In this episode of The Best of Johnston County Podcast, we sit down with Matt Wood, the Democratic candidate for NC House 26. We discuss his background in health insurance, his views on Medicare, and his plans for education reform in Johnston County. We also dive into rural community challenges and how he aims to address them. 

Tune in for an insightful conversation on local politics and community growth. Don't miss it!

Matthew Wood: Well, we are definitely underfunding rural people's ability to have nutrition, get educated properly, and to have medical services. We let the private industries of hospitals conglomerate around a lack of money paying rural clients. Now that those hospitals are now gone, who's in the receivership of all those patients and all those buildings and all that money that's now being subsidized?

The same large hospitals that were there over it in the first place. So, in order to temper a commercial endeavor that's supposed to be surrounding what is a human art or just an expression of kindness to the giving of medicine or information about how you should eat while you're pregnant. So those things, altruism does not solve.

It doesn't. We have to take care of our people and if we temper a business endeavor because of it, so be it. That's our job.

Jonathan Breeden: Hello and welcome to another edition of the Best of Johnson County podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden. And today we have with us the candidate for NC house 26, Matt Wood. He's the democratic candidate. We'll be on your ballot in November and he's running against a state representative, Donna White.

This district keeps getting redrawn, but basically from 70 to 95 to the northwest quadrant. I know it's a lot smaller than that. Most of the district is now Clayton and archers Lodge and up that way as it keeps getting smaller as that district grows for a long time. It was 70 and 95.

So as you'll be aware of future episodes of the Best of Johnson County podcast, the Best of Johnson County podcast comes out every Monday and we have lots of exciting guests and we've had tons of exciting guests in the past and we have even more coming up in the future. So be checking back every Monday.

If you like and follow and subscribe, you'll be made aware of all the episodes and you'll see your friends and neighbors on this podcast all the time. We've had past guests, including Matt Wood's opponent, Donna White. We've had County Commissioner Patrick Harris, County Commissioner Ted Godwin, County Parks and Rec Director Adrian O'Neill.

So anyway, now we'll get to the Apple episode and talk to Matt Wood. Welcome.

Matthew Wood: Thank you.

Jonathan Breeden: No problem. So anyways, first time we've had a chance to meet here today. Tell the audience about who you are, where are you from?

Matthew Wood: So probably the most importantly I've, lived here in Clayton and Johnson County for about the last 25 years.

I'm 54 years old. I'm originally from around the Newark, New Jersey, America, you know, part of the United States, but I'm an American Mutt. My dad followed where the jobs were as Ronald Reagan told him to in the 80s. So I lived in Iowa, Illinois. My dad was a correctional officer ended up in South Carolina where I finished my college education and ended up here in the Raleigh area.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, I can understand that. I know I think you graduated from Coastal Carolina down there, Conway, Myrtle Beach area. What was your degree in from Coastal Carolina?

Matthew Wood: So, I have a bachelor's degree in government and political science because I've always been interested in the relationship between politics and regulation, how it affects people just as, I mean, as a kid having that kind of strange hobby carried with me.

So, I mean, that's, I kind of ended up there and, coastal was a, nice place to end up, that's for sure.

Jonathan Breeden: I love medieval times. you know, I've not been to the one in Myrtle beach, but I did go to the one. in Orlando. About that same time in the nineties when that was coming along. And that was a lot of fun.

And I think they still have it in Myrtle Beach.

Matthew Wood: Yeah, there's five castles. Of course, you know, looking at me now, you were like, really? I had a beard. I had long hair. I was so Matthew William of the wood, right? So I've done stage acting, all kinds of stuff like it. So dual degreed in drama. And political science?

Jonathan Breeden: Well, I, the one time, and I guess I should go back and take my kids now because I remember, I've done the, Pirate Show in Myrtle Beach twice now. Oh, okay. Yeah. The Dollywood production. Yes. Which I've really enjoyed both times. and I enjoyed medieval times the one time I went cause they had a sword eater.

I don't know if they still have sword eaters. They had somebody that was eating fire. They had pretty good sword play you know, jousting and stuff.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. It's hard to believe I've not been to the Myrtle Beach, but I should go. 'cause I think I've done the pirate show twice, so the next time I'm there I'll need to do medieval times.

'cause I don't think I've taken my kids to see that yet. Well, that's cool. So then I think, some point you ended up in the insurance business. So tell us a little bit about that.

Matthew Wood: Sure. Well, I mean, after graduating with a liberal arts degree and moving up here and not wanting to move my little three point GPA and BAs in this, and that was not enough to get me into a law school.

I mean, I did average on the law school entrance exam. I took it three times, got the same score. You know how that, you know how that goes.

Jonathan Breeden: I took the law school entrance exam. I know how that goes.

I didn't get well off for sure, but my kids know how to act right. They know how to write, right? They know math and they know the dad loves them as opposed to me having the sales plaques on the wall. So that's insurance, health insurance.

Jonathan Breeden: So who do you work for now?

Matthew Wood: So I work for a company called American Republic insurance services.

That's out of Des Moines, Iowa. Okay. They underwrite their own paper as far as a Medicare supplemental and life insurance products concerned, but I'm appointed by Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna United any Medicare plan that's available and health insurance as well. So I can, you know, properly take somebody through.

Jonathan Breeden: So you sell all types of insurance or just health insurance?

Matthew Wood: Well, I do health. Okay. Medicare. really helped navigate people through Medicaid, which that's a tougher thing.

I do life insurances uh, IULs some annuities and things like that, just to have a diverse sort of portfolio. But

Jonathan Breeden: so do you help people with Medicare part B?

Matthew Wood: Well, I help them understand. Okay, what they're supposed to be doing. So now, what, when you said part B, it's like, okay, well, what part of that do you mean?

Jonathan Breeden: I'm not old enough to know, but I know people complain about it.

Matthew Wood: Yes. Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: And they have to pay for it. So I'm going to tell you, Help me out a little bit about part B.

Matthew Wood: Let me explain something to you. Right. I've been in the Medicare business for a long time. Okay. I just got interested in becoming a candidate. So my questions are different.

You know how much it's going to cost you because it's going to cost you some money. Do you know that?

Jonathan Breeden: Correct. It's going to cost you some money.

Matthew Wood: A lot of people don't know that.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. And they don't know. And you have to pay for it. You have an option. You have to opt in, yes. When you get to the full retirement age.

You have,

Matthew Wood: You asked specific. I'm going to answer it specific because I know my business. It's important to people. It's one of the reasons I'm running for office. There's no reason that you should turn 65 and not know that A is automatic and they're going to take 175 bucks out your social security, right?

B is an option that covers some of the rest of the 80%. You didn't know it could only cover 80%. You got to find something that's paid the other 20, right? Right. Know it. Not mostly, you know, cause you looked it up. Most people don't. Right. And then you either got a prepay with a supplemental, which means you can pay about 2, 800 bucks a year.

How many people knew that? One out of almost 95 people. One, that's a disservice and me and the young lady that we were talking I was talking to when we came in here Y'all do family law state law how many people should know that they should protect their homes or their estates? By putting into some sort of conservatorship or a trust and let but if they get cancer or get sick They're gonna have to spend down so when the state takes care of them, they don't have any assets, right?

How many people know that?

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, not many. And, you know, we don't have an absolute understanding of it. I don't, I've got a base understanding, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And I definitely, if somebody needs to do a Medicaid.

Matthew Wood: One of the most important.

Jonathan Breeden: Spot down, I have to send them somewhere else.

You and I just had kind of levity filled conversation about something you, the attorney didn't know about. So who do you think, what do you think somebody is going to know about it? Living in Farmville and Catawba County or out near Rockingham or all these other places that have so been traditionally underserved, who's supposed to fill that gap?

Jonathan Breeden: Well, I guess it's a federal program. So, should the feds or do you think the state should fill it out?

Matthew Wood: It's gotta be somebody, and if the state doesn't want to bankrupt its hospitals by fostering people who are ignorant about how to stay healthy, then I think that we would have a vested interest too, because Medicaid is a state operation.

And we just took on five or 600, 000 more people on Medicaid. What do you think the hospitals thought about that?

Matthew Wood: They were very happy to take on all these sick people.

Jonathan Breeden: Yes, because they're getting paid. Because they were treating those sick people and not getting paid, and several of the rural hospitals were under.

Matthew Wood: So I'm going to flip it and tell you the other side of the coin. It's also a business operation that their cost is based upon whether or not people are healthy. How many people over the last 10 years that we have denied federal money for the idea of federal austerity have lost limbs because their type one or type two diabetes was undiagnosed because North Carolina, the largest cause of death under 18 is para or prenatal.

What's that from? Nutrition? Lack of access to hospitals? So the hospitals are playing a game with the insurance company. So they're not necessarily that thrilled about it, because now they've got to negotiate what the insurance is going to pay them when Miss Wanda comes in, who's 56, who has four long term problems.

Jonathan Breeden: So what do you think the state legislature can do?

Matthew Wood: Well, we are definitely underfunding rural people's ability to have nutrition, get educated properly, and to have medical services. We let the private industries of hospitals conglomerate around a lack of money paying rural clients. Now that those hospitals are now gone, who's in the receivership of all those patients and all those buildings and all that money that's now being subsidized?

The same large hospitals that were there over it in the first place. So, in order to temper a commercial endeavor that's supposed to be surrounding what is a human art or just an expression of kindness to the giving of medicine or information about how you should eat while you're pregnant. So those things, altruism does not solve.

Have family law questions? Need guidance to navigate legal challenges? The compassionate team at Breeden Law Office is here to help. Visit us at www. breedenfirm. com for practical advice, resources, or to book a consultation. Remember, when life gets messy, you don't have to face it alone.

Matthew Wood: So, back in the early nineties, when I first started reading about the Edison school project in Philadelphia and watched it turn into Kids sharing books and no janitors and them making no money and whatever. I knew that there was something rotten in the state of Denmark from the get go. As far as the public coffers being taken from by people who are not taxpaying entities, I find to be kind of like on a principle based sort of repugnant.

Okay, so there's a few levels about what education is supposed to be as serving the public good, as opposed to the commercial endeavor of it, because, you know, in the last 40, 50 years, the best thing, the thing that happened in America is you defund something, say it doesn't work, privatize it, and then we go from there.

When we defunded the public entities from the get go from the get go and now we're going to take from them because we say there's a lack in it and you go out and I look, I have personal experience with it because my daughter went to a charter school. Yes, my daughter, progressive liberal Matt took his daughter to a charter school.

You know why? Because I had enough money to be able to afford it. So this opportunity ain't opportunity for everybody. So just like in Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan, over 75 percent of the people who received those vouchers already go to private schools. So who are we really subsidizing? So let me kind of complete this for you.

After all these years that my girl's been there. None of those kids go to that school anymore that started off, none of them, including the people that charted it, some of them are still on the board. You know, you get six people together, you sign up this simple form to the state and say, hey, you can get a lock and turn, lock and key company from Michigan.

Yet Wayne Huizingas owned waste management, all the lawsuits that followed his company, the National Heritage Academies that I had to look in to find out what is going on in this place. The people that started that school took their own kids out. So they still get vouchers though next time because they're going to Christian schools, right?

So you don't like the opportunity scholarships, but it shouldn't be called an opportunity scholarship.

Jonathan Breeden: But you don't like this charter schools either, right?

We don't know how it comes back. Yeah. Then how are we supposed to regulate? And you know, all the fraud that's been perpetuated by these, companies now that these LLCs that are run through people's basement and churches and what have you, that's completely antithetical to the public institution of education for the sense of trying to be able to commoditize it in a way.

Jonathan Breeden: So we should close the charter schools in Johnson County?

We should have a more,

Jonathan Breeden: So Right. So not for the opportunity to discuss it, but we have charted, there's over 120 charter schools in North Carolina right now, including three in Johnston County. Leave those open, close them.

Matthew Wood: Well, we have to use them that. Look, as I tell liberal Democrats that don't like the fact that my kids went, cause it was supposed to be something that turned to not to be right. The horse is out the barn.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Matthew Wood: It's not the barn.

Jonathan Breeden: So we keep the three we have, we just don't do more charter school.

We had a big case of it in Selma when they tried to find the school and it couldn't even find it, but they got 137 grand. So you know that all we need to do is tighten the grip around what is allowed. My son, yeah. had to come home and what they call asyncratic learning. Isn't that a PhD level where you know why?

Jonathan Breeden: I remember that.

Matthew Wood: You know why? Because there wasn't enough certified teachers to deliver the end of your exam. So my son had to stay at home because of kindergarten, first and second grade teachers all were certified. So is that the kind of thing that we got to deal with? Because they've got such lax standards.

I'm going to try to create a little, closure on this particular thing. We are suffering from some of the best growth that exists on this planet. barring the Emirates, the United Emirates and Dubai and all of those. We've got to have educated people to be able to work the jobs. We can't have this beautiful panacea here and we go 30 miles.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Let's talk about reproductive rights.

I know you're not happy with the current State of where abortion is here in North Carolina. What would you do to regulate abortion right now? North Carolina makes it pretty much impossible to get an abortion after 12 weeks. That was a law that was passed about a year ago, what would you do with that law?

Matthew Wood: All right, because the company we are keeping right now the fact that I have a 12 year old in the room. Right? I'm going to have to guilt my language, right? But we see where the other states are going on a state level, and we are on a slippery slope, my friend, and you know it. So when we keep playing this ultimate brinksmanship that they're doing in that supermajority, you know there's going to be no exceptions for anything.

And this is a leg spreading contest that this is about fundamental individual women's rights that first world country principles are based on. I'm going to say this to you real quick, brother, and I'm going to wrap this little thought in my head. It amazes me that somebody can go to Haiti, Costa Rica, Africa, run the autoclave and sterilize, you know, instruments and what have you, and they don't understand that these women, the difference that separates their third world, our first one is their individual rights and it starts with your body.

And if we're going to dis associate with ourself from that association of women's fundamental rights, we have a problem and I'm not going to have this connected to some, Oh, we'll just, people are having out abortion, but this is about family planning.

Jonathan Breeden: So, what age of a fetus.

Does that have,

Matthew Wood: Does that have relevancy to you? What I just said about, what can happen to my preteen, that is something that's got to be treated as something relevant that we can come to an agreement.

Jonathan Breeden: What age of a fetus does the state have some interest in that life in your opinion?

Matthew Wood: Well, I mean, if you're going to sit there, I'm going to say that as soon as it becomes something that we're not priding proper medical provisions for people that want to be pregnant or nutrition or education. See, like I got this whole thing in my mind. It's like, Oh, you can't even talk to kids now in school.

But you're telling me just at the precipice of that, we gotta be responsible for the whole nine yards? Take care of them the whole time? We got a different question, but this is reality. You're gonna sit there asking me scientific questions, and about whether the electronic impulse is within a zygote, is a heartbeat?

Man, I can't go down that road, but we gotta have a common sense mid ground, and I know where the other side is going.

I saw it the other day, I thought it was really funny, but poignant. The average wealth of an American is 64, 000 until you take away 10 people, and then it's 53. Then you take away the 1%, it turns into like 48, when you take away the top 10%, it ends up being $33, 000. So, people who have got money are doing just fine.

That's different than the question of, if we don't keep this low, these people are going to take the money and go elsewhere. Which side of the argument are we on? So you know that we're underfunding basic services here in North Carolina. You telling me that a 0. 5 percent tax on the top income earners, or 1 percent that wouldn't provide for like full education, prenatal care, or food benefits for kids that ain't got one that the Johnson County is doing now at third school, you're going to keep lowering it?

Jonathan Breeden: So what should the tax rate be? It used to be seven and two, five. I think it's now down to four, nine, nine. I mean, what should, what would be a good tax rate?

The rest of the people deserve the opportunity to be able to share with all this benefit. And I'm telling you, there is enough that draws these groups to here. They're not going to lose it because of some millage tax or some wealth tax that exists america is actually like, that

I mean the damn eisenhower tax rates how we got the roads built the tennessee valley authority This stuff doesn't happen altruistically or the copper pipes in Flint, Michigan, or Jackson, Mississippi would have been fixed already.

So of course we got to tax more because what else are we doing? Underfunding stuff and then saying, Oh, well, we need to, well, when we need to do this, the next thing is going to be privatized as a DMV. Bet you a dollar they're gonna privatize the DMV because it works too slow and all this other stuff that's the bend of the way that the legislator has been working.

Let's just go and farm this work out.

We've talked about these main issues. I think we've covered them. If there's anything I missed, you know, 60 seconds on those two or three things.

Matthew Wood: We could do this again with my opponent. But realistically, look imbalance in legislative bodies is dangerous. When a legislative body wants to control how the board of election decides how the legislative body gets chosen when we have intimate relationships between members of the Supreme court and the legislative body or the means to circumvent local municipalities decisions about how you can clear, put trees or how many natural gas outlets you can put in the middle of Mebane.

The state legislator wants to take all that over. This just sounds like a pre functory commercial endeavor. And we need to get back to a balance of that because look, this is the way I put it. People love Donna White. And she's one of the first people that I met in Johnson County, and I actually kind of like her, but you cannot be innocent on a moving train.

The other thing I'm looking forward to is raising my son, George over there and my daughter Maddie, because this is one of the most beautiful parts of the country that I've ever been in. And I've been all across the United States. All our growth is good. It's new. It's beautiful. We got people moving from all over the place.

The opportunities are just so enormous. So I love, I mean, I just,

I just love it here.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, and I guess the last question we ask everybody is what do you love most about Johnston County?

People are supposed to be able to live and have enough space. And so, all those things that, I would kind of yearn for are here and they're here for other people. But there's some stuff that behind the veneer of how beautiful it is that we got to work on that's within the soul a community.

And so I appreciate this opportunity to talk because of these outlets are not everywhere. So you're doing a service and I appreciate it.

Jonathan Breeden: I appreciate that. We will think that would candidate for NC house 26 for coming on to the best of Johnson County podcast. He will be on your ballot in November. He is running against the incumbent Donna white.

Matthew Wood: Anyway, we do appreciate y'all listening to this episode of best Johnson County podcast. Feel free, like we said earlier, like, subscribe or follow us. So you'll know future episodes of best Johns County podcast. Leave us a five star review down below as well. I guess I forgot to ask, how can people get in touch with your camp?

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, Oh,

Matt Wood M A

Matthew Wood: T

Jonathan Breeden: T W O O D N C 26.

Matthew Wood: All right. Sounds good. We will thank Matt for coming on.

and,

until next time, I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden.

Narrator: That's the end of today's episode of Best of Johnston County, a show brought to you by the trusted team at Breeden Law Office. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more interesting facets of this community next week. Every story, every viewpoint adds another thread to the rich tapestry of Johnston County.

If the legal aspects highlighted raised some questions, help is just around the corner at www.BreedenFirm. com.