North Carolina has the sixth-lowest cigarette tax.

According to research by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an anti-smoking advocacy group, only five states have lower cigarette taxes: Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina.

North Carolina's 35-cents per-pack tax is far below the $1.15 median rate of Arkansas and Delaware. The lowest is 7-cents in South Carolina; the highest, $2.75 in New York.

Gov. Beverly Perdue has proposed raising the tax by $1 per pack. The new rate of $1.35 would tie Pennsylvania for 20th highest rate. 

It would also be the highest among neighboring states of Georgia (37 cents), Virginia (30 cents), South Carolina and Tennessee (62 cents).

The tax rates are as of April 1 of this year. The federal cigarette tax will increase to $1.01 on April 31. In addition, a few cities and counties charge local cigarette taxes.

Richard Moore says the state's pension fund is solid.

In an interview with the N&O, the outgoing state treasurer said the state's portfolio dropped from $72.3 billion in value at the end of June to $65.9 billion as of Sept. 30.

The portfolio secures pension funds for nearly 900,000 people in the state and local government retirement system, Rob Christensen reports.

"State pensioners should not be concerned about their checks," Moore said. "We will finish this year in an overfunded status. We will be one of the top-performing pension plans in the country this year. But we have lost money. We have lost a lot."

Because the state has long had a conservative investment policy — about half the assets are in fixed-income investments such as bonds — the state's losses were far less dramatic than in many investment funds.

The state pension fund was down 12 percent for the year ending Sept. 30, compared with the S&P 500, which was down 24 percent, Moore said.

North Carolina is one of three states — the others are New York and Connecticut — where an elected state official has sole responsibility for investment of the state's pension fund.

How does property crime in Charlotte compare to New York and Los Angeles?

According to uniform crime statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte had more property crime per capita than New York and Los Angeles in 2007.

Property crime includes burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. Population estimates were based on U.S. Census Bureau data and yearly growth rates in each city.

According to the FBI:

Charlotte had 51,279 property crimes and a population of 733,291.

Los Angeles had 101,457 property crimes and a population of 3.9 million.

New York had 149,488 property crimes and a population of 8.2 million.

Based on those figures, Charlotte had 6,992 property crimes per 100,000 residents — a higher rate than New York's 1,819 or Los Angeles' 2,621.

How does violent crime in Charlotte compare to New York and Los Angeles?

According to uniform crime statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte had more violent crime per capita than New York and Los Angeles in 2007.

Violent crime includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Population estimates were based on U.S. Census Bureau data and yearly growth rates in each city.

According to the FBI:

Charlotte had 7,233 violent crimes and a population of 733,291.

Los Angeles had 27,806 violent crimes and a population of 3.9 million.

New York had 50,453 violent crimes and a population of 8.2 million.

Based on those figures, Charlotte had 986 violent crimes per 100,000 residents — a higher rate than New York's 614 or Los Angeles' 718.

Should the Democrats be attacking New Yorkers?

Both gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore have been attacking each other for accepting financial contributions from residents of the Big Apple.

That's been a common line of attack for North Carolina politicians since the days of Sen. Jesse Helms.

But does it work anymore?

Consider the following information. According to tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service, 52,012 people moved from New York to North Carolina between 2000 and 2005.

That made it the fourth largest group of state residents moving here.

(The others? Florida, 58,659; Virginia, 57,020; and South Carolina, 56,728.)

Perhaps New York is not the political bogeyman that it used to be. Then again, those people may have moved from New York for a reason...

Hat Tip: David Raynor