Putting North Carolina Back to Work
Our economy is still hurting from the great recession, and too many people are unemployed. Getting people back to work is my top priority. We can be proud that North Carolina is consistently ranked as one of the best states to do business, but we have to make sure that North Carolina continues to be a great place for people to work. The Republican job-killing budget of 2011 made unemployment worse instead of better.
Educating Our Citizens for the Future
North Carolina’s economic future depends on our ability to educate our children and our workers. As a former teacher, I understand that education is the key to preparing our people for the economy of the future. Having worked for many years in high-tech industry, I know that we need a highly educated and well-trained workforce to attract new companies and jobs to North Carolina. Instead of investing in education, the Tea-Party Republicans laid off thousands of teachers and school employees and dropped North Carolina to 49th in the country in funding for K-12 education. The University of North Carolina system was cut 15%, which resulted in thousands more lost jobs. Funding for community colleges was also cut, and early childhood education was slashed 20%. We cannot cut our way to excellence.
A Legislature that Works for You
Instead of creating jobs or strengthening education, the Republicans have wasted our time trying to advance their extreme ideological agenda. Their law dictating what doctors tell their patients was found unconstitutional, as were their ideological license plates. Now they want North Carolina to enshrine discrimination in our State Constitution. They passed laws to keep people from voting and gerrymandered the legislative districts to keep their hold on power. None of these actions benefit the people of North Carolina in any way.
We Can Do Better
We can do better and we must do better. Our legislature needs to work for all of the people of North Carolina. Together we can put North Carolina back to work, invest in our future, and make North Carolina the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family.
I welcome your support during the campaign and I ask for your vote in November. It will be a great honor to serve you in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Thank you!
Keith Karlsson
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