Former state Senator Fern Shubert has earned a reputation as an expert on state finances. In a talk to a recent meeting of the Iredell Republican Women’s Club, she made a compelling case that our state government is even worse than most believe it to be.

Shubert charged that millions of dollars are spent on highway projects that benefit powerful politicians. She cited a recent appropriation for a street beautification project in Elizabeth City on a street that isn’t even a state road. Word is that a powerful member of the General Assembly owns property on the road.

One reason so many of our local roads are congested and in need of repair is that Iredell County has averaged only $185 in annual per capita highway spending, significantly less than the state average of $239 per capita, Shubert said. Much of the money that is spent in Iredell goes for mandated Interstate maintenance.

Every county in the Charlotte region receives less than its per capita share of state highway road money, Shubert noted. Seven of the top ten N.C. counties in per-capita highway spending are in state Senate leader Marc Basnight’s district, in the northeastern corner of the state.

Shubert charged that the state press is even more dishonest than the politicians. She said at least some state elected officials are honest and try to inform the public, but that “None of the major newspapers tell what is happening in the state.”

The Elizabeth City street beautification project was not reported by any of the mainstream media, Shubert noted. She said the Carolina Journal, a publication of the John Locke Foundation, did the investigative work and broke the story about the $10 million “pork barrel” fund controlled by state Sen. Marc Basnight, House Speaker Jim Black, and Rep. Richard Morgan. The story then received wide circulation on the internet and was discussed on several talk radio shows. Only then was it reluctantly reported by the major newspapers.

(Money from the “pork barrel” fund was used to pay for a $48,000 per year job that was created for former Rep. Mike Decker, whose switch in party affiliation gave Democrats control of the General Assembly in 2003. Taxpayers are paying Decker to research old gold mines.)

Shubert alluded to an incident where Rep. John Rhodes inquired about the status of a non-controversial bill he had introduced. One of the House leaders retorted, “John Rhodes, you ain’t s__t.” Although two reporters for major newspapers were present, the remark was not mentioned in the mainstream media. If a conservative member of the General Assembly had used such language in a public setting, the people of the state would have read about it.

Shubert urged listeners to subscribe to The North Carolina Conservative, a new statewide, alternative monthly newspaper. The publication is available online at www.northcarolinaconservative.com . The mailing address is P.O. Box 305, Linville, NC 28646.