Press Release
♦ Emily Perry, Esther Atkins, and Anthony Smith, Concerned Citizens of Rowan-Salisbury
Dear Citizens of Salisbury and Rowan County:
It is becoming increasingly clear that we as a county, city, and community must work together to bring about change or this county, city, or our communities will cease to exist as we know it. It is time for an awareness or awakening of the citizens to know the facts and to act upon that knowledge. With the upcoming elections, we need to make sure that we do our due diligence before we enter the polls.
The quality of life for our citizens has deteriorated over the past few years and disaster is a surety if we do not make a conscious effort to change. Going to the polls is definitely a huge step in turning that corner. I shudder to think where we are headed if we don’t go to the polls. Is Ferguson, MO in the future of Rowan County? The cause may be different, but the results will be the same. Voting is crucial!
Here are a few things that one should think about as you go to the polls…
At a recent conference, it was discussed that Charlotte is a gateway city. Neighboring counties are collaborating and partnering to ensure that their citizens are prospering from this growth. Is Rowan County engaged in this process? Where are our true leaders? Sadly, our county commissioners and the city council cannot come together for the betterment of its citizens. So, how can they play nice with others?
Data, compiled by the Tax Collector’s Office, show that there is a significant increase in the number of those that were unable to pay their taxes in 2012 verses 2013. Here are the statistics:
- In 2012 there were 280 individuals and 13 businesses in Salisbury that could not pay their taxes.
- In 2013 that number increased to 504 individuals and 16 businesses.
- In the rest of the county, there were 1019 individuals that could not pay and 24 businesses that could not pay.
- In 2013, the county had 2030 individuals that could not pay and 40 businesses.
There are approximately 907,000 low-wage workers affected by NC ending its Earned Income Tax Credit. Added to this mix is the cutting of unemployment for over 800 Rowan County citizens, the city/county inability to attract new businesses to the area, and their inability to attract young families to the city/county. Even when we are able to attract young families to the city, particularly African-Americans, we do little to motivate them to stay. We have three colleges in the area with students graduating every year, why are we not able to attract more to stay? Is there any question as to why we cannot increase our revenue without drastically increasing taxes? It doesn’t help that our leaders have made very poor business and management decisions over the years.
We continue to have politicians that do not understand environmental issues as it relates to our health. North Carolina is one of 21 states, mostly southern, that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. For North Carolina, that means that an estimated 318,710 poor and uninsured adults would be eligible for Medicaid if the state would expand it. Did our leaders have the foresight to protest these actions before the decision was made to deny the poor and uninsured medical care or are they once again in reactive mode? It’s funny that the people who are deciding who should be insured, have insurance.
Do you realize that all the schools in the Rowan-Salisbury School System are Title 1 schools? According to the NC Department of Instructions’ website, “this program provides financial assistance to schools with high numbers of or percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.” It is good that our government is assisting our schools in providing for our poor children. However, what is it saying about our economy when all our schools have such high percentages of poor children? Not to mention returning veterans who made such sacrifices to protect our country, only to come back home to food stamps and unemployment. How strong are the programs that exist, or should exist, to help them successfully transition back into society?
Also, with the salary of North Carolina teachers ranking number 50 in the United States, there has been an exodus of our most qualified, creative, and dedicated teaches from the state. This exodus has gravely impacted the Rowan-Salisbury School System. In fact, three months into the school year and we still have vacancies that have not been filled. It is difficult to keep good teachers when it takes 15 years for teachers with a BA degree to make $40,000. With all the problems that exist, is it really worth using taxpayers’ dollars to fight legal battles that can’t be won.
We have students graduating from college that cannot find jobs and are saddled with huge loans to pay. Long gone are the days that students can work their way through school without some assistance. They need help and we must invest in their future; thus solidifying our own. Knowing this, it is hard to believe that politicians are not supporting the push to lower interest rates for school loans.
Those living in the more affluent neighborhoods should not rest on their laurels because they too are impacted by what happens in the less affluent neighborhoods. When a community is disenfranchised, poor, and hopeless, their attention is eventually turned to those that are affluent. Do I need to mention Ferguson (again) and other cities that are experiencing increased violence and demonstrations?
The issues we have outlined in this letter to the citizens have caused a small group of people to come together from various backgrounds and political affiliations to educate our communities on their civic responsibility. It is time that we hold our leaders accountable for the state of our communities. We need leaders with a vision and a pulse on the future its citizens. They need to be planners, doers, and forward thinkers; not just for some but for all of their constituents. We should not hear another leader say that they are not aware of the problems facing their communities. We should know that local officials are willing to question the actions of the state when it negatively impacts their citizens.
Let us not forget the famous ending of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, “…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
