Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, released the following statement this morning:
?With concentration on the national financial picture, it is possible for North Carolina?s real and growing fiscal difficulties to get lost in the shuffle. There is no question that the Governor?s 2 percent reduction is too little and, unless further steps are taken soon, we will find that it is too late to avoid either substantial tax increases or curtailment of government functions. We are impacted by the Nation?s financial situation and have already seen significant increases in unemployment and painful hikes in necessities such as food and gasoline. Monday?s buyout of our state?s second largest bank will likely bring more financial hardships for our people and will be felt across the state. While I applaud the Governor for addressing the issue, I believe we must be more aggressive in reducing spending; a savings of $200 million will not be nearly enough in light of a probable shortfall of $1 billion or more.
?Unfortunately, at the same time they adopted a budget that was severely unbalanced, the Governor and his fellow Democrats limited the options available to the next General Assembly to deal with this situation. Their 2008-2009 budget ignored core state obligations and infrastructure needs while borrowing almost to the limit of the state?s debt ceiling. Meanwhile, North Carolina?s roads and bridges continue to deteriorate and congestion in our urban centers chokes off commercial and job growth. The state?s failing mental health system was provided a temporary ?band-aid? fix leaving our most vulnerable citizens at risk, and the state?s teachers and employees were left with the knowledge that their medical insurance plan was substantially under funded and likely to finish the year in a $250 million hole. This on top of ongoing, growing, and well-documented deficiencies in the state?s education system which was shortchanged by those very politicians who every election year claim to have education as their top legislative priority.
?Should the current economic situation continue, or worsen, and substantial savings this year are not realized, we will return in January facing a deficit for this fiscal year of more than a billion dollars. If past actions are any indication, Democrats will respond with even more spending and by increasing the already high state tax burden on families and small business. Such a rise in taxes could not come at a worse time considering how many families are already stretching their budgets to the maximum. Governor Easley should take further and effective action now to curtail spending is this fiscal year, before it is too late.?
Joe Coletti addresses a similar topic in an upcoming Carolina Journal Radio interview. You can review a snippet from that interview here.
