Update: Make it $10 Billion.

The Occupy Monday movement led by Defacto leader of the NC Democrats have been making a lot of demands. Bigger government intrusion, more spending, and desires for items without a thought to the budget North Carolina has to work with.

Barber describes these demands as his “Five Point Moral Framework”.  Don’t be drinking anything when you read the list below.

1. Secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that ensure economic sustainability
2. Provide well-funded public education for all
3. Promote healthcare for all, including affordable access, the expansion of Medicaid, women’s health and environmental justice in every community
4. Address the inequalities in the criminal justice system and ensure equality under the law for every person regardless of race, class, creed, documentation or sexual preference
5. Protect and expand voting rights, immigrant rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights and equal protection under the law

In a nutshell, the same demands made by Occupy Wall Street. Broad and vague with absolutely no specifics. That is a feature, not a bug in the design.

Rev. Barber’s demands would effectively erase all strides made to close the budget shortfall left behind by former Governor Perdue. The demands add up to roughly $7 billion according to Senator Phil Berger’s office. See the statement to the press below:

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Amy Auth (President Pro Tem’s Office) <Amy.Auth@ncleg.net>
Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 9:40 PM
Subject: Budget Amendment on Rev. Barber’s Agenda
To: “Amy Auth (President Pro Tem’s Office)” <Amy.Auth@ncleg.net>

Dear Members of the Press,

As you may know, Senate Leader Phil Berger spent over an hour having a conversation with Monday protesters who came to his legislative office tonight.

Attached is a copy of a letter Sen. Berger sent to Rev. Barber earlier this spring asking for a list of the Monday protesters’ policy recommendations.  Also attached is a copy of Rev. Barber’s response.

Senate leaders analyzed Rev. Barber’s agenda and asked the General Assembly’s nonpartisan central staff to draft an amendment to the Senate budget that would accomplish the goals laid out by Rev. Barber and his followers. The agenda would cost more than $7 billion and would require raising the corporate income tax nearly ten-fold, from 6 percent to 50 percent. Sen. Berger explained Senate Republicans could not support that due to the devastating effect it would have on North Carolina jobs.

It is also worth noting that no member of either party in the Senate offered an amendment to accomplish Rev. Barber’s goals.

Thanks,

Amy

Documents related to the press statement:

• Letter from Berger to Barber
• Draft Budget
• Barber Response to Berger

ABC-11 covered this exchange between Barber and Berger. Quick snippet:

At the meeting, Berger handed out a 24-page amendment detailing the spending for 14-point policy agenda of the N.C. NAACP, the architect of the “Moral Monday” rallies. The agenda would cost more than $7 billion and require raising the corporate income tax from 6 percent to 50 percent, according to Amy Auth, a Berger spokesman.

“Show me where the money would come from,” Berger said.

He also noted that no lawmaker of either party in the Senate filed any bills or amendments to accomplish the NAACP and “Moral Monday’s” goals.

“I don’t think there’s a fundamental difference in what our goals are,” Berger said. “There are differences in how we achieve those goals…that doesn’t mean your opinions aren’t worth listening to.”

Barber wanted his demands heard. They have been. Where are Barber’s ideas on where the money should come from? *crickets*

ABC-11’s article also had this bit about a teacher in Durham, but of course, never followed up on who this guy really is:

Bryan Proffitt, a protester and teacher in Durham and a leader in the discussion with Berger, said teachers face incredible challenges in being held solely accountable for students’ test scores and said cuts in other areas of public education to fund teacher salary raises is inconceivable.

“We can’t bear the burden of that …. we live in a state where we feel an attack on public education every day,” said Proffitt.

Bryan Proffitt. Readers of my blog are likely saying, ‘hey I know that name’.  He is not ‘just’ a Durham teacher. He’s one of the main activist members of the NC Association of Educators protest arm, Organize2020. Proffitt is a hardcore Leftist.

Flashback:

Bryan Proffitt, a high school history teacher and member of the newly formed Organize 2020 caucus, recently spoke… http://t.co/eI27kHCmZx

— ncae (@ncae) February 7, 2014

Bryan Proffitt is more than a history teacher, but also a Moral Monday activist. He’s been involved as one of the 99% and he has written at least one article on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s website. Looks like he co-authored another one at that same site titled, The Young and the Leftless: An Open Letter on Organization; this one indicates Proffitt is a member of Freedom Road Socialists.

Another entry posted under the name of the website (Freedom Road Socialists)  has an author bio section at the bottom where Proffit describes himself as “Bryan Proffitt is a Hip-Hop-generation white man who belongs to Men Against Rape Culture (MARC), a Durham, NC-based organization committed to building the struggle to end sexual violence, and Ubuntu, a women of color- and survivor-led coalition committed to ending sexual violence.”

Fun entry I also found was penned by Ajamu Dillahunt, of the NC Justice Center. It mentions Proffitt and the union groups they are affiliating with –  like Southern Workers Organization. Reminder: Organize2020′s stated goal is to force a union.

Interesting. The NCAE chose a community organizing, socialist occupier to lead their next  campaign, “Launch into Action“. Great!

Update/Edit: Carolina Plott Hound reminds of the “Vaginas and Hitler” issue.