With state tax revenues producing less income than previously expected, Gov. Bev Perdue announced April 28 that she’s taking additional steps to balance the current year’s budget — including cutting state workers and teachers pay by one-half of one percent for the year.
That may not sound like much of a cut. It isn’t, compared with what many businesses are going through. A state employee making $50,000 a year will give up $250 of pay. But the bite will come quickly because there is only one payday remaining for teachers and two paydays for state employees before the close of the fiscal year. The governor is giving state workers 10 hours of additional time off before the end of the calendar year to help soften the blow.
The pay cut, she said, would produce a $65 million savings, a small amount to help cover an additional $1 billion shortfall in the current year’s budget. The new gap will also be covered by using several hundred million dollars from the state Rainy Day Fund and as much as $400 million in federal recovery funds the administration had hoped to save for use in the second year of the upcoming biennium.
With the state facing a current projection of a $3.4 billion shortfall next year and a slow economy in search of a rebound, Perdue was wise to order up the pay cuts now. But these are modest cuts designed only to get the state through the next two months. Next year may bring about an even larger shortfall, mandating pay cuts and unpaid furloughs similar to those experienced by many businesses around the state and nation.
Furloughs are, of course, far preferable to layoffs, but many state workers are vital to the health, safety and education of the state’s citizens. That’s why Perdue and her key advisers ought to pay particular attention to proposals by Senate leaders for a new state revenue system that would be less susceptible to the ups and downs of the economy.
Perdue has been noncommittal on the prospects for tax reform. In some ways that’s understandable. She has a lot on her plate in her first few months as governor, including meeting an unprecedented revenue shortfall. But as this recession clearly shows, the state’s aging revenue system just doesn’t work anymore, and state budgeting won’t get any easier until the state fixes a broken process. Perdue has a lot to think about these days, but she’d be smart to add tax reform to her A list.
There are people in our county that break down the doors at peoples homes and come in while they are there and rob them, we need more police and stricter judges as well as a very strong military, if cuts have to be made, the military should be the last place.
I do agree that we should demand that some of these absurd charges and contracts should be examined closely and/or eliminated.
Go back to baking cookies and going to the PTA meetings and leave the big stuff to others.
Where I live is none of your business; what Geo. Bush and the republican party spent our tax money is everyone's business.
The more I hear people called red-neck the more proud I am to be one if disagreeing with you is a qualifing requirement.
As for your statement about you and your husband paying more taxes than I do, I seriously doubt it but if it is true you should be more angry than I am about government wasting our "OUR" money.
One small item in your letter to me kinda reveals a flaw in any opinion you might bring forward and that is just one fact you have revealed, if you are so smart and sucessful then you would not have a Hamlet address, you would move to a better neighborhood, get my drift.
We are all a slave to the government and one of the reasons is that 58% of our tax money (CNN) goes for the military budget in this country! As I have said before on the RCDJ blog site, this is a DISGRACE!!!!!! R.R. did not cause the downfall of Russia; they ruined themselves when their economy failed primarily due to the outrageous military spending. Bush came dern close to ruining our economy the same way. I would love to see a 10% decrease in the military budget this year, and an additional 10% decrease next year, and another 10% decrease in the next two years. (a 30% cut in military budget in the next 4 years) Thighten our border controls, close some of the foreign basis and put these troups busy guarding our boarders and send them after the drug curtail in THIS COUNTRY!
With all the cuts in the budget and increases in taxes i still have not heard of any cuts to walfare to those who just want work and those that are illegal.
The very idea that any representative that we elect would even consider this is outrageous and we should all raise our voices in objection, even if you rent, your landlord will have to increase your rents to cover this additional costs.
louis b long
republican for a free America
I warned you guys about Democrats, this is what you get.
This Governor is on a mission, look for more types of taxes and higher taxes on what we already have.
$10.00 a carton more, MORE taxes on cigarettes, more tax on movie tickets, more on beer , more, much MORE on Gas.
You put her in so don`t complain, just remember.
Louis B. Long