The McDowell News from Marion, North Carolina • A5

The McDowell News Tuesday, april 27, 2021 A5 Maybe you stand Pat, but former Governor McCrory could be future Senator Mc- Crory. When McCrory announced run for the Senate next year, many of my fellow Democrats laughed and pounced. So did Republicans. Democrats dismissed him as the governor who signed into law House Bill 2, the controversial transgender and then became the first North Carolina governor to lose reelection. Another Republican running for the Senate seat, former Congressman Mark Walker, attacked him saying: taking back the Senate majority hinging on our success in North Car- olina, why would we gamble on Pat McCrory a career politician who has lost more statewide races than McCrory lost to Bev Perdue in the 2008 race, then soundly defeated Lt.

Gov. Walter Dalton in 2012 after Perdue decided late in the campaign season not to run again. McCrory took shots from both par- ties because he interviewed for jobs in the Trump administration after losing narrowly to Gov. Roy Cooper in 2016, but get appointed. Walker said, Pat good enough for administration, not good enough for our The Democratic Senatorial Cam- paign Committee said McCrory even get hired by the Trump But he could get elected senator.

He enters the race with an advan- tage in name recognition, as his own poll boasted. A Republican primary opponent will need a lot of money to overcome that. McCrory has been mayor of Char- lotte and governor. He has automatic stature. Critics scoffed when he called him- self an but smart positioning.

His campaign cited strength McCrory has as someone who has not served in Congress but instead has made executive-level de- cisions as a proven In other words, not a Washing- ton swamp creature like Walker and another Congressman who might run, Ted Budd. Lara Trump, Donald daughter-in-law, also might run. But why would she give up New York, Palm Beach and a Fox News gig? Plus, does Donald Trump want to risk his brand before 2024? McCrory had a media gig too. He hosted Pat McCrory on WBT radio. His campaign says that was top-rated talk radio show in not but a big media market, especially in a Re- publican primary.

And been a regular on the noteworthy that an- nouncement mention Trump. You have to dig deep in his campaign website to find a mention of Trump. The former president is obviously a plus in the primary, but may be poison with Independents in a general elec- tion. Sen. Richard Burr, who is vacating the seat, got censured by North Car- olina Republicans when he voted to impeach Trump over the Jan.

6 attack on the Capitol. Paul Shumaker, an experienced Republican consultant who worked with both Sens. Burr and Thom Tillis, is handling Senate race. Shumaker can provide the skilled professional hand that McCrory lost when Jack Hawke died after the 2012 election. If McCrory wins the primary, his- tory favors him.

Republicans have won the last four Senate races in North Carolina and six of the last seven. Since the two-party era began in 1972, Republicans have won 13 Senate races and Democrats, only four. The last North Carolinian to be elected both governor (1960) and sen- ator (1986) was Terry Sanford. Now, I knew Terry Sanford. Terry Sanford is a hero of mine.

Pat McCrory is no Terry Sanford. But he could win old Senate seat next year and be both a governor and a senator. Gary pearce was a reporter and editor at The News Observer, a political consultant and an adviser to Gov. Jim Hunt (1976-1984 and 1992-2000). He blogs about politics and public policy at www.NewdayforNC.com.

FROM THE HISTORY CHANNEL Spotlight: 4977 B.C.: Universe is created, according to Kepler On April 27, 4977 B.C., the universe is created, ac- cording to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern sci- ence. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets. Also on this day: Exploration 1521: Navigator Ferdinand Magellan killed in the Philippines After traveling three-quarters of the way around the globe, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish on Mactan Island in the Philippines. 19th Century 1813: Explorer Zebulon Pike killed in battle After surviving two dangerous exploratory expedi- tions into uncharted areas of the West, Zebulon Pike dies during a battle in the War of 1812. By the time he became a general in 1812, Pike had already faced many perilous situations.

1805: U.S. agent William Eaton leads U.S. forces the shores of After marching 500 miles from Egypt, U.S. agent William Eaton leads a small force of U.S. Marines and Berber mercenaries against the Tripolitan port city of Derna.

Africa 1994: South Africa holds first multiracial elections More than 22 million South Africans turn out to cast ballots in the first multiracial parliamentary elections. An overwhelming majority chose anti-apart- heid leader Nelson Mandela to head a new coalition gov- ernment that included his African National Congress Party. American Revolution 1773: British parliament passes unpopular Tea Act On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy by greatly lowering the tea tax it paid to the British government and, thus, granting it a de facto monopoly on the American tea trade. Sports 1956: Rocky Marciano retires as world heavyweight champion On April 27, 1956, world heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano retires from boxing at age 31, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. Marciano ended his career as the only heavyweight champion with a per- fect wins in 49 professional bouts, with 43 knockouts.

U.S. Presidents 1822: President Ulysses S. Grant is born Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War leader and 18th president of the United States, is born on April 27, 1822. The son of a tanner, Grant showed little enthusiasm for joining his business, so the elder Grant enrolled his son at West Point in 1839.

Crime 1997: Andrew Cunanan begins his killing spree Andrew Cunanan kills Jeffrey Trail by beating him to death with a claw hammer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. murder set Cunanan off on a nationwide kill- ing spree that ended in July when he killed himself on a houseboat in Miami Beach. Civil War 1865: Union soldiers die in steamship explosion The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers includ- ing many discharged Union soldiers. The Sultana was launched from Cincinnati in 1863. Inventions Science 2009: GM announces plans to phase out Pontiac On April 27, 2009, the struggling American auto gi- ant General Motors (GM) says it plans to discontinue production of its more than 80-year-old Pontiac brand.

RALEIGH The latest federal job report is out and it shows North employment recov- ery stalling out a bit during the first quarter of 2021. That may not be evident at first glance. The head- line unemployment rate fell during the first three months of the year, reaching 5.2% in March. way down from the terrifying 13.5% rate of a year ago, as COVID-19 and the ensuing shutdowns swept North Carolinians out of their jobs at an unprecedented speed. That headline unemployment rate of 5.2% is, however, still higher than the 3.6% unem- ployment rate North Carolina posted in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.

More importantly, some workers without jobs counted in the rate, the tech- nical name of which is the U-3 rate. These are folks who are too discouraged to look for a job, are otherwise detached from the job market for some rea- son, or who work part time but would rather have a full-time job. A different measure, the U-6 rate, counts all those people, too. I give you the U-6 rate for the first quarter of 2021, because that particular measure lags a bit behind the others. But as of the end of 2020, some 12.4% of working-age North Carolinians were either jobless or involuntary part-timers.

There are good reasons to believe this share fallen very much in recent months. For example, North labor-force participation rate the share of the working-age population that is either em- ployed or actively looking for jobs fell from in Decem- ber to 59.5% in March. not a sign of health in our labor market. We just want the U-3 rate to drop and job counts to go up a bit. To get back to something approaching normal, we need to see North labor-force partici- pation rate rise back up towards the pre-COVID rate of 61.3%.

Why are so many potential workers still on the sidelines? There are several possible (and not at all contradictory) expla- nations. Many economists and Re- publican politicians blame the expansion in unemploy- ment-insurance benefits. During the early stage of the pandemic, Congress and the former Trump administration both expanded eligibility for UI benefits and tacked on addi- tional money to those benefits. Back then, when businesses were ordered to shut down or cut back hours, or simply attract many risk- averse customers, the effects of expanded UI on work incentives may have been modest. Indeed, that was the stated purpose of the extra $600 a week giving households money to pay their bills because so many workers had little prospect of getting any kind of full-time job.

Now that our state and many others have relaxed restrictions on businesses, and newly vacci- nated customers are venturing out to consume goods and ser- vices, the wide availability of UI benefits, still supplemented by an extra $300 a week, is surely keeping some lower-skilled workers on the sidelines. They truly receive more weekly in- come from government than they would from an employer. But I doubt the only factor at play here. While state restrictions on our economy have been relaxed, they remain tight in some sectors. Capacity constraints are keeping arts, entertainment, leisure and hospitality businesses from staffing up fully.

Those jobs come back until state restrictions are gone and until more people feel safe enough to go out. Although the perverse incen- tives facing sidelined workers are largely of making, North Carolina leaders can help our labor market heal more quickly. They can keep promoting and facilitating vac- cination. And Gov. Roy Cooper should lift most of the restric- tions still in place on our busi- nesses, pointing to the rising share of North Carolinians who are immune either from vacci- nation or from prior exposure to COVID.

Paying people to stay home from work may make sense as a temporary expedient in the midst of an outbreak of com- municable disease. But not the right policy now. Subsidiz- ing idleness is bad for individu- als, bad for families and bad for our economy. John Hood is a Carolina Journal columnist and author of the forthcoming novel a historical fantasy set during the american revolution (MountainFolkBook.com). Will Governor McCrory become Senator McCrory? Too many workers are sidelined VOICE YOUR OPINION ONLINE Our website allows you to comment on stories, create forums for discussions and participate in online polls.

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