<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-786" src="http://carolinacrossroads.news/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Logo_Abbreviated_Cropped.png" alt="Logo_Abbreviated_Cropped" width="149" height="101" /> <em><strong>Carolina Crossroads News, </strong></em>a locally owned and operated <em><strong>Free</strong></em> online media service has launched.

"We're here to serve our community, to give, not take, to promote a healthy, prosperous, safe environment where individuals from all backgrounds, all walks of life and all persuasions can live, work, worship and prosper in peace and harmony, a place where residents, graduating seniors, incoming retirees and others who seek to return home can feel safe and welcome, and if desired, can discover exciting, fulfilling, living wage careers, while taking advantage of our rich and diverse social and cultural heritage.

Carolina Crossroad's success depends upon support and assistance from our community. This is a grass roots effort.

This is the first in a series of Editorials laying out the path we're going down in order to accomplish the mission. It's not going to be quick or easy, and it's fraught with potholes and peril. Like life itself, there are no guarantees.

Let's start by laying the foundation. Scotland County's problems are well understood, despite the fact that many don't like to talk openly about them.

Despite decades of generous taxpayer funded assistance, a plethora of well-intentioned programs and numerous economic development efforts, Scotland County remains the most economically depressed in all North Carolina.

Things aren't headed in the right direction either. Folks continue to leave, and many who stay say they do so only because they can't sell out at prices that would allow them to go elsewhere. Many feel trapped.

Crime, including violent crime appears to be gaining the upper hand. Many express fear of leaving the house, even for a short while, afraid homes and apartments will be burglarized during their absence, and they might even come home to a break in in progress. Others express a dread at staying home, fearing armed invasion, assault or worse. It's a difficult and frightening situation.

Q: What do you intend to do, and really, what can you do to turn things around?

A: Whatever it is, we can't do it alone. The community needs to grab the bull by the horns and fight for needed change.

Q: How do you propose to start?

A: We've become convinced that despite the serious nature of our problems, there are workable solutions. First let's identify the problem. It's well know, but many don't feel comfortable discussing it.

Scotland County has an imbalance of <em>takers</em> in relation to <em>producers</em>. In the past, when an area or region lost principal job providers, folks simply picked up stakes and moved on.

Unfortunately, when the mills and manufacturing plants moved out, Scotland County did the worst thing possible. It took advantage of federal subsidies and tax incentives to create Housing Authorities that constructed (Section 8) government housing.

Worse yet, these housing projects utilized brick construction. We all know the story of the Three Little Pigs, and yes, while brick is sturdier than straw or wood, in the case of Scotland County, it sent a clear signal that 'poverty' was here to stay. Our decision to join the <strong>War on Poverty</strong> put in place machinery that guaranteed poverty would not only continue but that it would grow into a virtual industry that in the case of Scotland County now employs hundreds of workers to cater to thousands of 'clients'

This may sound crass, but the truth is Lyndon Johnson's 'War on Poverty' actually reintroduced slavery. To be sure, today's slaves wear velvet chains instead of the heavy iron shackles of yesteryear, but they are chains nevertheless.

We've created an underclass that's completely dependent upon government largess for food, shelter, heat, light, air conditioning, health and other social services and even Obama phones. The only difference between today's modern slavery and historic slavery, is that modern slaves get to sit around instead of having to toils endlessly in the fields. This condition is fundamentally incompatible with freedom, liberty and prosperity.

Scotland County and related government entities have built a veritable industry on serving and perpetuating this underclass

anbeen captured by those who feel comfortable and have a stake in seeing that things stay as they are. Salaries and benefit packages are high, especially when compared to the county mean. Many feel that if they can just hang on long enough, those of us stuck here, can send generous pension checks to their new addresses in Florida and Arizona.

Q: Is there a term to describe this destructive symbiotic relationship?

A: It's called 'Parasitic'. The parasite feeds on its host until its blood and life juices have been sucked dry, at which point it tries to jump onto a new host. This isn't a healthy or sustainable relationship, at least not for the Host.

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A new approach may be needed.