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Tuesday, 04 March 2025
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Written by John Hood
Every citizen who meets the basic requirements — adulthood, residency, and the completion of sentence after a felony conviction — can cast a ballot in North Carolina. There’s no test of civic knowledge required to exercise the civil right to vote, nor should there be. (Our state constitution still contains a Jim Crow-era literacy test to vote, but it’s vestigial and unenforceable.)
That having been said, effective self-government is difficult to sustain when voters lack basic information about candidates, issues, and our constitutional system. Surveys show such ignorance is especially prevalent among young people. In a recent poll of Americans aged 18 to 24, only a quarter knew the vice president breaks ties in the U.S. Senate. Most thought the Electoral College had responsibilities other than electing presidents, such as regulating campaign finance or certifying congressional elections.
Here in North Carolina, the latest High Point University poll tested the political knowledge of state residents. Some of the results, while troubling, fell short of catastrophic. Most respondents to the survey, conducted in late January, knew that Republicans currently control the U.S. House of Representatives, though 13% said the Democrats did and 22% were unsure. Two-thirds identified the GOP as the more conservative party and 55% knew that the U.S. Supreme Court was the federal branch empowered to declare a law unconstitutional.
But North Carolinians flubbed this question: “As far as you know, does the federal government spend more on Social Security or foreign aid?”
Just 21% knew the correct answer. Social Security accounts for one-fifth of total federal spending. Foreign aid is about 1%. Alas, most North Carolinians thought either that foreign aid was the bigger expenditure (41%) or that the U.S. spent about the same on foreign aid and Social Security (10%). The rest admitted they didn’t know.
I concede that civic knowledge isn’t a game of Jeopardy. Voters need not know which president prosecuted the Mexican-American War (North Carolina’s own James K. Polk) or was the first to be impeached (another native Tar Heel, Andrew Johnson) in order to exercise their franchise responsibly. Still, as America continues to stumble toward a fiscal crisis of unprecedented magnitude, far too few of us have a firm grasp on its primary causes and probable consequences.
If present trends continue, publicly held federal debt (excluding debts owed by one part of the government to another) will hit a record 106% of gross domestic product in 2027 and shoot up to 122% of GDP by 2034. Washington is now spending more on interest payments to bondholders than on national defense.
The U.S. House has just approved budget targets that, if fully implemented in subsequent legislation, would extend the tax cuts enacted during President Trump’s first term (generally good) and reduce future spending growth by trillions of dollars (also good). Unfortunately, under all reasonable scenarios, it also guarantees multi-trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.
Why aren’t voters more upset about all this? The reason isn’t a lack of concern. The vast majority say they worry “a great deal” or a “fair amount” about federal spending and deficits. The problem is that they misunderstand the causes and underestimate the necessary remedies. Far too many left-leaning people think it’s largely a revenue matter and can be addressed by hiking taxes on millionaires and billionaires. As I’ve pointed out many times, doing so might realistically nudge federal revenues up modestly as a share of GDP, by a percentage point or so. But our deficits are running closer to 7% of GDP.
Far too many right-leaning people believe combating fraud and axing a few programs like foreign aid will do the job. Nah. The sum of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, national defense, and debt service represents 76% of all federal spending. Eliminate every other federal expenditure and that still wouldn’t balance the budget (Washington currently finances nearly 30% of its budget by borrowing).
Voters deserve to know the truth. They deserve politicians willing to speak it.
Editor’s note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).
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Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Written by Calista Cuevas
Publisher note: The letter-to-the-editor below examines the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission and its alignment with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Unlike unvetted statements and information found on Facebook and other social media platforms, I have found that the information on which the writer has based her letter is readily and publicly available at www.fayettevillenc.gov and www.CumberlandcountyNC.gov. Details about the FCHRC’s mission, meeting minutes, and policy discussions are available on the official website of the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission. https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/City-Departments/Human-Relations. Calista Cuevas is a Fayetteville resident, mother of two, and co-founder of the local Moms for Liberty organization. Thank you for reading the Up & Coming Weekly newspaper.
— Bill Bowman, Publisher
For generations, Americans have shared a core belief: Hard work, not identity, should determine success. The idea that all men are created equal—not divided by race, gender, or background—has shaped the nation. This principle has driven generations to work hard, succeed, and build a merit-based society. However, the push for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion undermines this longstanding American principle—not about fairness or opportunity—but government-driven social engineering that replaces merit with identity politics. This ideology, championed by local progressive activists, is being embedded into our Fayetteville/Cumberland County government, including our school system.
The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission is one such entity. While it presents itself as a neutral force promoting “equity and inclusion,” its policies and agenda prioritize group identity over individual ability and effort.
This is not just a partisan conservative viewpoint or issue. It is an American issue. Regardless of political affiliation (or no affiliation), every hardworking citizen should reject the idea that identity matters more than merit.
Over the years, the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission has quietly embedded itself in local governance, policymaking, and school influence.
In 2023 and 2024, the FCHRC attempted to establish a Student-Human Relations Commission—a DEI-based program inside Cumberland County schools. The commission contacted Superintendent Dr. Connolly to push this agenda. While this initiative was unsuccessful, the mere fact that it was attempted—without public input—should concern every citizen.
This aligns with a more significant national trend. Recognizing the growing threat of radical ideology in education, the President recently signed the executive order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” This order blocks federal funding for schools that teach DEI, critical race theory, and gender ideology—policies that undermine the merit-based system upon which this nation was built. It also reinstates the 1776 Commission, ensuring that patriotic education and parental rights are protected in schools.
Despite the national efforts to eradicate DEI infiltration, the FCHRC and similar commissions continue working behind the scenes to reshape policies under the banner of “equity.”
When implementing DEI policies, hiring, admissions, qualifications, and promotions cease to be objective. Instead, decisions are made based on race, gender, or other identity-based characteristics—factors that have nothing to do with a person’s ability to perform the assigned task.
For example, if two candidates were applying for a job, it should not matter the sex, race, sexual preference, or any other irrelevant characteristic an applicant has. The only things that should matter are their skills, experience, education, and overall ability to succeed in the role. An actual merit-based society selects candidates based on qualifications—not personal characteristics. And once a candidate is chosen, their race, gender, or background should be irrelevant.
This is the fundamental difference between DEI and a meritocracy, which ensures that all individuals—regardless of background have an equal chance to compete, succeed, and celebrate their achievements. DEI advocates feel that priority should be given to certain identity groups, regardless of ability.
This is why all citizens, regardless of political affiliation (or no affiliation) should reject DEI: DEI removes fairness and replaces it with forced social engineering.
Anyone serving actively on a public board, commission, or committee should be of the highest integrity to ensure honest and objective points of view. Serving in this capacity only matters if individuals uphold their values and keep their constituents and the general public informed about the policies discussed and formulated behind closed doors. Someone seated on any local board who fails to stand up and speak up for their principles compromises their values, or practices a “go along-to-get along” approach when addressing significant issues. These people should not be in a leadership position.
Even more egregious is when someone purposely contradicts their values for personal gain or to enhance their standing and stature in the community. This challenges the faith and trust that citizens have in their governing agencies. Unfortunately, this appears to be precisely what happened when several recent members of the FCHRC board professed conservative values, then surrendered those values by failing to stand firm, exposing progressive and radical overreach, and failing to use their position to inform the public of the DEI ideological movement.
As voters, we should have serious questions about how these board members manage their roles on essential boards and committees while actively serving and advocating for more realistic ideals and conservative values. Values that do not include support of DEI principles. Transparency and accountability should be non-negotiable in leadership.
Fayetteville and Cumberland County do not exist in a vacuum. Our local leadership needs to aggressively implement idealogy that enhances Fayetteville and Cumberland County and our quality of life while returning trust in our government and leadership. Fayetteville needs to lead this movement, not resist it.
Editor's Note: The views expressed in this article are those of Calista Cuevos and do not reflect the views of all of the staff at Up & Coming Weekly. Up & Coming Weekly encourages editorials from the community, and will print letters to the editor as long as they are not submitted anonymously.
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