The Winston-Salem Journal demands that the 3,000 teachers laid off last be rehired, saying “time has come for Gov. Bev Perdue and legislative leaders to find a way to restore budget cuts.”
I read the editorial with an open mind, waiting for the Journal’s answer to exactly how budget cuts would be restored in what promises to be another very tough budget year at both the state and local levels. I waited for the Journal to say perhaps there should be budget cuts elsewhere, but all I got was the wishful thinking stating that “recent revenue reports show some signs of tax collections rebounding, due in part to tax increases passed last year.”
It’s a similar situation in Forsyth County government, where the majority of job requests for the upcoming budget are in public safety, a core government service. Those jobs might have to go unfulfilled to due to the looming budget deficit.
Commenters beneath the Journal article debate the need for more sheriff’s deputies. Yet the possibility that the county cut non-public safety jobs wasn’t raised.
