Mr. Lawin [“Back up the facts,” Letter to the Editor, Aug. 20] is woefully misinformed regarding business incentives, taxation and the health of the GOP. First, no corporation really pays taxes; they simply pass these costs on to their customers. If they didn’t, profit margins would fall and shareholders would take their money elsewhere. Since over half of all American households today own individual stocks and even more have some form of a private or government pension, we all benefit from lower taxes to corporations. But over 99 percent of the nation’s 27 million businesses are small ones, normally operated as S-corps (LLC, partnerships, etc.) and taxed at the higher individual tax rate. North Carolina’s painfully high personal income tax rate makes things especially tough for small businesses in our state. (Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy” is a fine read on the topic.) The state’s Democrat-led leadership has been a staunch advocate for business incentives, a.k.a. “corporate welfare,” aimed at major firms who shamelessly play states and counties against each other; Governor Easley and the elite Democrat inner-circle in Raleigh are only too eager to shower them with our tax dollars. Most CEOs of small businesses do not agree with this policy of welfare for the chosen few, and many of us prefer the simple logic and fairness of the FairTax (fairtax.org). Note that it was a Republican candidate for governor, former State Justice Robert Orr, who has for years campaigned to end such subsidies. As far as the health of the GOP is concerned, Mr. Lawin must be new to the South, a region devoid of Republicans until the late 1960s. Today, nearly all states in the South are lead by GOP politicians. The demographics of North Carolina are changing too, evidenced by the fact that in the past two elections, more votes were cast for Republican candidates to the State House than for Democrats. This coming November will see more Republican candidates on ballots than since reconstruction, further evidence that the GOP continues its steady growth in our state.

Kent Misegades, Cary

Push-poll tactics

Have you received a phone call to participate in a poll about the upcoming elections? Me too.

After confirming who I am, my registration (which they knew already, hmmmm), the “pollster’s” questions are no longer real questions, but are skewing the record and platform of the State House Democratic candidate. “Who are you?” I ask. We are Public Opinion Strategies out of Utah. (A little research reveals they are a Republican political consulting firm.) I’ve seen and heard this tactic before, but I’m not fooled, and neither are other smart voters out there. The use of a “fake poll” to influence a voter, often called a “push poll,” is a call disguised as research, with the aim of skewing public opinion or disparaging another candidate. It’s not a real poll, (they didn’t ask me a SINGLE demographic question); it’s just a way to push me towards or away from a candidate. This is why people are put off from politics. These tactics make the whole political process even more partisan and toxic. They take a valid form of research and use it to try to manipulate your opinion. Be wise, be sure, and don’t be fooled.

Lori Bush, Cary