Ways N.C. can tell the feds to take a flying leap

Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly say they want to protect North Carolinians from the Democratic-sponsored health care plan being debated in Washington.

So, they’ve come up with a plan to insulate state residents.

They want to exempt North Carolinians from a requirement that everyone carry health insurance.

“Republicans will not stand idly by and watch as citizens’ rights to make their own health care decisions are taken from them by the federal government,” Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said of national health care reform.

Republicans here are following the same game plan as those in other states, where similar efforts are underway. Arizona legislators have already agreed to put a ballot initiative before state voters to allow the state to “opt out” of a federal health care plan.

State House Speaker Joe Hackney, a Democrat, denounced the Republican talk as a political stunt. He apparently believes that thing called the U.S. Constitution might present a significant hurdle.

But why be so rash, so quick to condemn an idea that could hold all kinds of promise?

In fact, why not expand upon the proposal? Perhaps Republicans and Democrats could finally come together over a single purpose, the passing of an Omnibus Federal Exemption Act. Just imagine how many ways North Carolina could tell the federal government to go take a flying leap off a cliff.

The easy one here, of course, is an exemption from federal taxes. Legislators could call this one the Incumbency Protection Amendment. Who wouldn’t vote another term for the entire legislature after having your federal tax debt wiped clean? No more would North Carolina have to worry about sending more money to Washington than it gets back. The provision naturally would include an exemption from Internal Revenue Service audits.

Out in the business world, exemptions from federal labor laws would be popular. Eighty-hour work weeks with no overtime, paying men and women unequal pay, and eliminating the minimum wage could be the bold, new frontier of establishing North Carolina as the most business-friendly state in the country.

State lawmakers could exempt political donors from federal campaign giving limits. Oh, never mind. The Supreme Court is already handling that exemption.

In North Carolina, No Child Left Behind could become Kiss My Behind. All schools would be granted an exemption to the federal school accountability law. Current and future federal education secretaries would be banned from entering the state.

Finally, one way of creating a truly omnibus bill would be to exempt all North Carolinians from prosecution for violations of any federal law. This provision would be especially popular among certain former political officeholders and a few of their close friends.

Of course, this approach might create a few unforeseen problems. After all, the last time North Carolina told the feds to go jump in a lake, some fellow named Sherman burned and pillaged his way across the state.

Scott Mooneyham writes about North Carolina government and politics for the Capitol Press Association.