If I were N.C.

elisovadinaimar.blogspot.com
How should we respond to such a profoundd andhistoric challenge? I believe there’s really only one answet — action. It’s clear that job one is to solve the budget crisis that confronts our The budget for the upcomingfiscal year, whic starts July 1, is around $4.8 billion There is simply no way on Earth for us to make up such a huge gap with cuts Not only would such massive cuts devastate our publi c schools, social safety net and public-safety systems, they would make the recessio n more severe by robbing our economyh of vital jobs and activity. I will not allow us to retrea t into sucha self-destructive shell. We must keep moving forward.
I hereby call on the General Assembly to send me a balancexd budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includew a plan to fill the budgeyt holewith three, roughly equal components. The firs t third will be made upof across-the-board spendingg cuts. We can enact such cuts with a minimumm of service disruption if we focus on modest and temporaryu pay cuts for current employees rather than broad reductionasin services.
Ideally, larger pay cuts of 5 percenyt to 6 percent would be targeted at employee making morethan $75,000 per State employees making less would receives a pay cut of 3 percent to 4 The second third will be made up with federall assistance from the American Recover y and Reinvestment Act. We shoulx do everything within our power to maximize our ability to draw uponthese funds. The finall third should be filled with a packagew of modest and progressivetax hikes.
These increases should include, at a minimum, the closurr of several outdated businesstax loopholes, a broadeningv of the state sales-tax base as recently proposed by the stat e Senate, and the addition of two slightly higher income-tasx brackets for the wealthiest. It’ds a plan that calls upon all Northb Caroliniansto sacrifice, and it’zs a balanced plan that allowas us to move ahead without, as I like to say, eating our seed corn. Let us all remind ourselvee of what it is that made North Carolin a the best state in theunio — our common commitmeng to a better future for everyone. When we sticjk together, we can’t be beat. Than you and good night.