Democrats in Greensboro respond to Republican spending cuts

Democratic-leaning activists met at this morning at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro this morning to devise a strategy to respond to significant spending cuts proposed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly.

Rep. Marcus Brandon (right), a Democrat who represents parts of High Point and Greensboro, was among the speakers advocating for legislation to modernize the state's tax code by taxing services.

"My only reservation is that the hair-braiders, barbers and car mechanics in my district might take the brunt of it while the doctors find a loophole to avoid paying the tax," he said. "We were in a manufacturing economy. Now, we're in a service economy. This is probably where much of our revenue can come from instead of having to cut education or increasing sin taxes."

The meeting was jointly sponsored by the Guilford County Association of Educators and Democracy at Home.

Tripp Jeffers, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, also promoted the idea of reforming the state tax code.

"Our neighbors to the south, in South Carolina, with a Republican legislature, just modernized their tax structure," he said. "If Republicans in South Carolina can do it, doggone it, so can Republicans in North Carolina. Let them take the credit for it, and say it was their idea."