David Crotts, senior analyst in the General Assembly?s Fiscal Research Division, said it may require as much as $800 million in additional spending next fiscal year to pay for the needs of a growing state, including small raises for teachers and other state employees, money to repair and renovate state buildings, contributions to the state?s Rainy Day Fund, and to account for increased enrollment in the schools and universities.
This was from NCCBI’s website. Interesting that NCCBI is also pushing Tax Increment Financing because they believe it will bring more incentive jobs to NC wihich will be “good” and not raise taxes. Unfortunately this kind of puts NCCBI in a quandary. On the one hand the state is growing therefore it wants more money to spend. But NCCBI maintains that growth reduces government spending.
Growth in business should equal growth in revenue for the state which should equal “no new expenditures”.
But the truth as of late seems to be that growth or no growth in the private sector always equals growth in NC government spending.
If you don’t have growth then the need for additional state services is touted as the rationale to spend more money. If you do have growth it is needed for infrastucture and salaries as stated above in a “growing” state. Either way, the taxpayer in NC loses.
Both situations really ilustrate the need for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights to prevent ridiculous growth in state expenditures without tax payer approval.
