From the Herald-Sun of Durham, Aug. 7

The legislative process is often compared to making sausage, because you don’t really want to see what goes into the finished product.

But using that analogy about the $19-billion state budget approved by the North Carolina General Assembly recently is almost an insult to the sausage, because neither the process nor the end result were very palatable.

Yes, it was messy. There were sharp disagreements between the parties — the budget passed on strictly party-line votes in both houses, the controlling Democrats voting yea, and the Republicans nay. It’s disappointing that there can’t be more bipartisanship.

And in order to close a gaping $4-billion shortfall, lawmakers found about $2 billion worth of cuts, mostly in public education and human services. About 700 people lost their jobs.

You can argue about the choices that were made. Indeed, some pointed to the in-state tuition for scholarship athletes as an example of fat that remained in the budget, while cuts to mental health and pre-school programs were especially painful.

But you have to admit that lawmakers were as serious about curbing spending as they were about finding revenue in higher taxes.

Many tax increases in the budget are listed as “temporary.” One penny added to the sales tax will raise the rate to 7.75 cents on the dollar, to expire in 2011. Corporate profits face a 3 percent surtax for two years. Cigarette taxes will rise permanently by 10 cents per pack.

Individuals with taxable income of $60,000 and up and couples with income of between $100,000 to $250,000 will face a $20 surtax on each $1,000 of taxes owed in 2009 and 2010. It will be interesting to see whether lawmakers can stick to their commitment to let those taxes lapse in a few years if revenue doesn’t rebound.

You have to feel sympathy for Gov. Beverly Perdue, who took office in the midst of this economic hurricane. For her, there was no way to win this battle, and her popularity ratings have suffered.

In the end, the result wasn’t pretty, and we would argue with some of the choices that were made. But in a terribly difficult year, give lawmakers credit for making tough decisions and producing the best sausage they could.