Stunning Transformation at the N&O?

I almost fell out of my chair this morning when I read this line in an N&O article:

Excuse us, governor, and forgive our impertinence – but what’s so hard to understand here? It’s our money, not yours.

Had the N&O editors suddenly turned an about face and recognized each individual’s right to, as stated in the North Carolina Constitution, “life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor”?

Wouldn’t it be nice if they applied this mindset to other policy areas? This indeed would mark a stunning development and a marked change from their recent articles supporting the forcible extraction of taxpayer dollars to finance political campaigns (hey, it’s our money! We shouldn’t be forced to finance political campaigns we may never have supported voluntarily!) and support for further political control of health insurance and the delivery of medical care, including a federal mandate forcing people to purchase health insurance who otherwise may not have voluntarily purchased it (hey, it’s our money! We shouldn’t be forced to purchase a product if we don’t want to!).

But alas, upon closer examination, I saw that the article was merely reprinted from the Fayetteville Observer and classified under “other views.”

Kudos, however, to the Fayetteville Observer for representing the voice of the taxpayer by properly stating “its our money, not yours.” And, to a lesser extent, to the N&O for at least re-printing the article.

But I should have known better than to think the N&O editors would recognize that the rightful owners of wealth are the ones who actually earned it, and not the government’s money to be taken and dispensed as they please. Other views, indeed.