Budget Now Hangs Squarely on GOP

As of Thursday, June 16, 2011

Even though an override was almost certain (and has since happened), Gov. Beverly Perdue was right to take her veto stamp to the legislature’s misbegotten budget.

Our only problem is that the Democratic governor took so long to make her statement about the Republican spending plan, which is likely to do so much damage to North Carolina and its people — including reducing per-pupil expenditures in the public schools to a level below that of Mississippi.

By dallying over her decision for almost two weeks while local governments and school systems suffered in suspense while preparing their own budgets, Perdue was in danger of playing into the hands of GOP leaders like N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis, who accused her of displaying lack of leadership — and of waiting too long while putting up a finger to see which way the political wind was blowing.

A Decision of Conscience

In the end, though, Perdue made the only decision conscience could allow her. The legislature’s $19.7 billion budget simply cuts too deeply into programs needed to educate our kids, encourage creation of jobs, provide help for those who need it, and generally maintain the quality of life on which the Old North State places such importance.

It was ironic to hear Speaker Tillis’ complaint that Perdue was showing no willingness to “work with the legislature” — and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s charge that she was only trying to “energize her liberal base.”

Fact is, the Republicans in control of the General Assembly have ridden roughshod over the opposition from day one, showing zero interest in compromise. Intent on energizing their own conservative tax base and having drunk the anti-tax Kool-Aid, they refused to consider keeping even a fraction of the one-cent sales tax increase on the books that could have blunted the damage.

Their middle-of-the-night veto override is only the latest example of an inflexible, ideologically driven agenda that has extended its tentacles far beyond budgetary matters.

Responsibility Is Clear

The Republican legislators are trying to convince themselves — or at least the state’s voters — that their budget creates more jobs and treats schools and colleges nicer than Perdue’s own version would have. But House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, whose district includes part of Moore County, was having none of that.

Allowed three minutes to speak to the House before the override vote came down, Hackney read from a report by the N.C. Budget & Tax Center. It showed that the 14,000 jobs the GOP budget says it expects to produce in the next two years will be dwarfed by the loss of 45,000 public and private-sector jobs caused by massive spending cuts and consequent loss of federal funding. That amounts to a net loss of more than 30,000 jobs.

As Raleigh columnist Scott Mooneyham noted in a Wednesday column on this page, one positive thing about the governor’s futile veto and the subsequent negation is that it makes it all the more clear to the public whose budget this is. The legislative Republicans own it lock, stock and barrel. And when its negative consequences begin to make themselves felt, North Carolinians should have no doubt about whom to hold responsible.

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mauiman 1 year, 11 months ago

So the Republicans are acting like the Democrats did for the last 100 years and that is bad. Perdue received almost 99% of what her budget request contained. As for public employees, let's just see what happens but one thing for sure, public employees have been protected during the economic downturn of the last few years.

The per-pupil expenditures is an interesting measure but NC has always been near the bottom. The drop is what, maybe $50/pupil. NC teachers salary falls right in the middle - 25 or 26 or fifty depending on where and what statistics you use. The pre-pupil expenditures measure input not output and has little to do with how well students are taught.

dustyrhoades 1 year, 11 months ago

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MadameDefarge 1 year, 11 months ago

All the Republicans must go; add to that the 5 Dems who voted with them. They are: (and thousands of teachers and mental health professioals across NC called them on Tuesday of this week prior to this vote):

William.Brisson@ncleg.net: Bladen, Cumberland, counties Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net: Granville, Vance counties Dewey.Hill@ncleg.net: Brunswick, Columbus counties Bill.Owens@ncleg.net: Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Tyrrell counties Timothy.Spear@ncleg.net: Chowan, Dare, Hyde, Washington counties

Elsewise, we continue to circle the drain of more and more homicides by people w/ untreated mental health issues due to budget cuts and more and more poorly educated children. From today's NYT, lead story, 2 full pages and the front headline.

These cuts to the budget are not a laughing matter and no amount of tea in Boston Bay is going to solve anything:

A MENTAL PATIENT, A SLAIN WORKER, TROUBLING QUESTIONS NYT Friday, June 17, 2011 www.nytimes.com2011/06/17/us/17MENTAL...>

""....The state mental health commissioner, Barbara A. Leadholm, said she believed her department was providing high-quality care despite the budget cuts it was obliged to accommodate. "We have to be responsive to what the administration and the legislature feel they can financially afford....."THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM IS THE STATE MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET," she (Laurie Martinelli, the executive director of the NAMI in MA) said. "Did the murders have something to do with funding cutbacks?" .....

Marsha V. Hammond, PhD, Lic Psychologist, NC NC Mental Health Reform blogspot, since 2007: http://madame-defarge.blogspot.com/

Roorke 1 year, 11 months ago

So the Pilot and democrat party are hoping with held breath that the Republican Budget fails. Then what, back to spending money that the State of North Carolina doesn't have? That will really make things better. The state owes $2.6 Billion to the Federal Government already for unemployment benefits, with much more debt coming thanks to Perdue. Google and read the reports of N. C. unfunded retirement plans, something about $50 Billion. We are broke and the democrat plan is to spend more money.

moonchild7 1 year, 11 months ago

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Roorke 1 year, 11 months ago

Adults live within their means, they realize there needs to be a certain amount of money to pay for the essentials or there will be a price to pay such as lights turned off, loss of car, home foreclosed. It is the children, and the mentally ill, or the democrat voter, that does not understand that there is a cost to everything. Just take a child to the toy section of Walmart and observe. Why don't you liberals grow up.

publius 1 year, 11 months ago

The State of North Carolina always lives within it's means: it has no other choice. The issue being debated was whether North Carolinian's could afford to keep sales taxes at last year's level so as to maintain public education at last year's levels. Conservatives decided that they preferred to cut spending on education in order to reduce sales taxes. In their view the cost to education was worth having more money in taxpayers' pockets. So be it. But conservatives should at least be honest about the choice they made rather than casting dispersions at those who disagree with this choice.