Time to throw the bums out
To the Editor:
Republicans are fiscally responsible. They lower taxes on working folks and make things less expensive. Republicans make our country safer. They care about the common folk. They run things like a business.
Right? Let’s look at our current situation.
Here in Waynesville, we have a 2026 budget shortfall (starts July 1) of $5 million (overall budget is $40 million).
About $3.8 million is currently feared as unreimbursed FEMA funding (we will be lucky to get $500,000) from Helene.
The $1.4 million shortfall is from three other areas: 33% increase in town employee health insurance premiums. Yup 33%. One Big Beautiful Bill related? Also, there’s a 12% increase in property and liability insurance premiums, yup, 12%. Then there’s a 7% increase for workman’s comp. Oh, only 7%, phew.
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All this while our dedicated, shorthanded town workers get a 1% COLA and our mayor and town council work overtime pleading FEMA to honor their promises and guidelines, all while effectively managing regular town demands.
So let’s look at (and for) our Republican representatives:
Where’s Michael Whatley, GOP Senate candidate? He’s supposedly our “Helene Recovery Czar,” but he’s busy running to try and get Thom Tillis’ old seat (Thom grew a backbone and is now persona non grata in the MAGA GOP).
Where’s DHS Secretary Noem? She’s in charge of FEMA. Oh yeah, she got fired for spending our money lavishly on planes with bedrooms, TV commercials starring her, and generally scorching the U.S.
Where’s Congressman Edwards? He sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and supposedly authored a $110 billion resolution back two Decembers ago (2024). The bill is currently projected to actually pay $9-15 billion for all of N.C. to cover over $60 billion in damage. Open your wallets, folks.
Meanwhile our Republican-controlled state Legislature can’t do the most basic job of passing a budget eight months into the fiscal year. Too busy gerrymandering, I guess.
Other fun facts:
• Those tariffs we all paid to buy foreign goods? Turns out they weren’t legal. Good luck getting paid back.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill has resulted in a 22% decrease in ACA enrollment in 2026 in N.C., meaning N.C. folks that had health insurance now will likely use the ER instead, driving up your expenses and wait times. Or just suffer and/or die. Good news though — big tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.
Our current leader is spending almost $1 billion a day on a war started for questionable reasons. (Hey, look over here!) Meanwhile, your retirement savings are being drop-kicked (if you have any), farmer’s fertilizer costs are rising and their exports stymied, gas is a buck per gallon more, and your everyday costs to live are rising.
As folks used to say, “Throw. The. Bums. Out.”
Eric Hanson
Waynesville
