The hypocrisy of a North Carolina millionaire lecturing on taxes | Opinion
In response to “I’m a millionaire and Tar Heel. I want to pay more in taxes for schools” (May 12):
Monica Lavery wants to pay more in taxes for schools. She is already free to do so. We do not need new laws for that. The tax code already has a variety of ways she can make that happen.
Lavery says, “There is no justifiable reason in any world … why a millionaire like me should pay a lower tax rate than a worker making $17 an hour.” If Lavery is paying a lower tax rate, it is purely her choice. She is proactively doing things with her assets and income to put her in that lower tax bracket. The irony and hypocrisy of that statement is stunning.
In truth, Lavery doesn’t want to pay more in taxes. If that was the case, she would be doing that already. She wants to make OTHER PEOPLE pay more in taxes. And if Lavery is serious about pressing her case, she should release her own tax returns so we can see if she practices what she preaches.
Warren Smith, Charlotte
Perfect storm of hunger
Our food ecosystem is experiencing a perfect storm right now. War, weather, and trade policy contribute to rising food costs. Families are struggling to afford groceries, and because of H.R. 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill, families and older adults are losing SNAP.
The House passed a Farm Bill that does not address the cuts to SNAP or the administrative cost shift to states in a time when the belt is tightening. We need to lean on our senators to vote no on any farm bill that does not address the harms caused by H.R. 1, to reinstate SNAP for the most vulnerable among us, and to delay the cost shift to states.
Yolanda Gordon, Fort Mill
Amazon worker
I’m confused about Mary Hill, the Amazon worker who blames Jeff Bezos for the difficulty she has in paying her bills. The minimum wage in North Carolina is $7.25. Hill earns $22 an hour and advocates for $30 an hour. $22 an hour is the equivalent of an annual salary of $45,760. $30 an hour is equivalent to $62,400. The current median salary of a college graduate in the Raleigh area is $56,372.
So it does make you wonder what Hill would do for a living if Amazon did not exist, or who she would blame were it not for the value Mr. Bezos has provided, nor the wealth he has accrued because of it.
Tom Spencer, Waxhaw
Indoctrination, for sure
I completely agree with Rep. Virginia Foxx’s assertion about the indoctrination in the K-12 schools or in the universities. She is an example of what happens when a person is indoctrinated. A person who gets a proper education learns not only to read and write but also think and ask why and how. That is what happened to Christian Mango. He can think.
Indoctrination blind one’s judgment. That’s clear to see in Foxx’s response to 10-year-old Christian Mango‘s letter to her.
I feel sorry for Ms. Foxx.
Apan Basu, Durham
Legal Aid funding
In summer, 2025 state lawmakers froze the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) funding as part of the 2025 Public Safety Act. The freeze had an adverse effect on citizens and Legal Aid of N.C. Those hardest hit include residents in rural communities. Legal Aid estimates that because of the grant freeze, about 8,000 people went without legal representation and consultation from its organization.
Moreover, Legal Aid was forced to close its doors in a few communities and reduce its staffing across the state, as the freeze held up about $6.3 million budget used to sustain offices, retain attorneys called to the work of service and practice, and provide accessibility to residents across North Carolina. The greater infraction for residents not having access to offices in their region, with reduced staff, suggests that some potential cases will be backlogged or not addressed at all as a result of the cutbacks.
In 2024, these funds secured legal representation for 3,200 domestic violence cases, as well as $5 million to help 26,000 people with information and services after Hurricane Helene. The problem is that the person needing assistance could be your loved one, a veteran, or even you.
Roosevelt Ethridge, Wilson