I grew up in a working class family. We lived paycheck to paycheck and there were very few “extras.” Yet, my mom and dad never felt sorry for themselves and never expected someone else to take care of our family. When cash was especially short, mom and dad cut back — even when it hurt and even when it meant we did without. That’s why I empathize with North Carolinians like these folks. They’re hurting, they’re scared, and they need our prayers.
But we must act responsibly and think long term as well. If we focus simply on a debate over another extension of unemployment benefits, we miss the key lesson of this budget debate. We must look at this state’s priorities and end the spend-and-tax behavior that has been in place for decades. Only when we restore reason to the state budget can we ensure that North Carolina has an appropriate social safety net that provides long-term support for those who truly can’t take care of themselves and short-term support for those who need a temporary hand up. We must also have the courage to tell people that government is just one player in society — not the only player and not the primary player — as it has become over the last several decades.
We do no one a favor — not the beneficiaries of benefits nor those whose taxes are used to pay for the benefits — by continuing government expansion. If you need further proof of where unchecked government growth leads, and the dependency it creates across a wide spectrum of society, look no further than North Carolina’s $2 to $2.5 billion budget hole, the federal government’s nearly $15 trillion debt, and the cries from advocates and lobbyists who are telling the legislature to just keep spending and expanding.
We simply can’t. And the folks who are without jobs need us to be grown-ups.
