NAI Carolantic Realty Blog

Steve Stroud, Chairman of NAI Carolantic Realty, gave the following  ‘perspective’ at the 26th Annual Triangle Commercial Real Estate Conference held on January 12th at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC.  This is the Part III and the final portion of his remarks.

“There are many who will try to convince us that ‘taking our country back’ means taking it backwards.  And nothing is further from the truth.  Yes, we want a return to our founding principles, to personal responsibility, statesmanship, and fair taxation. But, believe me, the solutions to the mess we are in now, require that we look to the future.  Specifically, to take a hard look at our schools and universities and work for fundamental changes in the ways we are teaching our children – especially when it comes to teaching the history of this great country.

Steve Stroud, SIOR, Chairman of NAI Carolantic Realty

Unfortunately, many of us will not be around to solve the problems we’ve created.  I believe that at this point the best legacy we can leave behind . . . something we can accomplish . . . is to get our education system back on the right track. 

For example, at the high school and elementary level, you have the efforts of Bob Luddy, founder and president of CaptiveAire Systems.  Bob has a passion for education, and he’s put his enthusiasm, time and money into creating Franklin Academy, Saint Thomas More Academy, and, in 2007, Bob opened Thales Academy in Raleigh, the first in a network of private community schools offering a high-quality grammar school education at low-cost tuition.  Franklin Academy and St. Thomas More are both nationally ranked near the top of all secondary schools.

We have charter schools like Raleigh Charter High School.  It was founded by a Board of Directors made up of business professionals, experienced educators, and college professors.  It is a community school, with a diverse student population and parents dedicated to seeing that their children succeed in a disciplined atmosphere that promotes real learning.

There are many new perspectives emerging on the education scene.  Students and parents have new opportunities, and we need to provide them with even more. We, as business and community leaders, have a responsibility to get involved.  We need to work with our public school system to help them make changes to better prepare our children to compete and succeed in the next century.

If we are going to get our country back, the best place to start is getting our schools back.  And by that I mean getting control away from those who object to the Pledge of Allegiance, and those who don’t believe it’s important that our children learn about the real heroes of American history.  We need the next generations, to appreciate the sacrifices that have made possible all of the freedoms we too often take for granted.  

I’ll close with this quote:  “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”  Thomas Jefferson

We have been silent long enough.”

Steve Stroud, Chairman of NAI Carolantic Realty, gave the following ‘perspective’ at the 26^th Annual Triangle Commercial Real Estate Conference held on January 12^th at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC.  This is Part II of his remarks.

Steve Stroud, SIOR, Chairman of NAI Carolantic Realty

“My parents, and their generation, never complained to the government, and never asked for anything but an opportunity.  They rolled up their sleeves and went to work, and they made the most of any opportunity that was afforded them.  They belonged to a community, and that community looked out for one another. There was nothing exceptional about their circumstances, or their resolve to raise a family with a deep sense of personal responsibility and a respect for this country and what it stands for.  They were a typical North Carolina farm family of the 1940’s and Fifties. Their values were hard work, and thrift, and belief in God and family. Their values had not changed one bit from those of our Founding Fathers.

This was not so long ago.  A single generation, in fact.  So where did we go wrong?  And more importantly, what can we do to get our country back again?

First, bring back statesmanship . . . . in Washington DC, in our state capitals, and in our city and county governments as well.  We need to stop electing politicians who know how to campaign but know nothing about governing.  We need to quit the earmarks and eliminate the gerrymandering that creates congressional districts that look like somebody spilled a bottle of ink on the map. Both parties have been guilty of the same thing. 

Second, get rid of bloated government.  Lately it seems that the only jobs being created have been government jobs. On the day that the Federal government employs fifty percent of the population, plus one person, then our democracy will cease to exist. 

Third, bring integrity back to our electoral process.  The right of every legal, registered citizen to vote must be protected.  And we must recognize that if people who have not earned the franchise are allowed to vote, that hurts the legitimacy of the whole democratic process.  Bring back the process where voters need to show their voter registration card, or some other form of official ID.  Right now it’s too easy to cheat.  In fact, the instructions on how to do so are published on the Internet.

Finally, we’ve got to fix the relentless taxation that seems to be aimed at punishing those who make the most of their opportunities and achieve something in our society. 

In some twisted fashion the achievers have become the enemy, to be seen simply as a source of tax money that is then re-distributed.  And when the bill comes due for this incredible level of deficit spending, who do you think is going to be asked to pay it? 

(Part III, the final portion of Steve’s remarks will be posted next week.)