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Articles by Graig Meyer
Opinion: Don’t be fooled by the tax amendments on your ballot, NC
By Graig Meyer Beacon Media The North Carolina General Assembly laid down a challenge to North Carolinians by putting two potentially devastating and permanent constitutional amendments on this November’s ballot. They are billed as if they are “cutting taxes” and giving you a break. And with spiraling inflation, who doesn’t want what seems like a nice little tax break right now?
Graig Meyer: Don’t be fooled by the tax amendments on your ballot
Graig Meyer: Don’t be fooled by the tax amendments on your ballot The constitutional amendments on North Carolinians’ ballot on November 3 promise to lower taxes. They are really about a tax break for the wealthy — not for you, the author writes. By Graig Meyer Beacon Media Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash The North Carolina General Assembly laid down a challenge to North Carolinians by putting two potentially devastating and permanent constitutional amendments on this November’s ballot.
Meyer: An open letter to the ICE Agent in a mask
Dear ICE Agent Who Wears a Mask, I believe both you and I love our families, want our communities to feel safe, feel responsible for making the world a better place, and want our country to live up to its ideals. Even with that common ground, we make very different decisions. I struggle to understand why you would join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and I have a lot of questions for you. I’m sure there are reasons you took this job. What are they?
An open letter to the ICE agent in a mask
Dear ICE Agent Who Wears a Mask, I believe both you and I love our families, want our communities to feel safe, feel responsible for making the world a better place and want our country to live up to its ideals. Even with that common ground, we make very different decisions. I struggle to understand why you would join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and I have a lot of questions for you. I’m sure there are reasons you took this job. What are they?
Graig Meyer: An Open Letter to an ICE Agent in a Mask When federal immigration enforcement agents deployed to Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and other places around North Carolina, terrifying and haphazard arrests ensued. Graig Meyer has some questions for the people behind the masks. Dear ICE Agent Who Wears a Mask, I believe both you and I love our families, want our communities to feel safe, feel responsible for making the world a better place, and want our country to live up to its ideals.
Op-Ed: School vouchers are un-American
What’s our most important institution for bringing community together? Public School. Yes, our local public schools educate our kids. Yes, they develop their passions for sports or the arts. Yes, they prepare our kids to get a good job. And yes, public schools connect our children with trusted teachers and mentors who help raise them and guide them. On top of all of the amazing things public schools deliver directly to our children, they also play a role that no other institution can.
North Carolina moves towards authoritarianism
Authoritarianism. Not a word we usually associate with the United States. Since our founding we have grounded ourselves in a system of checks and balances, transparent government, and fair elections as the ultimate tool of accountability. kAmqFE :? }@CE9 r2C@=:?2[ :E :D 364@>:?8 :?4C62D:?8=J 4=62C E92E #6AF3=:42?D :? E96 v6?6C2= pDD6>3=J W}rvpX 2C6 AFEE:?8 E96:C @H? E9:CDE 7@C A@H6C 29625 @7 p>6C:42? :562=D] k^Am kAm%96 2FE9@C t46 %6>6=<FC2? 56D4C:36D D6G6? DE6AD E92E 42?
Opinion: North Carolina seems to be moving from democracy to authoritarianism
Authoritarianism. Not a word we usually associate with the United States. Since our founding we have grounded ourselves in a system of checks and balances, transparent government and fair elections as the ultimate tool of accountability. But in North Carolina, it is becoming increasingly clear that Republicans in the General Assembly are putting their own thirst for power ahead of American ideals.
Op-Ed: Kids Need a Support Network
Parents know how hard it is to navigate their child’s emotional state on a day-to-day basis, coaxing them through problems big and small. For me, as I think back on my oldest daughter through adolescence years ago, I often felt like a failure as a parent and as a professional social worker … because there were times I had to depend on others to help her.
Op-Ed: North Carolina's Judicial Elections Matter as Much as the Fight for the Statehouse
If you want good policies that allow all North Carolinians to thrive, you first need fair elections. To get there, we need good courts. My Democratic colleagues and I know how to make North Carolina stronger. We want to invest money in clean technologies to boost our economy and stop polluting our climate. We want to better fund our schools and create opportunities for our children. We want to ensure every woman has the right to make her own healthcare decisions.
Op-Ed: Leandro Isn't Just About a "Constitutional Crisis." It's About Our Values.
The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled three times that North Carolina’s children have the right to a sound, basic education. And yet North Carolina Republican legislative leaders were back before the Supreme Court recently to argue that they should be able to ignore a court order to fully fund our schools. In the run up to this year’s elections, their public statements make this case part of their effort to maintain legislative control and win back a majority on the N.C. Supreme Court.
Op-Ed: Legalizing Cannabis
Right now, as readers pick up a copy of this column, there are students at UNC and Duke who are smoking or otherwise consuming cannabis with little fear of repercussions. Meanwhile, all over North Carolina, Black and brown users of the exact same drug are being arrested and convicted at over twice the rate of their white counterparts. There’s nothing new here. The war on cannabis and broader “War on Drugs” has always been pursued selectively.
Our state has a lot of money to help people
North Carolina has a lot (a lot!) of money right now. Billions of dollars in our bank accounts. Republicans are bragging about having this cash as if that money came from them rather than millions of hard-working North Carolinians. We need to put the money to work for the people who have been hit the hardest by the last year, and we need to make smart investments that will build future success.
OPINION: We can afford to do more to help out
The devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is catastrophic. Gov. Cooper and his team have taken many necessary, if difficult, steps to slow the spread of the virus. And the roll out of vaccines gives us all hope for a return to some semblance of normality later this year. Still, many of our fellow North Carolinians are suffering right now. North Carolina is sitting on over $4 billion in unreserved public funds. Now is the time to put that money to work for the people of North Carolina.
Let’s make some ‘good trouble’
In the midst of 2020’s tumult, I was brought to tears by the inspiring essay Congressman John Lewis wrote just before his death. I encourage you to read it. And, I feel compelled to help share his clarion call to our Nation. Indeed, we do need to “Redeem the Soul of our Nation.” In the wake of his Rep. Lewis’s passing, I heard so many stories from people who felt impacted by his legacy. My own mother shared with me and my children how meeting him changed her life.
We’re NC Lawmakers. There Are No Perfect Options for Reopening Schools.
Options for reopening NC schools after coronavirus are limited by inadequate state funding for North Carolina’s public school systems. (Editor’s Note: Cardinal & Pine has reached out to North Carolina lawmakers from both parties to talk about the challenges associated with reopening schools.
The toughest question: What should schools do?
The question that seems to be on everyone’s mind is, “what should schools do?” Honest answer: There are no perfect options for how to return to traditional schooling during the pandemic. We are two members of the General Assembly who became Representatives while working in schools. Our thoughts these days are very much with our educator colleagues who are trying to find the best solution to safely reopen schools during COVID.
How The Trump Administration Cut NC Small Businesses Out of Coronavirus Relief
A North Carolina lawmaker writes about the struggle for small business owners and minority-owned businesses to access CARES Act relief for COVID-19. A gym owner. The owner of a music venue. A hairdresser. Call after call, I hear it in their voices. The tension between wanting to do the right thing for the safety and health of their community and seeing their years of personal and emotional investment disappear within days.
Public sacrifice forges our public welfare
In the midst of this unprecedented pandemic, I have been thinking a lot about sacrifice. At a scale we haven’t seen in decades, people are putting their lives on the line and placing their futures on hold to benefit the public good. How does that sacrifice change us? I believe shared public endeavors strengthen us as nothing else can. When we sacrifice some individual gain for the public good, we are forged into better versions of ourselves.
It's time for another talk about race and schools - EducationNC
Last week, the NC House of Representatives debated a bill (SB295 Standards of Student Conduct) that would remove existing statutory language that prevents school districts from suspending or expelling students for minor behavioral infractions such as dress code violations or using foul language. The provision being deleted was originally added to our education statutes in 2011.
Storm topples trees, spares house of Rep. Graig Meyer
E-edition Obituaries Classifieds Jobs Moonlighting Cars Homes Legals Local Severe weather toppled trees surrounding the house of Rep. Graig Meyer in the White Cross community near Chapel Hill, NC Friday afternoon, April 19, 2019. Amazingly, no trees hit the house, but the family couldn't make it off their property. RELATED STORIES TRENDING
Storm topples trees, spares house of Rep. Graig Meyer
E-edition Business Obituaries Advertise With Us News Severe weather toppled trees surrounding the house of Rep. Graig Meyer in the White Cross community near Chapel Hill, NC Friday afternoon, April 19, 2019. Amazingly, no trees hit the house, but the family couldn't make it off their property. RELATED STORIES TRENDING
Extended year contracts: helping students by helping teachers
What if we could boost teacher pay, give teachers more time to learn from one another, and help the state’s students, particularly the neediest ones, all with one plan? We can. Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union) and I have been working on a plan that could accomplish all of these things by offering about 40 percent of the state’s teachers an extended-year contract. These contracts would pay for an extra month of the teacher’s time, thereby boosting their salary 10 percent over the standard 10-month contract.
Graig's Seat: My 2019 Legislative Agenda
The rules of the General Assembly dictate that most bills for our biennial session be introduced before mid-April of 2019. I am ready to get to work and I would like to share a little bit about what my legislative agenda will be for 2019-2020. I will share a few ideas related to the five House committees I serve on and add a couple of other big picture items at the end.
Graig's Seat: Voting is a Right, not a Privilege: Let’s Keep it that Way
If I could have my way, every citizen would vote in every election. Although that may never happen, I still believe that we should make it as easy as possible for people to register and vote. That’s why I joined three other Democratic colleagues last week to introduce the Let North Carolina Vote Act. The Let North Carolina Vote Act lays out what Democrats would do to expand voting access if we had a majority of seats in the General Assembly.
The GOP Tax Bill is Bad for Students
Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. That’s roughly the same amount of money that the House GOP tax plan will add to the deficit over the next ten years, due in large part to proposed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Tax policy is about more than just economic and fiscal terms. It is an expression of our nation’s values; it details what we as a nation care about.
Do teachers make $50,000? - EducationNC
Representative Graig Meyer (D-Orange) represents House District 50 including Orange and Durham counties, and he is a co-chair of the House Democrats Freshman Caucus. A 2003-05 Friday Fellow for Human Relations, Rep. Meyer is an educator and a social worker. Before serving in the General Assembly, I worked in public schools for 16 years. My wife is a career teacher. Both of us talk with teachers every day.
Regulations could help both motorists and cyclists - News of Orange: Opinion
I also hear consistently from rural residents about their concerns that cycling groups make our narrow, curvy roads even more dangerous. The Schley Grange has taken up a coordinated effort to push for changes to our current approach to handling road safety for cyclists and automobiles. Orange County is not alone in its concern about this.
N.C. teachers’ $750 bonus is just a cynical set-up
Teachers and state employees have every right to be angry if the only pay increase they will see this year is a one-time $750 bonus. The amount is paltry compared to what they deserve, and it is less than what the state can afford.It’s also a set-up.Behind closed doors last week, Republicans were smirking about this measly sum. Why?
This ‘raise’ is a set up
Teachers and state employees have every right to be angry if the only pay increase they will see this year is a one-time $750 bonus. The amount is paltry compared to what they deserve, and it is less than what the state can afford. Behind closed doors last week, Republicans were smirking about this measly sum. Why? Because by limiting the amount of money spent on state employees and making it a bonus rather than a real raise, they are setting the playing field for 2016 election year politics.
Some issues drawn by party lines - News of Orange: Opinion
There are issues before us in the General Assembly that show fundamental differences between parties. As much as I want to develop common understanding across difference, sometimes it is impossible. How is it that we can see things so differently? To me, those preventable deaths are a travesty that we have an obligation to address. To me, it’s fiscally irresponsible that North Carolinian’s tax dollars are being spent to expand Medicaid in other states.
Reaching across party lines can be difficult - News of Orange: Opinion
I’ve been at events before where I wanted people from the other side of the political spectrum to attend. I believed that if they could just hear the logic in what was being discussed, they would understand and agree about how important the issue was. Being on the flip side of the equation was a fascinating learning experience. I went in open to listening to what was being presented, but I certainly was also holding on to my beliefs.
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