county, called assessed
value) multiplied by the prop
erty tax rate (cents of tax per
dollar of assessed value).
However, two characteris
tics make the property tax
different. One is that tax base
(assessed property values) is
not updated every year.
Indeed, in many North
Carolina coimties the time
between assessments is eight
years. In between, the tax
base only increases due to
new construction, and even
here the value of the new con
struction is recorded as the
estimated value at the time of
the last assessment.
Yet, when reassessments do
occur, the increase in proper
ty values can be large
because it represents the
accumulated change in val
ues over several years.
Second, there is no assur
ance property values and
owners incomes will change
at the same rate. In fact, in
recent years property values
have risen much faster than
incomes. This can create a
problem for owners who pay
their property taxes from
their current income.As a
result, when property values
are reassessed and the prop
erty tax base rises by a sub
stantial amount, owners will
often perceive this as a large
tax increase, even if the prop
erty tax rate has remained
the same.
Consequently, counties wiU
often lower the property tax
rate in reassessment years to
soften the blow. Yet because
the costs of many local infra
structure projects, like
schools and roads, are tied to
property values, placing such
a hd on property tax revenues
can create backlogs in school
and road funding.
What’s the solution?
One option is to better edu
cate property owners about
why the long lags in property
reassessments create period
ic big jumps in property tax
payments.
Another is shorter time
periods between reassess
ments, so owners could
adjust to more frequent, yet
smaller, payment increases.
A third option is to develop
some creative ways to pay
property taxes. For example,
rather than paying them out
of income, some share could
be paid fium profits realized
when the property is sold.
This could be particularly
helpful to property owners
with high wealth yet low
income.
Tax determinations are
more complicated than they
seem at first glance. Keep
your eyes on the underlying
fimdamentals of the tax base
and tax rate before deciding
where taxes are headed.-
MIKE WALDEN is a William
Neal Reynolds Professor and
extension economist in the
Department of Agricultural and
Resource Economics of N.C. State
University.